I unlocked my bike and wheeled it over to Hayama. During that time, Hayama did nothing, as if he had been waiting for me.
"...So, what are you planning to do?"
Hayama was the one who asked.
I was the one who had told him I needed to talk. Naturally, deciding our course of action was my job.
"I want to talk to you about something..."
But this was not something other people should hear. I did not want to draw attention. Besides, standing around in the parking lot getting blasted by the wind was kind of... yeah. Was there somewhere we could sit down and talk? My house, or the Hayama family home... Absolutely not. Not even if I died.
"Let's get moving first."
"Yeah, let's go..."
Hayama answered and headed toward the school gate while I followed behind on my bike.
The footsteps of two people and the cold clattering of a rusty chain echoed through the quiet school grounds. The school, which during the day was as noisy as a zoo, was now completely devoid of human voices.
...This was awkward.
Neither of us had said anything, and on top of that, this whole situation. This situation.
I had been the one to ask him out, yet I was riding a bike while Hayama walked. Wasn't that painfully awkward? Wait, what was I supposed to do? Should I have walked while pushing the bike at a time like this?
Or was the normal thing to do to split up first and meet at a designated location──?
After thinking it over, I finally came up with a decent answer. I cleared my throat and called out to Hayama, who was walking ahead of me.
"...Uh──want to get on?"
"Huh?"
Hayama turned around in surprise, looking like he had