43 Contact

After I was caught staring, Tatsuya froze for a second. Then, he coughed and fixed his glasses as his smile fell away to his usual expression, albeit a little flustered, and he turned his back towards me, though I could see a little red peeking on the tips of his ears.

Oh. Cute.

...

Eh? Wait. Tatsuya? Cute?

Those two words never go together! What am I thinking!?

"...You should smile more, Tanaka-san." I advised as I ran in front of him to get a better look at him.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Tatsuya didn't meet my eyes and turned his head away from me.

"Oh, come on! You totally laughed at me!" I pursed my lips as I walked backwards in front of him. "I think that's the first time I ever saw you smile like that."

"I did not." Tatsuya strongly denied.

"Okay, deny it, but I still think you should soften that stony face of yours." I shrugged.

"And why is that?" Tatsuya seemed to finally gather his composure as he finally looked at me again.

"Because you looked nice." I frankly stated.

"You think I looked nice." Tatsuya repeated with a deadpan face.

"Yeah! Besides, haven't you ever heard of a business smile? I bet you'd be way more successful if you smiled when making deals." I nodded to myself, impressed with my own thinking. "I think we would've had more donations if you did."

"Pft." One side of Tatsuya's lips lifted again, but he immediately covered his mouth with his hand and calmed himself down. 

I frowned.

"There's nothing wrong with—"

Oh.

I'm falling.

Maybe walking backwards for so long was a bad idea.

I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for my impeding collision with the hard, cold concrete.

...

Something hit the floor. However, I never hit the floor.

I heard a sigh above me after a second.

"I should have said something earlier." I heard Tatsuya's voice from above as well.

My brain finally processed that I was in Tatsuya arms.

I opened my eyes only to see my vision blocked by his chest. His arms were wrapped around my waist, but he wasn't as close as Ryuu was earlier. If anything, his arms were the only thing touching me.

"Oh, uh, t-thank you." I stuttered out while my brain was trying its best to work.

I looked up at the same time Tatsuya looked down. 

Wah, he is really tall, huh. Even though we're this close, his face is still high above me.

...

"Tanaka-san?" I called after he continued to stare at me without letting go.

"Hm?" He absentmindedly responded as his arms tightened around me.

I noticed then he wasn't really looking at me anymore. It seemed more like he was deep in thought?

"Er, you can let go now." I warily informed him.

"Ah, yes." He came to and slowly let go of me.

I was lucky he didn't touch my shoulders in the heat of the moment.

As I adjusted my uniform, I realized what I heard fall onto the ground earlier was our school bags. He must've dropped them in order to catch me.

"Oh, I can carry my bag now. Sorry for making you hold it all day." I apologized as I bent down to grasp the straps.

"No need to apologize. I only did what was necessary." Tatsuya slung his on bag onto his shoulder.

"...Right." I muttered, unimpressed.

How could I have ever thought of such a bland, emotionless man as cute?

"Rather, if you're thankful, I'd like to ask for a favor." Tatsuya carried on. I stiffened.

Oh God, I'm getting dejavu. This better not be anything like last time.

"What is it?" I asked anxiously.

"No need to be so cautious. It's something simple." Tatsuya then held his hand out to me, palm up.

"Touch me."

...

Hah...Hahaha, I must be going insane. There's no way he said that. lolololol

"Haha, I must have misheard you." I laughed and ignored his hand outstretched towards me. "What did you say?"

"I said touch me." Tatsuya repeated, obviously irritated at having to repeat himself.

...Sir, why do you say it like that? Can't you be normal and at least say "hold my hand?"

"Uhm, may I ask why?" I felt my smile falter.

"I just need to confirm something." Tatsuya's eyebrows furrowed. "Now, hurry up!" He took a step closer, and I automatically took a step back.

"O-Okay! Okay." I timidly answered. "Calm down."

What does he need to confirm that requires touching? Don't you hate physical contact? Why are you asking me to touch you?

At this point, I was more curious than cautious.

