Karakai Jouzu No Takagi San - (A Fanfiction)

(Chapter 1) The Confession

" Well yeah I guess so... "Said Nishikata rather quietly.

"Then lean closer Nishikata."

"Okay.... " He did lean closer but not without blushing. 

She whispered into his ear-
"I like you Ni-shi-ka-ta."

It understandably took him a hot second to register what had just happened. But when he did, the reaction was immediate and loud.

"Ehhhhhh?!?!?! Wha- I mean.... Eh........?"

Just then Takagi San jumped onto the stairs in front of them and delivered the actual final blow.

"That is a lie~"
"Wha- Takagi San you-!"

This time there was silence. While her face was amused, his face was a mix of confused and disappointed. It took him a few more seconds to process what he was feeling this time.

She was laughing. He wasn't.

"But- why?" The question wasn't really "why did you lie to me?" as much as it was "you don't like me?"

"Well-" there was a hesitation "You lied to me so I lied to you as payback."

"So its a lie?" He needed a final confirmation.

"Yeah. A l-i-e."
It hurt. He didn't think anything said by her could hurt him until just now. Sure, her teasing made him feel like a fool at times, but this was genuine pain. The kind you get when you stub your toe while the girl you like walks past you and says "I have no interest in you."

Sadness took the form of anger mere seconds later. Afterall, who was to blame for the mess of emotions that he was right now?

He wasn't the one following her everywhere she went, asking her questions that were a little to personal at times. He wasn't the one throwing around mixed signals with a charming smile and giggles.
And now she was saying that he wasn't the one she liked.
She didn't exactly say that but it was a reasonable conclusion to reach from what she had said.

"Why?" Nishikata spoke.

Takagi San wasn't expecting this one. She was sure she'd get to walk away leaving him flustered with this one too. And now he was asking "why"? What did he even mean by that. Was he asking her why her "I like you" was a lie? She had already told him the reason to that one- "you lied to me so i lied to you as payback." So it couldn't be that one.

In a small corner of her mind, she was slightly aware of what he was asking. His "why?" didn't mean "why are you teasing me again?" or "why don't you like me?"
It meant "why would you lie and tease me about something like that?"

"I uh..." It wasn't often that she found herself at a loss of words. She tried to maintain her composure and come up with another clever answer but it was futile. 

It was true that she had lied. But not about what Nishikata was thinking.

She had lied about lying.

A lie about lying gives birth to a truth. And the truth here was a little too embarrassing for her young heart to say out loud.
She had to though. If he can build up the courage to ask her "why?", she wasn't going to be the weak one here. Still, it felt too weird to say it directly now.
She began,

"Why did this happen? I'd always dreamed of telling you about my feelings out of the blue and enjoying your reaction but- "She paused while looking directly at him.

The pause said more than what was needed. Silence. Such a great thing in the presence of mutual understanding.

"Y-your feelings?-" he felt like he should say more than just that but couldn't really think of anything to say.