p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Morning, Shun!" a modulated feminine voice broke from behind him. "What're you so deep in thought about?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Ah, Ichika, nothing much. I just really wish I was home."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You haven't even walked into the school yet, plus it's the first time I see you in school after days," she sulked, "so don't leave before school ends. Got it? For me?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Don't say it like that, people will assume we're dating."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Is that such an awful thing?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yes," Shun answered instantly. She jabbed his arm and laughed lightly. "Cool it, dude, I was just joking! No need to get all serious!"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The two continued walking towards their school, circled by the hustle and bustle of other students; he loathed them. They're all too loud, getting excited over nothing./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"By the time they were on the school premises, Ichika had poked him, pointing right beside him, "hey, Shun, look over there." Looking to the point of concern, he saw a couple of boys fighting. Four, to be exact, three of them teaming up on the other guy. His curled hair noticeably stood out amongst the other's straight ones. He easily dodged all their weak punches and struck back hard. Beating all three into a gory pulp, even after he knocked them out, he continued. Amaya Takeru. He was more substantial than them; they'd picked a losing fight. Looking up from the bloodied boys on the ground, Takeru made eye contact with Shun. They had the same look in their eyes, and he noticed they were the same. They were both tired. They were bored with life, with the surrounding people, the surrounding events, bored with it all./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"They held eye contact for what seemed like an eternity before Shun looked elsewhere, feeling his face become flushed./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Shun, you're blushing~!" Ichika said in a sing-song tone. He ignored Ichika's needle and walked up the stairs, with Ichika still following and teasing him. Despite never speaking to Takeru once, he was the only one who could cause him to feel this way. Perhaps it was because they had something in common that he didn't get with anyone else./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""So, when are you gonna confess to Amaya?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Taken aback by Ichika's straightforwardness, he stopped. Why would he confess to a guy who he'd never spoken to before? Sure, he wished to be together with Takeru, but only after they'd become friends. He'd undoubtedly seem like a creep if he just confessed randomly!/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Sensing Shun's troubled thoughts, Ichika grabbed his hand. It was something she always did when they were younger. Whenever he was pondering something complex or challenging, she would hold his hand and give him a sense of relaxation./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Fine, fine, I'll tell him later. Maybe."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Ichika gave his hand a good squeeze, telling him he had to. And so, Shun decided. He would confess to Takeru later that day, once everybody had left./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Almost as if on time, the first bell rang, signaling class would start soon. "I'll see you after school! You better tell him, Shun!" Ichika said happily, letting go of his hand and running off to her class. Shun stood there and waved at her before heading to his class./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Finally, the sun had set, and there were barely any students left at school. Ichika bought Shun out of his trance and pointed towards Takeru, who was standing there outside his classroom window./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I got him to wait for you. You weren't thinking of not telling him, were you?" Having been friends for so long, she knew he wasn't going to. Aware of the fact she knew, he looked back at Takeru. Did he want to go through with this? If he didn't, would he ever even confess?/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Quit thinking so much about it! Just go down there and tell him how you feel, easy."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Fine, just quit nagging me…." Shun got up from his chair slowly with his bag in hand and walked towards the door./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Good luck!"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I don't need luck; I already know he's going to reject me./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Shun wanted to tell her that, but she would probably get mad at him. Walking out into the hallway and down the stairs, he realized what he was doing. His heart raced, and his palms got sweaty. How would he face Takeru if he ended up rejecting him? Would he out him to the entire school? Impossible; they were the same. Unbothered by those around them. There's no way he would do something like that. Right?/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"As he left the building and got closer to where Takeru was waiting, he could make out a slight smirk from him./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Takahata Shun, was it? Your friend said you had something to tell me." Takeru's voice was deep and calm. His voice didn't sound uncertain or anything of the sort. He was confident and knew what Shun had to say to him. Shun nodded, unable to say anything. It was clear he would not confess without a bit of a push, so Takeru gave him that push./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""So, what do you need to tell me? If it's not important, I'll get going."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""No, there is something I need to tell you! It's really important, so please don't go." Shun had a needy tone in his voice. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Get on with it then."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Okay, so.. I- uh. What I needed to tell you was-"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Cutting him off, Takeru spoke. "You like me, right? It's only natural for you to take a liking towards me. We're the same after all." Takeru looked up at the sky. "Praying to God that something interesting happens and watching everyone's mundane lives go by. But you felt it, didn't you? To finally meet someone who sees the world the same as you. It's exciting."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Shun flushed once Takeru met his eyes once again, "Yeah, it is."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Takahata, I don't know if what I feel towards you is love, but I'm interested in you." He swiftly grabbed Shun by the shoulders, "can I kiss you?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Shocked by the sudden question, he nodded, and they shared their first kiss. Both being inexperienced, it wasn't much of a kiss. Just lips were pressing against each other. Despite this, Shun's body temperature shot up. Having his first kiss with someone, he had such strong feelings for. Takeru pulled away from him, "Takahata, I don't know if what I feel towards you is love, but I'm interested in you. So, date me."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Shun felt conflicted. Of course, he wanted to date Takeru, but would he be happy if his feelings were one-sided?/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""That's fine by me," he smiled somberly, "it's fine if you don't love me right away, I'll wait."