He lied. Period. Full stop. They both screwed up big-time to contribute to the current shitstorm, sure, but his casual and reflexive dismissal of the trust they've worked so hard to build over the last year and a half is a BFD and the trigger for everything else.
Some are doing a terrific job of it (here, BokuYaba, Anjou-san, Uzaki-chan -- heck, Fragrant Flowers is all about that). It's easy to do if the author actually wants to. (Looking at you, Fukuda-sensei.)
Well, yeah, basically the point. They both made huge mistakes and hurt each other. Unnecessarily. They gotta learn a) not to be so stupid and b) how to get back from the stupid when it strikes.
Ayakabros be all SHE BESTEST BEST GIRL WHAT EVER BESTED THE BEST finna forget she been messin' with man's head now for half a decade
I mean, she brings him to an onsen getaway after all this time and he has absolutely zero reliable context on which to base a guess as to her intentions. "We...
He's not in a relationship with any of them, though. One, he wants nothing to do with, one he's been convinced she doesn't think about him "that way" (with deliberate intent on her part to keep him thinking so) and one he's wary of for being too good to be true. Man's just tryna live his life.
Except the part where she consciously friendzoned the dude for half a decade. KNOWING he was that into her. Kouhai-chan might have just a touch more mesugaki in her than some folks prefer, but she's never dishonest with her feelings.
Not totally, but to a significant extent. There's that huge thing they never really quite worked out last time. Yeah, they eventually moved past the event itself, but the time it took and the rift it caused left major damage.