デカセクト

Chapter 35

Shouko wasn't surprised to see Nijiro standing outside of her place. She was dressed casually with her hair high up in a ponytail.

"I suppose they sent you to get me?" Shouko spoke. Though it didn't sound like a question at all. It sounded much more like a statement.

Nijiro just nodded, feeling nervous. He couldn't read her at that moment. Whether she was still mad at him or not, he still felt like he was walking on thin ice with her.

Shouko had her gaze locked in front of her, her face blank and unreadable. It was out of the ordinary seeing her act like that. She was usually either timid or bubbly.

Nijiro felt like he was responsible for her sudden change of character. He didn't know what went on in her mind when he left that night, he just assumed that she wouldn't want him close to her again.

Now, he regrets ever leaving her. He should have stayed and made things clear. When he left, he thought he would make everything better but leaving only made everything worse.

Subconsciously, he placed a hand on her hand as he continued to drive back to his father's place. Shouko felt her breath hitch at his touch and at the sound, he retracted his hand in an instant.

"Sorry." He muttered, apologizing for the sudden act.

Shouko glanced at him for a second and wondered if he usually did that with the girls he 'hung-out' with. She wouldn't be surprised if he told her that her suspicions were true and that he even made out with them; or had sex.

As each second passed by, her mood gradually became worse. She was almost scowling by the time they reached the place where their parents were.

Nijiro immediately got out and opened her door for her. He tried to help her get out of the car. But to his surprise, she literally pushed him away.

"Don't touch me." She practically growled, leaving him stunned. He had no idea how her mood got worse but he felt like he was the reason behind it.

"I'm sorry." He said to her, just above a whisper.

By then, he knew it was going to be tough trying to get her to loosen up to him again. But he had done it before and he was sure as hell that he could do it again.

Shouko was mad at herself more than she was mad at the guy walking beside her. She felt like a complete hypocrite for hating him when she also let another guy kiss her multiple times during the time they were apart.

Granted that they never really dated, it was still wrong looking back on it now. Shouko didn't want to be that type of person that just goes back and forth between two guys just because she isn't officially taken.

As they finally arrived at the backyard, Shouko felt her anger wear off. It was now replaced with anxiety. There were only five of them there in total, including her and Nijiro. Still, she felt uncomfortable with more than a pair of eyes on her.

"Do I hear wedding bells ringing?" Nijiro's father joked, earning a laugh from Shouko's parents.

Nijiro glanced at Shouko beside him to see how she reacted but she had her head turned away from him so he couldn't see her face. He smiled and huffed out a laugh before walking over to where their parents sat.

"What a perfect son you have, Jun." Shouko's mother praised Nijiro as soon as he sat down. "It's a shame I couldn't have more than one child, I wanted to have a girl and a boy."

Shouko bit the inside of her cheek and took a seat on the only seat available and that was beside the one she wanted to avoid the most at the moment.