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Ah, Ichika, nothing much. I just really wish I was home."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You haven't even walked into the school yet, plus it's the first time I see you in school after days," she sulked, "so don't leave before school ends. Got it? For me?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Don't say it like that, people will assume we're dating."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Is that such an awful thing?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yes," Shun answered instantly. She jabbed his arm and laughed lightly. "Cool it, dude, I was just joking! No need to get all serious!"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The two continued walking towards their school, circled by the hustle and bustle of other students; he loathed them. They're all too loud, getting excited over nothing./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"By the time they were on the school premises, Ichika had poked him, pointing right beside him, "hey, Shun, look over there." Looking to the point of concern, he saw a couple of boys fighting. Four, to be exact, three of them teaming up on the other guy. His curled hair noticeably stood out amongst the other's straight ones. He easily dodged all their weak punches and struck back hard. Beating all three into a gory pulp, even after he knocked them out, he continued. Amaya Takeru. He was more substantial than them; they'd picked a losing fight. Looking up from the bloodied boys on the ground, Takeru made eye contact with Shun. They had the same look in their eyes, and he noticed they were the same. They were both tired. They were bored with life, with the surrounding people, the surrounding events, bored with it all./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"They held eye contact for what seemed like an eternity before Shun looked elsewhere, feeling his face become flushed./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Shun, you're blushing~!" Ichika said in a sing-song tone. He ignored Ichika's needle and walked up the stairs, with Ichika still following and teasing him. Despite never speaking to Takeru once, he was the only one who could cause him to feel this way. Perhaps it was because they had something in common that he didn't get with anyone else./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""So, when are you gonna confess to Amaya?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Taken aback by Ichika's straightforwardness, he stopped. Why would he confess to a guy who he'd never spoken to before? Sure, he wished to be together with Takeru, but only after they'd become friends. He'd undoubtedly seem like a creep if he just confessed randomly!/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Sensing Shun's troubled thoughts, Ichika grabbed his hand. It was something she always did when they were younger. Whenever he was pondering something complex or challenging, she would hold his hand and give him a sense of relaxation./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Fine, fine, I'll tell him later. Maybe."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Ichika gave his hand a good squeeze, telling him he had to. And so, Shun decided. He would confess to Takeru later that day, once everybody had left./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Almost as if on time, the first bell rang, signaling class would start soon. "I'll see you after school! You better tell him, Shun!" Ichika said happily, letting go of his hand and running off to her class. Shun stood there and waved at her before heading to his class./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Finally, the sun had set, and there were barely any students left at school. Ichika bought Shun out of his trance and pointed towards Takeru, who was standing there outside his classroom window./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I got him to wait for you. You weren't thinking of not telling him, were you?" Having been friends for so long, she knew he wasn't going to. Aware of the fact she knew, he looked back at Takeru. Did he want to go through with this? If he didn't, would he ever even confess?/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Quit thinking so much about it! Just go down there and tell him how you feel, easy."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Fine, just quit nagging me…." Shun got up from his chair slowly with his bag in hand and walked towards the door./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Good luck!"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I don't need luck; I already know he's going to reject me./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Shun wanted to tell her that, but she would probably get mad at him. Walking out into the hallway and down the stairs, he realized what he was doing. His heart raced, and his palms got sweaty. How would he face Takeru if he ended up rejecting him? Would he out him to the entire school? Impossible; they were the same. Unbothered by those around them. There's no way he would do something like that. Right?/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"As he left the building and got closer to where Takeru was waiting, he could make out a slight smirk from him./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Takahata Shun, was it? Your friend said you had something to tell me." Takeru's voice was deep and calm. His voice didn't sound uncertain or anything of the sort. He was confident and knew what Shun had to say to him. Shun nodded, unable to say anything. It was clear he would not confess without a bit of a push, so Takeru gave him that push./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""So, what do you need to tell me? If it's not important, I'll get going."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""No, there is something I need to tell you! It's really important, so please don't go." Shun had a needy tone in his voice. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Get on with it then."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Okay, so.. I- uh. What I needed to tell you was-"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Cutting him off, Takeru spoke. "You like me, right? It's only natural for you to take a liking towards me. We're the same after all." Takeru looked up at the sky. "Praying to God that something interesting happens and watching everyone's mundane lives go by. But you felt it, didn't you? To finally meet someone who sees the world the same as you. It's exciting."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Shun flushed once Takeru met his eyes once again, "Yeah, it is."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Takahata, I don't know if what I feel towards you is love, but I'm interested in you." He swiftly grabbed Shun by the shoulders, "can I kiss you?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Shocked by the sudden question, he nodded, and they shared their first kiss. Both being inexperienced, it wasn't much of a kiss. Just lips were pressing against each other. Despite this, Shun's body temperature shot up. Having his first kiss with someone, he had such strong feelings for. Takeru pulled away from him, "Takahata, I don't know if what I feel towards you is love, but I'm interested in you. So, date me."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Shun felt conflicted. Of course, he wanted to date Takeru, but would he be happy if his feelings were one-sided?/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Spectral,serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""That's fine by me," he smiled somberly, "it's fine if you don't love me right away, I'll wait."/span/p