Read story Bocchi the Love Story! - 5. Answer

5. Answer

" Y...You really don't need to–" Before I could reject the action, he'd already done it.

" Enjoy your meal." The lunch lady spoke with a smile.

I turn to him in horror, wondering if this is his first act to put me in debt.

" I insist." He turns to me with a persistent look in his eyes. " It's really no problem. A gentleman should always pay for the fair lady."

" Fair lady?" After processing that title, I quickly shot my hands up in panic and began waving them viciously.

" No no no. You speak too highly of pathetic sea foam like me."

He raises a brow, looking unimpressed.

" R-Really, I'm no fair lady." I averted my eyes, fiddling with my own fingers. " Can't possibly be blessed with a title such as a ' fair' lady. That's...far from what I am."

He sighs.

" All right...

Then why don't you just become 'my' lady?"

" Eh?!" My head snapped towards his direction in shock, but our eyes didn't meet. Instead, he was currently saying his thanks to the lunch lady. Was I just imagining things? That last line...was it all in my head?

" Shall we go? We're holding up the line." He says, walking past me and not sparing me another glance.

I patted my cheeks to recover some composure before chasing after him. Maybe I really was just hearing things. Yeah, that must be it! Someone like Akihiko-kun wouldn't waste one of his probably best lines on a girl like me!

( It turns out...I wasn't imagining things at all. Asahi, you sly fox...)

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Today is a beautiful sunny day.....perfect for taking a picnic outside. Everyone would want to go outside to have their lunch and enjoy the beautiful school scenery.

Mm...that really does sound nice and yet...

Here we are, eating in a dusty supply closet!

I found it incredibly difficult to stomach my food the more I kept glancing to Akihiko-kun. He ate his meal peacefully with an expression that showed nothing was wrong but there were a ton of things wrong here! I felt absolutely guilty that he had to adjust to my preferences just to eat lunch together.

One lightbulb lit up the darkness in this space I call one of my ' homes'.

Even though I am in my usual comfort zone, I also feel ashamed as we––well, he ate his lunch in silence. I should've rejected his offer...that way he can go out like everyone else and eat in a much better environment. I'm fine being left alone anyways...

" Stop making that face, Gotou-san." He eyes me with serious scrutiny.

After having endured the most shameful 15 minutes of my life, I instantly froze as soon as he spoke those words after having endured so much silence between us for the first ever. I felt a bit relieved that he HAD said something, because if it were up to me then I would've disintegrated down to the last molecule till my existence is wiped off the slate.

Oh wait, I have to answer him–

I coughed, clearing my dry throat. " What do you mean by that...? " I genuinely asked. What face am I making? Did I look constipated or something?!

Wait, isn't that my usual face?!

" The face where you look emotionally constipated." He says.

GAH! I WAS RIGHT!

" Haha...ha....I see....." my body began waving left to right as I rapidly lost strength to sit straight.

" I must've looked ugly....don't worry Akihiko-kun....I'll be out of your hair soon enough–"

" If that's what you call ugly, then please stay ugly. More importantly; Please stay." He says before taking another bite of vegetable.

So he really does think I'm ugly....

( I can't believe the old me let the bigger meaning fly over her head like that...)

" Eat, will you? I paid for your lunch, the least you could do is eat, Gotou-san." He points out my barely eaten lunch that he paid for.

I reluctantly nodded and proceeded to eat again, albeit slowly.

" What's up with you and dark spaces like these anyways?" He starts a topic. I mentally sighed in relief, he can obviously tell that silence will just make things more awkward...

"Uh...I guess it's because nobody can see me...?" I answered, thoughtfully. " I get really anxious eating in crowded places...sometimes I even wonder if they're judging me for the way I eat my food, the way I hold my utensils or chopsticks, the way I chew, the way I look, the way I breathe–"

His chuckle interrupts. " All right, I get it. Relax before you ramble more about your anxiety the whole lunch break."

I blush in embarrassment and quickly begin shoving more rice into my mouth to possibly numb the embarrassment.

" It seems to me though, that you're getting better at handling your anxiety. I mean, here you are allowing me to eat with you. Compared to your bandmates, aren't I a stranger still?" he mused.

I thought about his words. He wasn't exactly wrong, we were strangers. Our relationship has yet to have a defining title attached to it...

Maybe this is the best time to ask....

" Can I ask you something?" I spoke in a small tone.

" What is it?" He asks.

" Why do you.....hang out with someone like me?" I didn't look up from my food as I continued speaking, " I think you'd have more fun spending time with someone else.....a lot of our classmates like you."

" And yet..."

