Valentines Day

Valentines Day Part 7

It was the following day and the final class had just ended. 'Why did that feel like it took forever?' Nishikata thought as he got up and made his way to the front desk. 'Maybe I should just leave it to Takagawa, there's no telling how long I'm going to be.' He pushed the thought aside as he reached the teacher's desk.

"Ah, Nishikata." Mr. Tanabe greeted. "I take it you're here for the same reason you were yesterday."

"Yes sir." He replied tiredly.

"Hm?" Mr. Tanabe gave him a curious look. "You seem out of it, you didn't catch what Takagi has, did you?"

"Don't think so, it's just been a long day."

"Fair enough." He handed Nishikata the bag and Nishikata looked back to see Takagawa going straight for the door.

He began walking towards her, and managed to catch up to her in the hall. "Hey!" He shouted, catching her attention.

"Nishikata?" She asked as she turned around. "What's wrong?"

"I figured you would want to check up on Takagi again today."

"Oh, well, I have something I need to take care of, so I won't be able to go."

"Really?" 'Damn, I was going to go see who it was who left me the chocolate ... I guess it won't take that long though.' "Okay then, I have something to do as well, then I'm headed to Takagi's. If your thing doesn't take that long, then we can head over together."

"Are you sure?" She asked. "If I may ask, what are you doing?"

"Oh, the girl who gave me chocolate yesterday left a note in the box asking to meet me after school."

"Really? What are you going to say to her?"

"Odds are, I'm going to have to turn her down."

"Huh?" She said sounding a little shocked. "You've ... already decided?"

"Yeah, I mean, it's not the girl I like so ... I just need to find a way to let her down gently."

"Why does how you let her down matter?"

"Because I don't want to be mean." He replied a little annoyed. "Besides, she has more courage than I do, and I respect that."

"Oh, well, I'll check by the auditorium after I'm done."

"Excuse me?!" Came Takao's voice as he and Kimura approached Nishikata. "What's this I hear about you getting chocolate yesterday?"

"Yeah Nishikata." Kimura began. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Nishikata took a few steps back while holding his hands up in defense. "No, no, you guys have it all wrong."

Takagawa laughed. "Looks like you have your hands full. I'll see you later then."

"So why did you lie to us yesterday?" Takao demanded.

"I didn't lie!" Nishikata exclaimed. "You asked if I got something from Takagi, and I didn't."

"But you didn't tell us about getting something from a girl!" Takao exclaimed.

"It's personal!" Nishikata retorted. "It was concerning enough without it going around the whole school and if I told you two, then that's exactly what would have happened!"

He began walking, pushing past them as he did. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have something important to take care of."

He marched towards the auditorium with no additional incident and found it to be surprisingly empty. "Is she ... not here yet?" He made his way to the front and took a seat.