I’m a Telepath, but It’s Tough Because the Cool Beautiful Girl Next to Me Is Having Pink Thoughts - Chapter 7

The sound of water splashing against tile echoed through the apartment.

Of course, it was the shower.

Sitting on the bed where Tatsuki was until just a moment ago, I was literally holding my head in my hands at the sound of my distress.

…Yeah, I knew this was going to happen.

There’s no way she could just crawl into bed without rinsing off first.

Especially considering she’ll want to cleanse herself as quickly as possible after that incident.

Since there aren’t any bathhouses around here, it was inevitable that she would end up borrowing the shower at the apartment.

Knowing it in theory and actually hearing it were two different things. I could feel my heart beating in a steady rhythm.

It’s not like I’m interested. To her, I’m basically just some creep. There’s no chance anything’s gonna happen, and I don’t even want it to.

No, I don’t….

Or at least, I shouldn’t.

But I’m still a guy, aren’t I? Some shameful part of me was already imagining things, whether I wanted to or not.

“…!”

There’s a clattering sound.

The strangely loud sliding sound of the door opening and closing announced that she had finished her shower.

Shortly after that, Tatsuki appeared before me.

“Um, thank you for the shower. I finally feel cleansed.”

“Ah, oh, ah. Not at all. You really had a rough day so────gah!!”

Hesitantly shifting my gaze toward her, I bit my tongue in a mysterious reflex.

Her slightly flushed face and hair like damp black silk tantalize the vision.

The oversized men’s jersey she’d borrowed from me, hanging loose on her smaller frame, somehow made her look even cuter.

…Wait, what the hell am I analyzing this for?

…No, it’s nothing. Just nothing at all.

“Th-thank you for the change of clothes too.”

“Oh, ah, of course.”

She covered her mouth with the sleeves that swallowed her hands and averted her eyes as she spoke.

Why the hell does she keep doing things that look so deliberately cute?

And then…

“Th-this is what boys’ clothes are like. I can smell a man’s… no, Itsumi-kun’s scent is so close. And the size… it’s really big…”

What the hell are you saying?

What are you saying (while biting my poor tongue again).

Saying it in a strange way, Tatsuki blushes.

What if this person wouldn’t get conscious in a situation like this? No one. Absolutely no one.

…Now that I think about it, though.

She already seemed different when we walked home together earlier, but her expressions really had softened a lot.

At school, her face was as unreadable as an expressionless one, but now…well, maybe not exactly bubbly but definitely gentler.

“…You’re pretty expressive, you know. I always thought you looked kind of robotic, like you never moved your face.”

“What do you think I am, a machine!? Well… It’s true I don’t usually show much expression, but still…”

No, I don’t think it’s just a matter of not much.

Even when she’s reading porn novels and giggling inside, her face doesn’t twitch. That’s way beyond not much.

Not that I could ever actually say that out loud.

“No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it as an insult. I just thought it was kind of nice to see a side of you I don’t usually get to.”

“…I see.”

She turned her gaze aside again, almost as if to cover up her reaction.

“A side I don’t usually show… Like, a part of me I’m not supposed to reveal… I didn’t, right!? I didn’t show anything like that, did I!?”

Her inner voice spun into a panic.

Relax. You’ve already shown me everything.

…I almost said that out loud. Almost. But then I remembered the psychic punch to the brain I’d taken earlier and wisely kept my mouth shut.

“Pffft—!”

All the air in my mouth is rushing out.

It’s not a cliché, it sounds like a nosebleed gushing out.

It was like in class, her thoughts were broadcast straight into my head like a projection.

And I’ll be damned if I’m going to describe it.

If I had to say, the limit is that Tatsuki’s naughty side filled my head, and I will just leave it at that.

It’s embarrassing to even think about it.

“Cough, cough, uhh…”

To cover up my laughter, I cough exaggeratedly.

“Are you alright?”

“Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, no problem at all, oh.”

Damn it… keeping a straight face while imagining that kind of thing…

My brain scrambled in every direction at once. Or maybe it was working too well.

Before I knew it, I’d blurted something ridiculous.

“A-actually, I think the gap between your usual self and this side of you is really cute. I honestly like it.”

“…!?”

Oh crap.

The second it left my mouth, I realized what I’d just done.

That wasn’t just bad. It was fatal.

From her perspective, I’d just turned into some random creep hitting on her.

But can she blame me!? After seeing that mental image, my mind was practically doing backflips!

“U-um, no, that…”

My stammering only made me sound creepier.

Her expression looked like ninety percent indifference, ten percent surprise. But her thoughts told a different story…

“W-why? Why would he say something like that!? Cute? He… does he like me!? E-eh?”

Her thoughts were also all over the place.

Even the only coherent thought that was spun was clearly unable to hide its confusion.

“Cute… wait, what?! Does that mean Itsumi-kun actually…?!”

No. Absolutely not. That is not the case.

So stop putting it into words!!

“T-that…”

“Um…”

Realizing this was not good, I opened my mouth to change the subject, but by chance, my words overlapped with Tatsuki’s.

As a result, my momentum was completely broken, and all that came out of my mouth was a pathetic whimper.

“…No, I’m sorry. I was a little flustered. I didn’t expect Itsumi-san to say something like that.”

“Ha, hahaha… No, I’m the one who should apologize. I said something weird. Really, don’t worry about it too much.”

I forced out a weak laugh, but her expression had frozen solid again.

Was it a surprise? Nerves? Or just straight-up disgust?.. It was probably the last one.

As a final act of self-defense, I tried to dull my telepathy, filtering it out into static like I usually did outside.

Please. Just let this slide. I’m begging you.

“Um… does Itsumi-kun…”

“I’m sorry, I’m going to take a bath.”

Our voices are overlapping again… but this time, I did it intentionally.

I couldn’t bear to stay in the same room anymore.

Yeah, it probably came off as rude, but whatever.

…Damn it. Ten years living with this ability, and I’m still getting myself into these situations.

This cursed power…

And just as I cursed my own constitution, I remembered that the bathroom had been used by her just moments ago.

And as that thought hit me, I caught my reflection in the mirror by the sink, looking like the most pathetic guy alive.