Chapter 5.7
“Anyways,” Kurokawa-san says, hanging her head a bit. “Sorry I made things weird. I won’t ask about your friendship with Fujimura-kun anymore.”
“We’re not friends,” I snap. Then, before I can think better of it: “We haven’t even spoken in weeks.”
Kurokawa-san freezes for a split second.
Then looks back up at me.
Stifles a grin.
“I’m so sorry to hear that.”
Internal sigh.
This girl is so full of shit.
But everyone is watching us, so…
Might as well give them a show.
“Thank youuuu,” I say, injecting Kurokawa-san levels of drama into my voice and faking a sob as my big finish. “That… that really means a lot to me.”
“Of course!” Kurokawa-san fakes back. “And if you ever need a real friend, feel free to reach out to me. Hina-chan can give you my Line deets.”
As fucking if.
“Bless you,” I whimper. I dab at my eyes for another few seconds, but the non-existent tears still threaten to pour over. “I’m sorry, if you’ll please excuse me.”
I break away from the group and start heading towards the bathroom.
Kurokawa-san coos a farewell.
Hina-chan glares at me.
Mom and Morita-san just look confused.
I ignore them all and lock the bathroom door behind me.
-----
Okay.
Cool.
Bathroom.
Bathroom time.
Tiiime in the bathroom.
…
I didn’t really have a plan before coming in here.
But I have to do something because if I can hear them—
I pause. Can definitely hear talking, even if I can’t make out the words.
—then they can definitely hear me. At least some of it.
So I just kinda… go through the motions?
I play a little movie in my head of what an average bathroom break might look like—kinda gross, tbh—trying my best to walk through each step in the time it would actually take.
I don’t, um, go go—I think about it, but I don’t have to—but basically anything that could make a noise.
Flush the toilet.
Run the water in the sink.
End up washing my hands out of some combination of habit and this whole thing kinda grossing me out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Look at myself in the mirror.
Ugh.
Stop looking at myself in the mirror.
Realize I’m dripping water onto the floor like an idiot.
Dry my hands.
Breathe in.
Breathe all the way out.
Walk to the door.
Reach for the handle.
And freeze.
I can still hear voices through the door.
Someone laughs.
I can’t make out the words, but I can certainly guess.
I mean, they must be talking about me, right? After my little one-man show out there?
Fuck.
Why did I do that?
Oh.
Right.
Because it wasn’t a one-man show, and my co-lead is still out there.
I can just imagine. I walk back out there and she’s all “Welcome back, Boyfriend-kun! Feeling better, Boyfriend-kun? Got any personal life I can pry into, Boyfriend-kun?!”
Nope.
Fuck that.
Absolutely not.
Staying in here a little longer can’t hurt, right?
I mean, Hina-chan is probably already not super pleased with me, so really the main damage is already done.
So then maybe I can just…
Stay a little longer?
…Yeah.
Yeah, that’s good.
It’s, like, strategic or something.
I’m not hiding like a pathetic child.
I’m just… giving things time to settle down.
Cool.
Cool cool cool.
My hand slowly drops away from the door handle, and I take a step back.
I’ve taken anotherfew steps before I let myself turn around.
And then I just…
Sit on the floor, I guess.
Take a deep breath.
And pull out my phone.
-----
I’m not sure how long I sit there, scrolling through my phone and absorbing nothing.
Long enough to finally put Kurokawa-san out of my mind, at least.
Long enough to also be reminded of a certain nobody who got a makeover in this same bathroom and now sucks at texting, apparently. I put him out of my mind as well.
Long enough that at some point, I realize something…
I look up from my screen.
Cock my head a little to the side.
It’s… quiet.
Like, quiet quiet.
I lower my phone.
I stand up.
Tiptoe closer to the door.
Listen again.
And still.
It’s quiet quiet.
No voices through the door.
No laughing.
No Mom.
No fucking Kurokawa-san.
Just… silence.
Oh.
Oh, shit.
I check the time on my phone.
Oh, shit.
I’ve been in here for like an hour?
There are several things that could possibly mean, and none of them are sparking joy.
Ugh.
Fuck.
I unlock the door.
-----
The main room is dark.
Not, like, pitch-black, but the main light is off and the sun has definitely gone down by now.
The only light is coming from…
The lamp next to the sofa.
The sofa that Hina-chan is sitting on, arms crossed.
The lamp next to her lights only half her face, but what I can see of it seems to be wearing a none-too-pleased expression.
She sees me as soon as I step out of the bathroom. The sofa is always angled in the general direction of the bathroom, but I get the feeling she was also waiting for me.
For the briefestof moments, my brain tries to send me back into the bathroom to hide, but I’d rather not get murdered by my girlfriend, thank you very much.
So…
Let’s fucking go, I guess.
I step towards the couch, stopping a meter or two away.
Hina-chan’s eyes track my movement, but she doesn’t say anything.
“…Hi,” I try. My voice wavers.
“Hello.” Uh oh. Her voice sounds like her face.
“Is everyone…?”
“Gone.”
“And Mom?”
“Bed.”
“Right…”
I swallow.
“And… you’re still here?” I venture.
“The plan was for me to stay the night, yes?”
“It was,” I say. “But I wasn’t sure if you had…”
“Walked out without saying anything?”
Ouch.
“I mean… technically I did say…”
“Toji.”
My mouth snaps shut.
Right. So not the time.
A moment passes with the two of us just staring at each other, neither saying anything.
Then her expression softens the slightest bit.
“How are you feeling?” she asks.
I blink.
“Huh?”
“You were in there for a while,” she says. “Are you sick?”
“Oh. Um. No.” I shake my head.
“No indigestion?”
“No.”
“You didn’t throw up or anything?”
“Also no.”
“Stomach hurt?”
“I told you—I’m fine!” I say through an exasperated little laugh.
Her eyes narrow.
“I’m…” I try to think of something better to add but can only come up with “I’m not sick.” Wow. Super helpful, Sakuragi.
Hina-chan studies me for another second.
Nods.
“Okay.”
A beat.
“Good.”
Her arms tighten across her chest.
“Then what the hell was that?”