Falling for my best friend [OFFICIAL]

Chapter 26: He's more than my best friend

    ~ Kaede's POV ~

    "Why are all of the buses delayed today? There must be construction going on..." I heard running from behind me and saw Shuichi. My heart tightened and I wanted to look away, but I couldn't'. He had a look of desperation as if he was searching for something and he finally found it.

    "Kaede! A-are you going home right now?" I raised my eyebrow.

"Yes, I am."

"W-well, do you want to hang out?" I was surprised and looked around to see if Tsumugi was nearby. I felt relieved to see that he came alone, but I was still cautious.

"Sure." He let out a smile of relief. We walked to his car and a wave of memories washed over me. We headed towards my house which almost felt like a new experience. It was quiet the entire trip.There was obviously tension in the air, but I could only wonder why he wanted to hang out with me. We entered my house and went straight upstairs into my room. "It's been so long since I've been here," he remarked finally breaking the silence.

"I wonder why," I murmured.

"Is everything alright?" I frowned at his question causing him to give me a genuinely confused look.

     "Seriously?" I started tapping my foot on the ground folding my arms. He was trying to think of what it could be, but I was growing impatient by the second. "No it isn't!" I shouted. "We haven't hung out in forever! I-I missed you so much..." I bit my tongue so I wouldn't spill more of my emotions. I wanted to hold him at that moment. He looked at me with a guilty expression.

     "Why didn't you say anything, then? You've been avoiding me these past couple of weeks." I was appalled by his statement.

   "You never tried to talk to me, either, since you've been busy with... Tsumugi. " I almost choked on her name feeling my body fill with unwanted jealousy. He seemed to pick up on it.

     "Kaede, are you jealous?" My eyes widened.

     "What are you saying, Shuichi? Why would I ever be jealous? It's not like we're dating!" He had a slight frown at my last sentence. I sat down on my bed looking away. "I mean, unlike you two." I looked down at my feet.

     "Kaede, we aren't together. Does it seem like we are?" he asked. I scoffed and looked at him in disbelief

     "You went on a date for crying out loud. I never see you without her around your arm. How aren't you guys dating?" I clenched my fists. "I thought you weren't into dating in high school..." I had more sass and anger in my voice than I wanted. He frowned looking at me a little offended.

     "And I thought Rantaro was just a friend." I was a little startled by this different side of his. I was also confused by his statement.

      "He is. What makes you think otherwise?"

      "A video of you and Rantaro dancing. You both going out to a restaurant." My eyes widened.

     "It was just a celebration for finishing our project. And the dancing was just us waiting for our cakes to cool." He was speechless, but looked down at his feet with a bit of jealousy on his face.

      "You and I haven't danced before..." he said quietly enough for me to hear.

      "You and I haven't gone to a movie before..." I said. A silence fell upon us for a few seconds.

      "Kaede, I just went to the movies with Tsumugi because you declined my offer. It wasn't a date, I just had extra tickets." My body relaxed a little bit, but in return I was a little upset at myself. He went on the date because of me...