Chapter 12

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Taro still felt lightheaded from Wednesday night's endeavors. He would've preferred to stay home so he could have a three day weekend to heal himself, but after skipping school yesterday, his parents weren't going to let him skip today as well.

So, Taro had to suck it up, and he walked into school with a neutral face. He went straight to his locker and changed his shoes. While he was doing that, Osana ran up to him and hugged him tight from behind, startling him.

"Woah, Osana, what's this about?" he asked as he grabbed her arm, signifying to her that she was holding him too tightly.

"I was so worried for you yesterday!" she said as she let go of him. "You weren't at school, and then when I got home, my mom told me that you weren't at home or answering calls from your parents. I thought something bad had happened to you until my mom told me you came back. Where were you? And–" she gasped when Taro turned around, revealing his injuries. "What happened to your face?!"

Taro winced. "Indoor voice, please."

"What happened?" she asked again in a quieter voice.

"I'm okay, Osana, I just hit my head on a rock yesterday."

Osana now looked confused. "Huh? When?"

Taro sighed before explaining, "Look, Budo suggested I skip school for a day with him to take a break, and we went on a hike, and I tripped–"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait! You AND Budo-Kun skipped school... TOGETHER?!"

Taro winced again. "Indoor voice..." he mumbled.

Osana got up in Taro's face with a suspicious look. "What'd you guys do?"

"We went on a hike–"

"Please, you guys didn't just go on a hike yesterday. What else did you do?" she smirked.

Taro furrowed his brows. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because I know why Budo-Kun wanted you to play hooky with him."

"Huh?"

Osana rolled her eyes. "Oh Taro, you don't need to hide anything from me, I won't tell anyone."

Taro's back was digging into the lockers, she was so close. "N-nothing happened, I swear!"

Osana groaned with disappointment. "Has Budo-Kun told you yet?"

"Told me what?"

"Does he know your secret?"

"What—no, he doesn't." What was this, an interrogation?

Osana lifted her eyes to the heavens in annoyance. "Do you ever plan on telling him? What did we talk about on Tuesday, Taro?"

"I do plan on telling him, soon... I'm just... so scared he'll hate me for it," his voice turned into a whimper.

Osana sighed. She placed a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. "I told you already, Taro, he will not hate you for it. He adores you for you." She smiled at him, hoping to get him to give her one in return. It sorta worked. "He may be a bit hurt you kept this from him for so long, I'm sure he'll understand why you did."

Taro hugged himself for comfort. "I hope so..."

———————————————————————

For lunch, Budo wanted to get Taro alone so he could finally confess his feelings. Taro was more than happy to be alone with Budo because it meant he could tell him his secret. They both were determined to tell the other their long-time secret. So, once they both finished their bentos, they took a deep, silent breath before saying at the same time.

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