Sakura sat patiently, her legs crossed around the ankles and her hands on her lap. Nozaki paced back and forth, as if searching for something he'd dropped on the floor, and he kept rubbing the back of his neck.

"So you... for how long?" Nozaki managed to say, nervously looking all around the room. His eyes rested on his desk, a good range away from Sakura's chair.

Face going pink, Sakura looked at her feet. "Since the entrance ceremony, when you were asleep on the wall."

"Oh," Nozaki's voice cracked, and he turned away in embarrassment. The room grew more tense, and Sakura could feel herself beginning to sweat.

"Uhh, listen, we can forget about this whole thing if you like?" She suggested, cringing at her own words. "I like you, but your friendship is very important to me, too."

"N-no!" He waved his hands in panic, stepping towards her but stopping before he got too close. "I mean- I want- We can't just forget about it, you know?"

Startled by his sudden emotion, Sakura jolted in her chair. Silence once again enveloped the room, and the teenagers remained in awkward eye-contact. The clock on Nozaki's wall seemed louder than ever, and after each tick the mood seemed to drop more drastically than it had before. It was the first time in ages Sakura became fully aware of just how edgy her nerves could be.

"I think," Nozaki started, his knees shaking. Sakura watched him carefully, searching for any emotion other than suprise on his face. He wandered over to his desk, pulling out his own chair and taking a seat. This was when Sakura noticed his cheeks looked like tomatoes. "You aren't the same as other people." He finished, looking up at her earnestly.

"Excuse me?" Sakura blinked, confused.

"Ahh! No! Not what I meant!" Nozaki stuttered, flailing helplessly. "You're normal! Average!"

Sakura's eyes widened, "Huh?!"

"Shit, I mean- you're different! Well, you aren't different, but I feel different about you compared to other people!" Nozaki's words seemed to be scrambling on top of each other, "What I mean to say is, I care about you a lot. Maybe romantically. I don't know."

Things were quiet for a moment, then Sakura slowly began to speak. "So, does this mean you return my feelings? You want to... " She gulped audibly. "Be with me?"

Nozaki looked like he was ready to pass out, and Sakura felt rather faint herself. Carefully, Nozaki sat back in his chair and made sure to look directly into her eyes. An entire minute passed, and Sakura realized they were in a staring contest and tried not to blink. Finally it became too much and she did, and Nozaki immediately relaxed.

"I do," he choked a bit on his words, as if it were his first time realizing the feelings put behind them. "I want to be with you for a long time, forever maybe."

Sakura's heart stopped, and she knew all her blood rushed to her head. It was like she was soaring through the air, she was just so happy. It was only natural she started bawling her eyes out.

"Oh my god, are you okay?!" Nozaki jumped to his feet, stumbling to get to her. When she looked up and saw his concerned face, she could only weep harder, smiling so much her cheeks hurt.

"I'm amazing!" She giggled, wrapping her arms around him. "Is it okay to hug you? I'm hugging you!"

Nozaki laughed, a breathless kind of sound, and he looped his own arm around her waist. "It's okay, is this okay? Can I hug you?"

"Definitely!" Sakura clung to him tightly, and it was then she became aware of the fact that he had lifted her into the air, making them somewhat even in height. Timidly, she pulled back so that their faces were close. "Um... Should we...?"

"Should we?" Nozaki repeated, gears slowly turning in his head. "Oh! Er, do you want to?"

"Kinda," Sakura mumbled, blushing hard. "But only if you want to!"

"Let's wait," Nozaki said, seeming relieved. "That's what they do in manga most of the time, right?"

Sakura rolled her eyes, but couldn't help laughing. "You're right!"

He set her down on the floor, and for a moment, they just stared at each other. They were both grinning from ear to ear, as if they'd just finished a huge test and were confident they had passed. "So I guess we should get back to the manuscript?" Sakura suggessted, and Nozaki looked a bit suprised and relieved.

"Yeah, good plan."

After that, the two continued their schedule as if it were a normal day. Sakura inked, Nozaki drew, and it was almost as if nothing had happened. But every now and then throughout the evening, when they were supposedly focused on their work, they snuck glances at each other and smiled.

When Sakura had to go home, they hovered in Nozaki's doorway for a moment. "I'll... I'll text you." Sakura said, still dazed and looking up at him with a ridiculously giddy smile.

"Okay," Nozaki said, smiling back down at her excitedly.

Sakura pursed her lips. She wanted to say something, but she couldn't find her words. For a brief moment, Nozaki seemed to be moving to open the door for her, this included leaning down fairly close to her to reach the handle.

He surprised her with a kiss, light, quick and innocent.

"See you soon?" Nozaki pulled away, like he was more shocked by the kiss than she was.

"Of course," Sakura, breathless and flabbergasted, kissed him back very quickly before spinning on her heel and booking it out his door.