Chapter 18 - The Confession Deadline Is Coming and I’m the Only One Without a ScriptThere''s a term for what I was experiencing.

Narrative compression.

It''s when a story, knowing the climax is close, forces every character to say Important Things? before the final choice.

In normal life, that doesn''t happen. S~ea??h the ηovёlFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

In this life?

It happens with fanfare and schedule reminders.

Monday morning, I opened my locker to find a pink note card taped inside.

"You have three days to confess. Or we''ll do it for you." – Love Arc Management Committee

I turned around slowly.

Kokoro was sipping from a juice box, watching me like a hawk in a school blazer.

"Did you send this?"

"No."

"Do you know who did?"

"Hypothetically, if Aya and I were secretly managing your life for dramatic symmetry..."

"...I am never opening my locker again."

At lunch, Natsuki-sensei held a "special homeroom" where she laid out the new "Final Romantic Evaluation Schedule."

It had bullet points.

Charts.

A PowerPoint.

A section titled "Acceptable Forms of Rejection (With Dignity)."

Tuesday.

Aya cornered me at the vending machines.

"You still haven''t said anything."

"I''ve said plenty."

"You''ve said nothing that would make a girl feel safe falling for you."

"That''s because if I say it, it becomes—"

"Real?" she cut in. "Yeah. We know. We''re all still here anyway."

I stared at the can of melon soda in my hand.

Somehow, it tasted like guilt.

Wednesday.

Kokoro and I walked home together.

Not a date.

Not a conversation.

Just two people pretending the air between them didn''t hum with every unsaid thing.

At my door, she stopped.

Said nothing.

Then looked up at me and whispered:

"One more day."

And left.

I wanted to call her back.

But what would I even say?

"Please stop being brave. You''re making me look bad."

That night, Sensei messaged me.

[Sensei]: Come to the lab room. Now. No excuses. Or I''ll announce your bra size to the class.

I didn''t have a bra size.

But I went anyway.

The lab was dark.

Candlelit.

Sensei sat on a desk, legs crossed, expression unreadable.

"Kazuki," she said, "Do you know what a false choice is?"

"...Is this a philosophy lecture or a seduction attempt?"

"Yes."

She sighed, then motioned to a piece of chalkboard behind her.

There were three names written there.

AyaKokoroSensei

"Everyone thinks you have to pick one of us."

I raised an eyebrow.

"You disagree?"

"I think you''re trying so hard to not pick, you haven''t asked why you''re hesitating."

"I know why," I muttered.

She ignored me.

"There''s a part of you that believes if you say it aloud—if you choose—everything else disappears. You lose the maybes. The might-have-beens."

She walked up to me.

Tapped my forehead.

"So your brain keeps stalling. Even though your heart already decided."

"...Has it?"

She smiled.

A little sad.

A little proud.

"You''re not the first overthinking boy I''ve taught. But you might be the most exhausting."

Thursday. The Final Day.

They called it The Decision Bell.

At 5 PM, the school''s clock tower would chime, and the girl who was chosen—or did the choosing—would meet the boy at the courtyard.

Like some cursed Cinderella fanfiction.

I stood in the hallway at 4:30, paralyzed.

Aya passed by. Didn''t stop. Just said:

"Fifteen minutes, genius."

Kokoro passed by later.

Didn''t even look at me.

Just whispered:

"You better not run."

4:58.

I stood in the courtyard.

Alone.

Breathing like I''d just run a marathon through glass.

Then I heard footsteps.

Two sets.

Aya on the left.

Kokoro on the right.

They didn''t fight.

They didn''t speak.

They just stood.

Waiting.

4:59.

I stepped forward.

Opened my mouth.

Prepared to—

BOOOOOOOOM.

An explosion.

Actual, literal explosion.

Smoke, confetti, and a dozen trumpets played over the school intercom.

Natsuki-sensei appeared on the roof holding a megaphone.

"SURPRISE EMERGENCY TWIST ENDING!"

Everyone in the courtyard screamed.

I collapsed.

She continued:

"Kazuki Haruma, congratulations! You''ve unlocked the Secret Route?! You don''t have to choose—yet! Because we''re extending the story to Volume 2! That''s right—this love hexagon is now a multi-season disaster!"

Students clapped.

Some cried.

I screamed internally.

Aya facepalmed.

Kokoro whispered, "Coward," but didn''t leave.

Sensei finished her announcement with:

"Thank you for your service. Now return to your regular chaotic lives."

Later, in the quiet after the crowd dispersed...

Aya leaned on my shoulder and said:

"You got lucky."

I laughed bitterly.

"Did I?"

Kokoro appeared behind me and whispered:

"This isn''t over."

"I know."

They both walked off in opposite directions.

And I stood there in the empty courtyard.

Caught in a romantic purgatory of my own making.

And above it all, Sensei updated her chart:

Love Polygon Status: To Be Continued.