I slowly stretched my hand out and placed it on top of his. Tatsuya stared intently at it and suddenly grabbed my hand. I flinched in response, but he glared at me as if to tell me to calm down. I bit my lip and stood still.

Tatsuya grasped my fingers at first. Then, he grabbed my hand with both of his hands. He flipped my hand around like he was studying it and rubbed his thumbs around it. As he did, I stared at him dumbfounded.

What the heck is he doing?

All of a sudden, he held up my hand with my palm facing him and interlaced our fingers.

WHAT THE HECK IS HE DOING?!?!

"Tat-Tanaka-san, what are you doing?!" I hysterically asked, staring at our hands incredulously.

As I freaked out, Tatsuya tightened his hold on my hand.

"You hold my hand, too." He ordered like there was nothing abnormal about this whole situation.

"Whawawa-Why!?" I don't know why, but my face was starting to heat up.

"The sooner you do it, the sooner this will be over." Tatsuya sharply snapped.

Overwhelmed and wanting this to be over, I did as commanded and used my limp fingers to hold onto his hand.

I'm so glad there's no one around. Imagine seeing two guys facing each other while hold their interlaced hands up in between them in the middle of the night under some cherry blossoms. 

Ah, I want to cringe.

"Hm." Tatsuya finally looked satisfied and let go.

I immediately pulled away once I felt his hand relax and held my hand against my chest while taking a few steps back. After I had my hand back and remembered I was blushing, I promptly used both my hands to cover my red cheeks and turned around.

"Why did you do that?" I asked as I sulkily looked over my shoulder at him.

Tatsuya blinked and opened his mouth as if he was going to say something. Then, he froze before raising his hand to cover the lower half of his face, and I could tell by his eyes he was shocked.

Huh? Why are you shocked?! I was the one caught off guard!!

After I calmed down, I turned to face him, baffled. When I did, Tatsuya avoided eye contact again as he looked off to the side.

"Well, are you going to explain?" I crossed my arms and kept my distance.

"As I said before, I wanted to confirm something." Tatsuya adjusted just glasses before putting his hand down. 

"What did you confirm?" I asked suspiciously.

"You don't need to worry about that."

But I do!!!

"..." I puffed out my cheeks in frustration. "Stubborn asshole." I mumbled.

"Again with the muttering." Tatsuya squinted his eyes in displeasure. I turned around.

"Yeah, well, we both get to be equally irritated now." I said over my shoulder as I continued walking.

"Quite the petty comeback." I could hear the smirk on his lips.

I pursed my lips and didn't bother with another "petty" comment.

"I just want to get home and rest already." I whined out loud to myself.

"Are we close to your residence?" Tatsuya asked from behind.

"Eh, a few more minutes away." I estimated off the top of my head.

Huh. So, Tatsuya didn't know where I lived? He probably never bothered since it wasn't something he needed to know. I guess I can cross him off my suspects list. I knew the chances were low of him having planted the cameras, but you can never be too careful.

So. That leaves Yuu. Tch, why am I not surprised it was that sneaky bastard? I'll need to be careful if I ever catch him around my house again.

...Does this mean he knows about the real me? Shit.

"If you want to take your leave now, I should be fine from here." I glanced over my shoulder. Tatsuya shook his head.

"No, I said I would walk you home, so I will. Also, it's dangerous for a girl to walk alone at night." Tatsuya bluntly replied.

But, I'm guy right now.

Even if I said that, I'm sure he'd refute me, so I didn't.

*** Omake ***

I never understood why people touched each other so much. It's unhygienic, unnecessary, and unnerving. Whenever I have physical contact with someone, I'm always reminded how it's the most unpleasant sensation to experience.

That's what I always thought.

So.

Why is it the complete opposite when it comes to her?

When l touch her, it's satisfying. When she touches me, it's like a shock, but in an ecstatic way. I don't hate it. In fact, it's the opposite.

Also, as unbelievable as it is, for a moment there, the word "cute" crossed my mind when I saw her flustered.

...

Fascinating. I'll need to explore this more.