Social Anxiety and the Rock of Loneliness Chapter 39

The ahoge at the side of the girl's head sprang upright, then rapidly stirred the air.

The owner had a bad feeling. He looked at the car and examined it closely, his clenched heart rising higher and higher.

And then...

"What the hell did you do?!"

A furious roar echoed through the shop.

On the way to the fast-food restaurant, Ishikawa Hayato looked pitifully at his wallet, and the wallet seemed to reply with an expression that said, "I only have this last drop left too."

"Ah, my money..."

Although he had gone home to ask for an allowance for the first time in a while and received quite a bit, it still could not withstand Ishikawa Hayato spending like this.

Still, his manuscript payment would be coming soon. He just had to hold on a little longer.

At that moment, Bocchi took her wallet out of her cloth bag and began pulling out money.

"Um... Ishikawa, I'll pay for what we spent just now. It was all because of me..."

Ishikawa Hayato was not particularly surprised by Bocchi's reaction, but he had not expected her to pay for all of it.

He patted Bocchi on the shoulder.

"Bocchi, you're going to get taken advantage of someday."

They arrived at the fast-food restaurant.

They had already decided that Bocchi would not have to cover the car rental fee. She only needed to pay for lunch.

Ishikawa Hayato's first experience of living off a girl was courtesy of Bocchi.

Bocchi walked up to the counter and had barely glanced at the menu when her eyes could not help drifting toward one particular set meal. She immediately looked away in a panic.

At the same time, she fiercely condemned herself for even thinking of that set meal.

Don't get carried away! No matter how great the discount is, this isn't a set meal someone like me can order. It'll make me remember the pain of all those times I tried to order a two-person discount set...!

Stop right now! You'll destroy yourself!

But then, an entirely pink Bocchi suddenly appeared in her heart and said to her—

If it's with Ishikawa, then I can order this set properly, and I can also...

Before Pink Bocchi could finish, Bocchi grabbed and pinned her down. Yet it was as if Pink Bocchi's words had still reached her ears.

A smile appeared on Bocchi's lips, while her gaze turned vacant and swollen.

At the same time, Bocchi felt a bad premonition and looked to the side.

Ishikawa Hayato was grinning at her with narrowed eyes.

Balloon Bocchi deflated in an instant and slumped over the counter like a sheet of paper.

After ordering and taking their seats, Bocchi gathered her courage, gripped the edge of the table, and solemnly lowered her head toward the tabletop as though kneeling.

The table trembled slightly.

She said mournfully, "Ishikawa, please... please don't read my mind anymore."

"Sure, but on one condition."

Although Ishikawa Hayato said that, he knew perfectly well that once he was familiar enough with Bocchi, he could tell what she was thinking without needing to guess at all.

It was not a matter of whether he read her mind or not. The answer was written plainly on her face—how could he possibly not see it?

He was merely agreeing not to use it to tease Bocchi anymore.

Bocchi raised her head, her vulnerable azure eyes looking at Ishikawa Hayato in confusion.

Curious about his condition.

"You still call me Ishikawa. It feels so distant. How about calling me something else?"

Ishikawa Hayato said to her.

Bocchi hesitated. She felt like her mind had been read again.

She had thought about it for a long time, but never dared to change how she addressed him, always wavering over it.

For a moment, she somehow felt that even having her mind read was not such a big deal.

She lowered her gaze and softly called out to the person before her.

"Um, Hayato..."

Home

After lunch, the two sat in the fast-food restaurant for a while before heading to the station and taking the train to Bocchi's home.

In the brightly sunlit train car, the two sat some distance apart.

After boarding, Ishikawa Hayato noticed that Bocchi had suddenly lost interest in talking. With her head lowered and a cloth bag hugged to her chest, she stared dejectedly at the floor with her azure eyes.

Ishikawa Hayato glanced around and noticed that some people were occasionally looking their way.

Clearly, the two of them made such an odd combination that they drew others' attention.

That was only natural. Ishikawa Hayato attracted enough attention when he was alone, and with Bocchi beside him, who was practically his complete opposite, it was even more noticeable.

With people constantly coming and going on the street earlier, and with them sitting across from each other in the restaurant, it had not felt quite so obvious.