" And yet you still talk to me constantly." I nervously made eye contact with him this time, " Why?"

" Because I like you." He smiles. " A lot."

" W-What?!"

" Wait, I didn't mean it like that!" He quickly raises his hands in defense. " I meant that I like you a lot as a friend!"

" Friend...?" Did he really see us that way? Was I the only one blind to that?

" We are friends, aren't we?" He tilts his head, confused and looking worried. " Or am I being presumptuous?"

" N-no! I just....didn't think you felt the same..." I quickly answered as that familiar warmth crept it on my face. " I always thought of you as a friend....but I stopped myself halfway because I thought you didn't feel the same..." I confessed.

" I was the one...thinking I was presumptuous..." I said before closing the plastic container.

" Ah...." He sounds.

For a moment, I thought our conversation would die cold after this. I thought that awkward silence would return.

But luckily it didn't.

" Well....I guess we never really placed a label, huh." He looks at me with a sheepish smile. " I thought it was self-explanatory, but with you it can't be that simple huh."

" E-Eh? W-Well I understand...I really am the problem here....my self-deprecating cynical view on life has led us to this misunderstanding.....please don't worry, I'll be sure to pay you 3x the amount you paid for my lunch and you don't have to talk to me again–" I proceeded to spill my apologies.

" In which case," but he didn't seem to care about my apology. " Why don't we clarify things once and for all?"

He closes his own container , I watch him as he proceeds to lean closer to me, making me lean back in surprise. His hands cup my own. The sudden contact incited a feeling in me that I'm not sure what to call, but I ignored that for now and focused on his emerald eyes.

" Will you be my friend, Gotou-san?" He asks politely.

"...." I already knew what answer I wanted to say in response. But I was so delighted that my lips simply mouthed the words I tried to say, my vocal cords weren't working with me.

" What was that?" He asks.

" A-Ah! S-Sorry...I meant..." Ah, now my vocal cords are back. Before I could say my answer properly, my eyes rested on his hands that were holding mine.

His hands were warm.

I wonder....how would it feel if I intertwined them....?

" Gotou-san?" He calls. Quick, I must cease my thoughts!

" I-If you're fine with someone like me.....then...." I tried to sink my head lower into my clothes like a turtle. "....yes." I finished.

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I was currently at my part-time job with everyone else. There was still an hour left before customers would usually come, I was instructed to clean the tables by the manager, and so I did.

I hummed a tune to myself as I wiped the tables in a clean circular motion.

" You look glowing today, Bocchi." I was suddenly met with bored but curious golden eyes.

Ryou-senpai....you're drinking the club's coffee again, aren't you? The manager will kill you if she finds out again....

" Really...?" I asked her, confused.

" Mhm." She nods. Continuing to sip nonchalantly from her drink.

" Hmm, now that you mention it." I hear Nijika's voice. " Bocchi-chan does look a little bit more positive than usual this time!"

" Eh?" Now I'm getting even more confused.

" How suspicious~" Kita-chan enters the conversation as well, eyeing me with a look I didn't particularly like as she hummed suggestively.

" Well~ I did spot Gotou-san and Akihiko-kun exit the supply closet today~"

" WHAT?!" Nijika yells in shock while Ryou chokes on her drink, coughing haphazardly.

" W-We just had lunch!" I yelled out. " Nothing else!"

" Oh....I see....." Nijika sighs in relief, her face brimming with red. " I thought our dear Bocchi-chan really went to the next level that quickly..."

" You two ate lunch in the supply closet? You weirdos are meant for each other." Ryou gives a thumbs-up.

" No....it's just....he wanted to adjust to my preferences so that we can eat lunch together...." He didn't even bother convincing me otherwise, he just went along with it...

" We really need to fix that part of you, Bocchi-san." Kita deadpans." You can't just let your boyfriend do all the work, put in some effort too–"

" W-We're not together like that..." I interrupted.

" Well, then what exactly are you two?" Kita raises a brow.

I finally have an answer for that, Kita-chan.

I nervously smiled.

" We're friends!" I said with confidence.

It must've caught the three of them by surprise, I mean, they even looked at each other in simultaneous contemplation over my answer. They doubted my abilities in social situations, so for me to proclaim something like that with confidence could mean either the truth or denial. After all, they're used to how I am.

In the end, the three of them sighed and looked at me again.

Ryou has a small smile on her face.

Nijika is nodding approvingly.

Kita pats my head. " Fine then. I guess I'll believe you this time."

They are my friends, my bandmates, my motivation to keep improving. They know exactly when I'd be lying or telling the truth. And right now, they deduced that I was telling the truth.