Chapter 3.2

Nishikata, who was hidden next to them, had heard the whole conversation. He felt his heart stop when he heard those words coming out of Mano's mouth.

''Takagi, following a boy to the roof ?'' he thought with panic, ''Don't tell me…?!''.

He instantly started running towards the roof, taking the stairs on which Mano and Nakai were sitting. When he passed by them, Nakai wanted to greet him.

''Hey, hi Nishikata !'' he tried.

But he passed by without even paying attention to what his friend had just said.

''Why is he running ?'' Nakai wondered, aloud.

Mano, who had immediately understood the reason of Nishikata's running, took Nakai's hand and pulled him up the stairs.

''Let's follow him !'' she said as she began to climb the stairs two by two.

When Nishikata reached the roof, he noticed the presence of four people in front of him, three boys and, in the distance, a shadow with long hair that seemed more like a girl. One of the boys was closer to the girl than the others, who were standing back. He heard some sounds coming out of their mouths, but since he was too far away to understand what they were saying, he moved closer to the two boys who were standing behind.

''Do you know what's going on, between these two ?'' asked Nishikata in a whisper, pointing at the two figures, not wanting to interrupt them.

One of the two boys turned, stared at Nishikata, then smiled and replied.

''See that boy over there ? That's Minoshi, our friend. And see the girl with him ? That's Takagi, one of the fa…''

''San'' Nishikata cut him off.

"Uh... Excuse me ?" the boy asked with a raised eyebrow, not understanding why Nishikata had interrupted him.

''San. Takagi-san. We remove the honorific title with people with whom we are close, and I don't think she's close to you.'' Nishikata rebuked him, with black eyes, jealous that another boy than him is talking to Takagi.

''Uh... Yeah, sorry... However, I think she'll be close to us soon since Minoshi is asking her out.'' he replied confidently.

Nishikata opened his eyes wide at the words of the boy, filled with more jealousy than he could contain, and as he was about to walk towards the two teenagers who had been talking for too long now in his opinion, he felt a hand on his shoulder pulling him back. He turned around and saw Mano, a hand on his shoulder, her eyes frowning and her face serious, accompanied by Nakai, who remained behind his girlfriend.

''Nishikata-kun !'' she shouted in a whisper,so as not to disturb Takagi and Minoshi who were talking, ''You can't interrupt them ! If you wanted to confess, you should have done it first !''

Nishikata slowly came to his senses, as he felt a blush invade his entire face.

''To… confess ?'' he asked, as a thousand questions began to mix in his brain. ''But I don't want to... I-I wasn't planning to...''

''So, why do you want to interrupt them ?'' asked Mano with a bit of bitterness towards Nishikata's behavior.

''I... I don't know... I think I was out of control...'' he replied, ashamed of what he was about to do.

He decided to turn and go back to class, followed closely by Nakai, who had now understood why his girlfriend had reacted like that. Nishikata opened the door to the classroom with a fervour that was both shameful and angry, and then walked over to his desk before collapsing on it, his head buried in his crossed arms.

Nakai, who was still with him, put his hand on his shoulder and tried to comfort him.

''Don't worry, Nishikata. If you're worried that Takagi might agree to go out with this boy, you're wrong, you know she only has eyes on you !''

Nishikata raised his head, his eyes half filled with sobs, and looked around. He hadn't noticed it when he entered the classroom, but most of his classmates were already there, and they were all looking at him, wondering what was going on. Nishikata wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket to look normal, waved to everyone that everything was fine, then looked at Nakai. He thought for a few seconds, then replied.

''Honestly, I don't know what just happened in my head either, or why I'm on the verge of tears... I guess I must be jealous but... Since I'm not in love with Takagi-san, I'm a little surprised...'' he explained quietly.

Nakai stared at his friend for a short moment, then chuckled slightly.

''Are you sure you're not in love with her ? Because, I trust you uh, but right now u're crying because someone ask out your… friend or whatever she is for you. '' he replied, trying to understand his friend.

