I wonder why you keep doing that," he said while he held his chin with his hand. He looked like a professor studying a newfound fish in his aquarium. "Lying, I mean. And I wonder why you are so bad at it all of a sudden." He bent forward, his head inching closer to your face to study you a little better.
Your breathing sped up because of your nerves, and you had a hard time standing straight. Your knees went weak from all his attention and if he would go on a little longer, he could see you laying on the floor. Upon picturing the scene in your head, your body doubled the amount of blood in your cheeks. You pressed your palms against the lockers, trying to keep yourself up and to not show him that you were trembling. You wanted to say something to advert his attention, but all that left your mouth after you parted you lips, were stutters.
Minaho finally seemed to realize your unease as he stood up straight and flashed you an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry," he said with sincerity shining in his eyes. "I find people's feelings interesting because they help me to understand them better. And you are really interesting... I wanted to find out what you really feel and think, but I think I just crossed a line. I'm sorry for that."
He patted your head in a friendly manner and adjusted his bag as he headed for the door. You were still frozen in place, silently watching as he increased the distance between you and him. You were grateful that he left, but at the same time, you were devestated. He said that he wanted to find out what you felt, and right now, you felt the natural urge to give him what he wanted. Cursing your crushing feelings for the detective in the making, you called out at his back: "Wait!"
He turned around and smiled kindly at you. "What's the matter, [l/n]-san?"
You closed your eyes, too scared to look him in the eyes while you confessed. "I... I-I... I..." God, why is this so hard? "I..." As you struggled with your words, Minaho had walked back to you and stood in front of you again.
"Take it easy, [f/n]-chan," he smiled.
Hearing him say your first name made your heart jump a little. "I like you!" you yelled while facing the ground and keeping your eyes tightly squeezed shut. A soft chuckle from him, however, made you look up.
"As I predicted," he muttered contently to himself and you would have backed away if your back wasn't already against the lockers. H-he predicted it? you thought in shock. You mean, all this was just a little game for him?
"Pred-dicted?" you breathed out, still not believing what you just heard. Minaho looked up, apparently surprised that you heard him, but he soon smiled kindly at you. His right hand stroke your left cheek and he leaned in to kiss you on your right cheek.
"I was only checking if my feelings were mutual," he smiled before he pressed his lips against your heated cheeks. You felt like a vulcano at the verge of erupting. The blood in your cheeks was boiling and it wouldn't surprise you if you would explode from all that happened now.
Your body seemed melted from the inside and that was probably why you processed everything so very slowly. When it finally penetrated you that he did indeed like you back, you had yet to order your arms to do something. Slowly and carefully, but also rushed because he might disappear if you didn't hurry, you put your arms around his back. A single tear slipped from your eye, but it quickly got absorbed by the fabric of his school uniform.
You don't know how long the two of you stood there like that, but when you finally pulled away, all you could do was look in each other's eyes. You couldn't believe that this was really happening. "It's not a lie, you know that right?" you asked warily after thinking that he might not believe in your genuine intensions at this point.
"I know," he chuckled as he bent forward to kiss you on the lips. Your heart beat in your throat as you mirrored his actions, but he halted before your lips actually touched. "I'm predicting that you want to kiss me right now," came his teasing remark and you rolled your eyes.
"Oh shut up," you murmured, right before closing the distance between you and him. All thoughts faded to the background, and the only thing that occupied your mind was the amazing taste of Minaho's lips and the vague realization that this is the first time you saw fireworks when it wasn't New Year's Eve.