But now that they were on the train, in this enclosed space, the feeling was amplified.

Ishikawa Hayato said nothing to the people around them. He simply took out his phone, casually opened a video, and watched it while placing his right hand between them.

"Your hand."

He reminded her without turning his head.

Hearing Ishikawa Hayato suddenly speak, Bocchi froze for a moment.

Then she glanced around, hesitated as she clenched and unclenched her hand, and nervously placed it beside Ishikawa Hayato's, leaving a gap of several centimeters.

Without drawing attention to it, Ishikawa Hayato reached out and took hold of her slightly cool little hand.

Bocchi jumped in surprise and looked at the hand Ishikawa Hayato was holding.

Their hands overlapped as though by accident, Hayato's warm palm covering the back of hers.

She cautiously looked around, but she did not sense any change in the gazes around them.

Then she kept sneaking glances at Ishikawa Hayato, who was holding her hand. But seeing him quietly watching his phone only filled her with confusion.

After a while, her gaze could not help drifting toward his phone again.

But... even after they got off the train, she still had not managed to see what video Ishikawa Hayato had been watching.

After leaving the station, Ishikawa Hayato stayed beside Bocchi while keeping an eye on their surroundings.

Seeing him like that, Bocchi thought he was memorizing the route to her house. Though she was a little scared, how could she dare say anything?

So she could only obediently lead the way.

But as they passed a fruit shop—

Ishikawa Hayato suddenly asked her, "Bocchi, both your parents are home, right?"

Bocchi:??

She cautiously looked to her side.

Ishikawa Hayato's tall, upright figure seemed to glow beneath the soft, warm sunlight. He lowered his head slightly to look at her, his neat short hair and the gentle smile at the corner of his lips both so captivating.

What was he doing? What was he going to do?! What if her parents were home? What if they were not?!

Wait, only now did Bocchi realize.

She was bringing a boy to her house! Sure, it was just to get a guitar, but was she not going to let Ishikawa Hayato come inside?

And then what?!

She did not know! She did not know!

Besides, in her understanding, when a socially successful guy went to a girl's house, there was only one thing to do, right?

At the thought of that thing, Bocchi...

Pop.

Ishikawa Hayato stared blankly at Bocchi as she suddenly exploded. Like a firework, she shot straight into the sky and burst apart.

Then she rapidly vanished into the bright sky.

Watching this sunny-day firework, Ishikawa Hayato silently sighed.

This time, he had failed to read Bocchi's thoughts and actually made her explode...

After Bocchi returned to normal, she began answering Ishikawa Hayato's question.

"Ah, both my parents are at home, and I have a younger sister too..."

With her head lowered, she became a genuine guide, introducing her household situation to Ishikawa Hayato.

Ishikawa Hayato nodded, then seemed to think of something and continued asking.

"Oh, you have a younger sister too? How old is she? Does she usually play there?"

Bocchi hesitated, sensing that something was off as well.

Her eyes had already started spinning in circles, but as though she could not control herself, she said, "F-five years old, she..."

Before she could finish, Ishikawa Hayato patted Bocchi on the shoulder and sighed.

"Bocchi, it's dangerous to say everything like that."

But Bocchi had already fallen into a stammering state, her mouth opening and closing like a puppet's.

"Ah, ah, ah..."

After that, Ishikawa Hayato took Bocchi to the fruit shop he had spotted earlier and picked out some fruit under her puzzled gaze.

In the end, he led Bocchi out of the shop, placed his wallet on the ground, and bowed to the wallet that "had nothing left."

After picking it up, he wiped away a tear and strode forward.

Bocchi looked at him in surprise, then followed in small steps. Seeming to realize why, she asked softly.

"Um... Hayato, what is this?"

"A gift to bring along."

Ishikawa Hayato answered.

Bocchi froze.

They were only going to retrieve her guitar. Did it really need to be this formal?

"I'm home."

Bocchi could still speak naturally in front of her family.

Behind her, Ishikawa Hayato raised his voice slightly as well.

"Excuse me for intruding."

His voice made Bocchi's father, who was saying, "Hitori, welcome ho..." from the living room ahead, trail off.