''I... no I don't think I am… in love... I mean I've never been in love before so I guess not...'' he said before thinking and looking at his friend. ''Nakai ?''

''Yes ?'' he replied, guessing what Nishikata was going to say.

''You... You are in love with Mano, right ? So, uh... could you tell me... how you feel about her ? Maybe it will help me to know… if I am in love...'' he asked awkwardly.

''How I feel about her ? Well, I... Don't really know how to describe it... When you are in love, you….want to see the one you love as often as possible, you want to hold her hand, you want to take her in your arms, you want to… kiss her... And you think about her all day long... Well, that's how I feel...'' he answered, attempting to clarify his friend thoughts.

''Oh, yeah ? Yet, I've never seen you like that with Mano, y am I wrong?'' he reacted with surprise.

''I...That's true, but...to tell you the truth, I'm not really comfortable with Mano, she forces me a bit...but when we're alone it's different...'' he defended himself.

''Alone ?'' he replied with amusement, a mischievous smile on his lips.

''No, Nishikata, we are not doing those kind oh things...'' sighed Nakai.

''Just kidding...'' Nishikata replied. ''Thanks for trying to help me, but I don't think this is the kind of feeling I have towards Takag...''

''Only you can know it... I did my best to help you anyway.'' he replied with a smile.

''Thank you for staying with me, Nakai !'' Nishikata thanked him as the bell for the beginning of class rang.

Nakai returned to his table as the classroom door opened, and Mano and Takagi appeared. Takagi was inexpressive, looking a little lost, while Mano was smiling. She met Nishikata's gaze, then gave him a thumbs-up sign, which caused Nishikata to sigh with relief.

(10 minutes before)

Minoshi was standing in front of Takagi, his eyes glazed over and his cheeks red. He held a red rose in his hands and handed it to her with a trembling voice.

''Takagi-san'' he began, ''I know we don't know each other and I've never really talked to you, but...'' He took a deep breath and asked, ''Will you go out with me ?''

Long seconds passed, and seeing that Takagi remained stoic, he continued.

''I've been watching you from afar for a long time, and I know that there are many people who love you since you are popular, but... My feelings are real, I really like you, so I found the courage to ask you before anyone else !...''

Takagi still hadn't moved, still hadn't made a sound. She stood in shock, not knowing what to say to the boy in front of her. It was then that she saw movement behind Minoshi. She squinted, trying to see what was going on, and then her face brightened as she realized that someone had come to spy on her.

''Nishikata!'' she thought with a smile.

This vision brought her thoughts back to focus, then she turned to Minoshi.

''You know,'' she said in a compassionate voice, ''Even though I don't really know you, I think you're very brave to have confessed and I thank you for this confession. However... I already have someone in my heart and I won't agree to go out with anyone but him. But don't get me wrong, you seem like a very nice person, and I'm sure you'll be able to find someone to replace me...''

Minoshi looked down in sadness, his heart heavy from being rejected by the person he loved, even though he expected to receive a negative response.

''I... understand.'' he answered, be fore turning on his heels and leaving Takagi. ''Anyway, if you need me for anything, I'll help you with pleasure !''

''You seem like a great person'' Takagi thought with a smile, ''But my heart belongs and will always belong to Nishikata.''

(Back to present)

Takagi went and sat down at her table, which was next to Nishikata's, and turned her head to his side. Nishikata looked out the window, avoiding his neighbour's gaze.

''If she sees that I almost cried, she's going to tease me ... And I don't think I am in the mood right now.'' he thought apprehensively.

''Sorry I didn't come to class with you-, I had... an unexpected event.''

Takagi stared at Nishikata, who did not respond to her apology. She had noticed that he had been spying on her, and she knew what was wrong, but she didn't dare to point it out to him. For his part, Nishikata knew that Takagi had not agreed to go out with Minoshi, but he still had that event stuck in his throat, even though she had nothing to do with it. The rest of the day went on as normal, except for one thing: the two friends did not speak to each other.