Wait [Modern AU]

Step #20

"Anyway, as I was saying before, you should stop deciphering those notes."

"You seem pretty adamant about this, Shi-chan." I cocked my head to the left in question.

"Yeah, I am. There really isn't any reason for you to, actually. Have you ever thought that it might actually all just be a practical joke? A prank?" The handsome Uchiha leaned on his knuckles. "Maybe someone's just toying with you."

"That's a…nice way to put it…" A stiff smile froze my lips.

Honestly, he may be right. Shisui did have a mountain of reasons why we should stop…so maybe they were right. And the searches that we've done (well, more like just myself), they've barely come up with anything. So wouldn't it make sense to listen to the guy?

"I hear subtle sarcasm," He paused, "You know how Yuko messaged you before? Why don't you reply back to him?"

"Eh? Ah…wouldn't it be rude since I'm talking to you? And I thought I did." I glance at my phone, seeing the screen was lit up with an alert for a message, then back at my friend. "How do you even see that from over there?"

"I've got good eyes, Ari-kun." He chuckled, "Nah, I don't really mind. What did he say?"

It's been a while since he's called me that. Normally he just calls me Arisa, but…eh, either one is okay.

I raise a brow and shrug, grabbing my phone. I got one message from Yuko.

How about we talk about it at school? So we can get ideas off from everyone?

I read the message to Shisui. "What should I reply back with? He wants to continue trying to figure this out, but you're saying that we should stop."

"Just tell him that you'll tell him at school. And the others, too." The curly haired male leaned back on his chair, bringing a leg up and hugging it to his torso.

"I can't believe I'm getting you to dictate my messages…" I mutter, typing in what he said.

"Hey, what do you mean by that? I let you do mine sometimes, too." Shisui pouted a frown.

I don't know what to think of that expression.

"You know that girl that used to message me all the time?" Shisui stroked his imaginary beard as he stared off to the distance.

"You mean the one that really liked you?" I place my phone down and wait for Yuko to respond.

"Yup." Shisui ran a hand through his hair.

The story that Shisui and I were talking about was back from when we had just entered high school – there was a girl that had taken a liking to Shisui – she was in his class and a good kid and liked by the others, but she was really shy around Shisui and never really got to talk to him much. She'd always go red and start stuttering when they had to talk. I was in the same class as them, so I would know.

So this girl, because she couldn't muster up the courage to speak to Shisui, started messaging him, saying that she was sorry she was so shy. Shisui being Shisui, was a nice guy and said that it was fine, that if she felt more comfortable that way, then it wouldn't really matter much and that she should just use that to communicate.

Though…that was the problem. She would only communicate with him via social media, and wouldn't approach him to talk, since she was still as shy as before.

Now, since I was just there to observe, Shisui had to seek help from me, since she was bombarding him with so many messages, and he was getting a little overwhelmed. No, don't get me wrong, Shisui didn't hate her or anything, but he was just at a loss to how he should reply. Back then, I was confused as to what he meant, so when I took a look at what she was sending him, I had to rub my temples, heaving a large sigh. She was basically asking him out, albeit in different ways, each and every day. Now, there wasn't anything wrong with asking somebody out, but…

I shook my head, sighing at the memories. "Yeah, I had to kindly tell her that you had a girlfriend."

"It was hard business." Shisui crossed his arms and nodded with a stern expression. "It was hard to tell her who my girlfriend was."

"It would have been all over if you told her you were dating food." I couldn't keep a straight face when saying that, so in the end, I end up laughing, nearly going off my chair because it was so funny.

"Hey! That was your idea, not mine!" Shisui pointed at me. "You didn't tell her in the end, so it was all good and she stopped liking me." He muttered, "Food really was my scapegoat."

"That's because we didn't tell her the identity of your supposed girlfriend. We just told her that she went to another school and that you want to keep it private, yeah?" I wave my hand in dismissal, "Problem solved! She was a good kid and she didn't want to get between you two." I looked away, remembering something that happened, "Though I did see her crying in the bathroom after that…"

Shisui cringed slightly, "Was she alright?"

"She was fine. She and I actually had a little talk about you until she calmed down. She kind of just spilled her secrets to me." I shrugged.

"Wait a minute…why am I hearing this now?! You didn't tell me back then!"

"Yeah, I didn't." I admitted, "She didn't want me to tell you back then. But now that she's moved to some other place, it should be okay."

"I…see…" He made an 'o' with his mouth. "Keep telling me stuff. It's interesting."

"You think everything I say is interesting." I continue, "She said that she had a bad experience with another kid before you, so that's why she was so nervous. She was fine with everyone else though, and was quite nice. I think you guys would've been friends. Honestly, she was crying from embarrassment, and was worried that you'd tell people about what happened."

"Hah? I wouldn't have done that!"

"I knew you wouldn't, so I told her that. She calmed down and thanked me, said that she was going away and probably won't see me ever again, and that if she did, she'd invite me for high tea."

"What…? High tea? That's expensive!" Shisui complained, "Why do you get to go and not me?"

"Hey, hey, I asked her if you should come too, and that it might be less nerve-wracking for her if I was there, but she said that it would be embarrassing since she was turned down. Plus, it would have been weird if she invited you to high tea since she's never talk to you before. Well, not properly anyway."

"…we did talk properly...once." Shisui said after a silence.

"Eh?" Now this is what I haven't heard before. Shisui looked at his knee, "On her last day, you know how she and I had to go return everyone's library books?" He glanced at me.

I nodded.

"She didn't seem nervous this time. In fact, she was all fine, like how she treated the others. She said that I was a really nice guy as to not hurt her feelings, and that she hoped we could be friends." Shisui reminisced.

"A nice guy as to not hurt her feelings? Wait, what? She sounds like she knew that you didn't write it."

"Yeah. She knew. She told me that after a lot of thinking, she concluded that you had written it, simply because I looked too hesitant to do that sort of thing, and that we were good friends."

"You looked too hesitant? Well…she's not wrong…" I mutter, trailing my eyes to the side. Back then, Shisui wasn't sure of how to turn down somebody. Though, he'd been in the situation more than the fingers could count, he still didn't know.

"No, she wasn't. She was quite on the mark, actually. I told her that I was sorry, but she said that it was okay, and that she knew that I—" Shisui stopped himself short before he said anything else. He pressed his lips together into a tight lipped line, like he was preventing a secret from spilling.

I tilted my head to the side and gave him a quizzed look. Why did he stop mid-sentence?

The male cleared his throat, continuing, "She knew that it was you and that I didn't have an interest in her that way."

"…I see…" I glanced at my phone when it lighted up.

"There weren't any bad feelings, so we were all good. Though, the high tea thing is a different matter entirely…" Shisui mumbled.

Alright, then. I'll see you at school, Arisa-chan! 3

I sweat drop at Yuko's message. He really was a flirtatious fop.

"Anyway Ari-kun, tell your dad that I hope for a good shoulder recovery. I need to go now!" Shisui waved bye gave me the victory sign, before signing off.

"See you."

My mind trails back to what Shisui said before – that this whole deciphering thing might be a practical joke. He wasn't wrong in the slightest, and there was a high chance it was. If I think about it, it really begs the question as to why those notes popped up in the first place.

Urgh...I'll just tell the others tomorrow. There won't be any problem if we stop this, anyway. We're only teenagers doing this out of boredom.