デカセクト

Chapter 8

That night, Kento drove Shouko back to her place. She had a hard time getting sleep, not because of her excitement but because of how bad she felt. Her fingers hovered above her and Nijiro's conversation several times but she couldn't bring herself to message him. It was too embarrassing and she didn't know if it was right for her to apologize through the phone.

The next day, Shouko woke up a bit late. She quickly showered and got into her clothes before running out of the house. Just as usual, she didn't even get to eat breakfast.

"Heads up!" Haru shouted before tossing a sandwich at Shouko which she successfully caught. He knew she usually didn't have time to eat breakfast so he made it a habit to bring food with him for her to eat.

"You're a lifesaver. Thank you." Shouko sighed in content as she took a bite.

The two walked inside the school and once again, the people around start to whisper as they kept glancing at her. But she didn't let it bother her as she finished the sandwich.

"Water." Haru said and handed her the bottle he packed the night before.

"Is this yours?" Shouko asked and Haru shook his head before showing her another water bottle inside his bag. "Wow, you're like a scout."

Haru chuckled and placed a hand at the top of her head. Even though he was more childish than she was, he felt like he was much older than her and that he had the responsibility of taking care of her.

Thoughts of last night suddenly came to her in the middle of class. Once again, she felt strange like she wasn't at peace. Somehow, she felt that Nijiro directed it at her.

Shouko sighed and thought about it more. If she hadn't gone to Dori, she would have missed the chance to talk with him like they knew each other and she wouldn't have photos with him saved on her phone.

But on the other hand, she felt like she somewhat betrayed Nijiro by leaving him. She knew they weren't anything, she wasn't even sure if they were friends. But she felt as if she made such a huge mistake.

Just then, her phone buzzed. She glanced at the front and slowly took out her phone from under the table to look at it. Another Instagram notification.

わがままになりたい

The photo showed Nijiro dressed up as Chishiya, he had his hood up and his head was slightly turned to the side. Shouko frowned and felt even worse. Though he cleared up the troubles she thought she inflicted, it still confused her what he meant by that.

Shouko sighed and turned off her phone before putting it in her pocket. She didn't think he was pertaining to her last night, which is a good thing. But she still felt she should apologize for leaving him like that.

After class, Haru walked her back to her place as usual. He could clearly see something was troubling her but he didn't want to ask her about it. If she was ready to tell him, she would have already told him.

As Shouko sat on the couch, she got another notification but this time it was a message from Kento on Instagram telling her he was going to pick her up.

Shouko instantly hopped in the shower and changed into some decent clothes right after. She dried her hair and let it fall down in waves just like she usually does, she didn't even brush her hair. Not that she needed to, anyway.

"Hey." Kento grinned as she opened the door.

Still, she felt as star-strucked as she was before. Shouko couldn't help but blush under his gaze though she didn't really have a crush on him or anything.