On edge

Part 10

It was now the following day, and Nishikata began feeling more and more uneasy since the previous night. 'Takagi, Takagi, Takagi, Takagi, why are you the only thing I can think of?' The thought that had been going through his head had evolved from simply her name, to images of the two of them holding hands or hugging. 'Damn it ... my heads so mixed up now, I can't even process this'

He soon reached the point where he and Takagi would usually meet and stopped to consider what he was doing. 'Is it a good idea to even walk with her today? Then again, if falling for her is inevitable, then what will hurting our friendship accomplish?' He sighed and shook his head. 'Or is that just me giving in? I can't tell anymore.'

He continued waiting, and soon enough, he saw his best friend round the corner. "Nishikata?" She asked, sounding a little surprised.

"Hey, Takagi." He greeted weakly.

"Hey, Nishikata." She replied. "So ..." She began rocking back and forth on her toes, a little nervous. "You ready to go?"

He smiled and felt a small sense of relief. "Sure."

They began making their way to school together, as Nishikata kept glancing down to her hand, which was maybe a few centimeters from his. 'It would be all too easy ... to just ... grab her hand and ... tell her I'm sorry.' He shook his head and focused straight ahead. 'No! I can't just give up like that, there has to be some way to get out of this.'

He continued thinking as they continued making their way to school, and subsequently inside. "Well, it's finally Friday," Takagi said as they made their way to their first class of the day.

"It is?" Nishikata asked. "It feels like it's been longer."

"I know, it feels like every week's getting longer and longer."

"Yeah." He glanced at her and felt that something was off. 'She didn't tease me once during our walk here ... is she upset?' He looked at her a little closer. 'I think she is ... but ... wait, is this because I-' He felt a chill run down his spine as he realized what was going on. 'I'm ... ruining our friendship ... DAMN IT!' He began cursing himself as he turned away. 'DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT! This isn't what I wanted!' He glanced at her again before looking away. 'I've been pushing her away too much, but if I don't keep my distance then I'll fall in love with her! Damn, how do I get out of this predicament?'

They continued making their way to class and sat down, waiting for class to start without exchanging so much as a word. 'This isn't good, I mean normally I'd be happy that she isn't teasing me, but ... not like this.'

He focused his attention on class, which was thankfully starting soon. 'I hope the answer comes to me soon.'

As the class rolled on, the answer didn't come to him as he had hoped, and even a few classes later, he felt like he had less of an idea of what to do than before. 'Damn it, still nothing.' Nishikata thought as he gathered his things for lunch. 'Maybe I just can't think on an empty stomach.'

He finished gathering his things, but before he could leave to join his friends, he was quickly cut off by Takagi. "Say, Nishikata? Do you have a minute?"

"I ..." 'Don't do it, say you're in a hurry!' "Sure, what's up?" 'DAMN IT!'

"I was wondering ... if we could start eating lunch together."

"You want us to ... eat lunch together?"

"Yeah ... just the two of us."

Nishikata began to blush. "But ... isn't that something only couples do?"