:| Crossing Boundaries |:

| Chapter V |

*Nagisa's POV*

His hand is so warm. That was the first thing I thought when Karma suddenly grabbed my right hand. Before I could say anything, I was dragged out of the classroom, walking hand in hand with him towards the fast food restaurant we always go to after school.

The road to the restaurant was peaceful and quiet. The trees were gently rustling in the wind and leaves were cascading down onto the road. My heart was thumping so loudly that I could hear it in my ears. A walk with Karma on this route has never felt so close to my heart before. I was so close to him that my shoulder would sometimes bump into his upper arm as we walked. Whenever that happened, I would jump and turn to see if Karma noticed it. Karma would always give me a smile in return and I would turn away, blushing furiously. I would also secretly stare at him, only to get caught and turn red again, causing Karma to chuckle.

During the walk, no words were exchanged, but our small actions and gestures were worth more than a thousand words.

When we sat down in the restaurant, Karma offered to pay for my meal. At first I was reluctant to agree to his offer, but since Karma kept insisting on doing so, I agreed.

“Well then, what would you like to have, Niji-san?”

“Uhm...Can I have a chicken burger without any vegetables and strawberry soda?”

Karma chuckled and said,

“You order the exact thing as Nagisa whom I visit this place often with.”

I mentally gave myself a slap for that careless slip up and started panicking.

“Oh...haha...do I? That’s interesting! I would love to meet your friend one day, haha...ha.”

Another slap.
 
Karma smiled at me and proceeded to order the food. With Karma away, I could finally calm myself down and relax a little. Who knew that keeping up a disguise would be such hard work! Now that I have the time to do some thinking alone, I started feeling guilty.
 
Lying to the person you love is such a cruel thing to do.
 
If Karma falls for me in this state, he’s only falling for a person that I made up. A person who does not exist in this world. I know very well that soon, I won’t be able to hide it from him anymore and I would have to tell the truth. Imagining Karma’s face full of hurt and betrayal hurts. I’m such a selfish person. Lying to my friend for my own foolish sake.

“What’s the matter, Niji-san?”

Karma had returned from the counter with the food in his tray, interrupting my thoughts in the process.

“Ahh, it’s nothing! I was just bored.” I said in a hurry and silently cursed myself for letting my guard down.

After muttering a “Thank you” to Karma, I took my food from the tray and ate in silence.