Butterflies [Nino Nakano x Male Reader]

Chapter 12 - Acting Strangely

Y/N POV:

Nino was acting weird for the entirety of the morning period. Nothing too out of the usual, but doing stuff like staring at me until I noticed then quickly turning away. Though we haven't had many opportunities, she barely spoke to me after we left the apartment.

I'm guessing this is because of what happened in her bedroom earlier today. Granted, I was intruding a little bit, but she was the one who told me to look at her. The initiative, to a certain extent, was on her part. But I digress. I guess her hormones were speaking louder than her brain at that moment, so I don't blame her at all for being embarrassed.

It took quite a while, but we finally got to the last class: maths. Instead of reviewing anything, the teacher just handed us a worksheet to complete while he discretely played Friday Night Funkin' on his laptop. It was an individual assignment, so I couldn't use this as an excuse to pair up with her. I finished the worksheet in about 15 minutes, using the rest of the time before lunch to continue reading the book from last night.

It's impressive how easy it is to get lost in a good story. In comparison to the rest of the morning period, the part I spent reading went by very quickly. I was so immersed in my own little world I didn't even notice the students leaving for lunch. I was only brought back to reality when I saw a pair of frisky blue eyes staring at me from the desk ahead. Though this time, they weren't Nino's.

"For how long have you been staring at me?" I asked.

"Three minutes." Ichika said, "We wanted to see how long it took before you noticed me."

"We?"

I looked around the classroom, seeing Miku and Yotsuba chuckling at the door.

"Nino said you become completely oblivious of your surroundings when you're focused on something. We wanted to see it for ourselves."

"Cool..." I said, checking the time to see that it had been 5 minutes since the end of classes, "Wait, where are the other two?"

"Nino went to grab a table for us at the cafeteria, and Itsuki said she's going to study at the library. So seeing that we have a vacant spot, we wanted to invite you to sit with us."

"You always have a vacant seat though. The tables at the cafeteria can accommodate 6 people." I said.

"True, but we never called either of you so that the other wouldn't feel left out."

"I see... well, it'd be nice to join you."

"Great!" Ichika smiled, "Let's get Fuutarou-kun."

And at that moment. I saw Miku looking at her sister with an expression of pure dread.

Though situation between me and Nino was awkward, it was still something we could hide. But knowing Fuutarou and Miku, any interaction or lack thereof will absolutely be perceivable by the others.

At most, Ichika will tease them both, and Yotsuba is probably going to assume it was just an innocent mistake. It's Nino who I'm worried about. Her acceptance of Fuutarou was reluctant at best, and it's still pretty clear that she doesn't like the guy. Her finding out what happened between the two last night won't just break the fragile trust I instilled in her. She may actively try to get her father to fire him.

"About that..." I said, "Fuutarou also said he was going to study during lunch break."

"Really? Out of everyone in this school, he's the last one who needs to prepare for this exam."

"Yep, I say that to him all the time. Why don't you girls get going? I'll try to talk to him to see if he wants to join us." I said as I subtly winked at Miku.