Rumours

Maybe it was just my imagination, but I felt like I was being watched. When I passed by a group of students from my class, I could hear their hushed whispers suddenly get cut short as I neared, and they began again when they thought I was out of earshot. What was going on?

I made my way over to the 2-C classroom before homeroom started. The whole class paused what they were doing and turned to look at me. Were they waiting for me to say something?

"G-good morning," I managed to blurt out.

As if on cue, they all rushed over, suffocating me with questions.

"Are you dating the new girl?"

"How do you know Nakamura-chan?"

"Harada-chan said that she even saw the two of you in town together."

This was followed by a chorus of "Ehhh? Really? Then it must be true!" from the girls.

Flustered, I didn't even know how to respond, so I just shook my head trying to deny their claims. They couldn't have been more wrong, it was Iwasaki I was interested in, not Nakamura!

But suddenly, I found a strong arm wrapping around my shoulders as Shinohara appeared at my side.

"Now now, give the guy some space. You're overwhelming him," he chuckled.

They dispersed slightly after that, though they didn't take their eyes off me for a second. Nakamura herself hadn't shown yet. She would no doubt be given the same treatment as I was, unless someone set the record straight before she arrived.

"We … we're not dating!" I yelled out, probably louder than I meant to, "we're just friends!"

"Huh, you're really not?" Shinohara was the one to question me this time.

"That's right, it's just a misunderstanding!"

Disappointed, everyone returned to their seats. How the hell had the rumours spread so fast in just a couple of days? Damn vultures.

I sighed to myself, this is exactly why I always avoided people. The sliding door opened once more upon Nakamura's arrival, and everyone began whispering again. She gave them a confused scowl, but took her seat without saying anything.

At lunch, I headed out of the classroom as usual, but was stopped by Nakamura.

"Hey, did something happen before I got here this morning? The atmosphere in there was … strange."

"They think we're dating…"

Nakamura's face blew up redder than a tomato.

"R-ri-ridiculous," she stuttered, burying her face in her hands, "how could they possibly think that!?"

"I know," I nodded back, "that's exactly what I told them."

"You denied it?"

"Um, yeah?"

She sighed, "that's basically the same as admitting it! It makes it look like you've got something to hide!"

"The hell was I supposed to say then?"

"Nothing! You say nothing! Ergh, this is going to be a lot more difficult if Chizuru thinks you're dating her cousin."

"Maybe she hasn't heard of it?"

"It's possible, I suppose, if it was only contained to our class then…"

She paused, having just come to the same conclusion I had. We both peered back inside the classroom, but the person we both wanted to see had already vanished.

"SHINOHARA!" We both yelled out at the same time.

Shinohara Ryuji was in the same club as Iwasaki, and he wasn't exactly the quiet type. Which meant we had until the day was out before he spilled the beans to her during the next club meeting. The question was where Shinohara typically spent his time during lunch. If I had taken him up on his offer to eat together at least once before now, this wouldn't have been an issue. But as it was, I had no clue where to find him. Nakamura and I headed over to the canteen, both agreeing it was the most likeliest spot and the best place to begin our search. However, the canteen was packed full of hungry students, and finding just one amongst this swarm would be an impossible undertaking. After about five minutes of scanning through the crowd for Shinohara's telltale blond hair, we gave up.

"He's not here," Nakamura uttered, defeated.

"Yeah…" I grumbled back, "we should try somewhere else."

The school courtyard was our next stop. It was at its fullest during lunch time, so the chances of Shinohara being there were high. Unfortunately, it was another miss. We combed the courtyard twice, but still couldn't find him anywhere.

"This is hopeless," I groaned, "we didn't see him in any of the corridors we passed either."

"What now?" Nakamura asked.

I scratched my head in thought.

"There's always the rooftop," Nakamura suggested as she shrugged her shoulders.

I looked up at the rooftop from the courtyard. It was accessible to students. There was a roof garden that members of the gardening club maintained, but not many used it all that regularly. I had my doubts that Shinohara would be up there, but we were running out of places to look.

I agreed with Nakamura's plan, and the two of us proceeded to head for the stairwell that led up to the rooftop. Just before we made it to the second floor, we ran into a familiar face.

It was Iwasaki.

She waved over at Nakamura before she came bounding over, her long hair streaming behind her.

"Head on without me," Nakamura whispered subtly, "pretend we're not together."

I did as she asked and kept walking, not even turning round to her or giving the slightest of nods. I felt a little guilty acting so coldly to the girl who had done nothing but help me, but it was the way it had to be until we cleared up the rumours about us. When I was safely out of view, I stole a glance back at the two girls. Iwasaki had grabbed both of Nakamura's hands and was almost hopping with excitement over something. Nakamura, for her part, accepted her cousin's affection, but was visibly uncomfortable making such a scene in public view. I tore myself away to continue on with our goal and took the stairs up to the roof. I opened up the door at the top of the stairs and there he was.

Shinohara Ryuji stood, hands in his pockets, leaning against the fence around the edge of the roof.

"Yo," he said, looking confused at my sudden arrival.

"I didn't think this is the kind of place I'd find you," I admitted, taking a few steps forward onto the roof.

The door closed behind me with a clunk. The two of us were alone, isolated from the rest of the school. No-one would overhear anything that was said between us.

"It's a nice view from up here, and sometimes I just need to get away from it all, you know? It's not easy being Mister Energetic all the time," he joked, "but what brings you up here, you sound like you've been looking for me?"

I took a deep breath, not wanting to have to get to the point, but knowing I had to. I took a step forward, moving closer towards Shinohara.

"Yeah," I began, "it's about Nakamura."

And before I even knew it, I had prostrated myself before him, bowing low. "Please don't say anything about Nakamura to Iwasaki-san!"

Shinohara looked taken aback at first, but quickly righted himself.

He cleared his throat uncomfortably, "it's not Nakamura-chan you're interested in, is it?"

"It's not," I confirmed, "she was just trying to help me out."

Shinohara fell silent and furrowed his brow.

"Then … it's Iwasaki?"

"Yeah," I admitted, standing back up to face him, "I like Iwasaki-san."

"Man, she is way out of your league," he said, scratching his cheek, "you're much more suited to someone like Nakamura."

"I know I don't stand a chance, really. But I can't help how I feel."

"So, you're here to make sure I don't talk to Iwasaki about anything unnecessary?"

I nodded, "something like that."

"Fine, fine, I get it," he threw his hands up in the air, "you can stop looking so serious already. I won't say anything, not even a little."

"Seriously?"

That had been easier than I expected.

"Yeah, that sorta thing is best coming directly from you anyway."

I breathed a sigh of relief.

"May be harder for the rest of the class to come around, but give me time, I'll work on 'em. They normally listen to whatever I say."

"Thanks, I appreciate that."

"What are friends for, right?"

"Er, sure," I agreed awkwardly before turning to leave.

"Wait. Hold on just a minute!" Shinohara suddenly yelled, grabbing hold of my arm.

"Huh?"

"We still have some time left until class. Do you wanna finally take up my offer to eat lunch together, at least for old times sake?"

For old times sake?

What was he talking about? Sure, we knew each other when we were younger, but that had been years ago. We barely spoke nowadays, so why was he bringing this up now? There was a certain hint of desperation in Shinohara's eyes that made me hesitate.

Just how long had it been since those days?