Rian sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "You were late."
I rolled my eyes. "No, it was the ribbons." I pulled one of my neatly braided strands forward, as if that proved anything.
His gaze flickered with amusement before settling back into its usual unreadable expression. "These school rules are getting ridiculous."
"You're telling me," I muttered. Then, glancing between him and Arin, I added, "But what about you two? What's your excuse?"
Rian barely hesitated. "We ran into Rei."
My breath caught. It was quick—just a second, a small misstep in my otherwise controlled reaction. But I felt it. That quiet, unwanted pang in my chest. Rei.
I forced a shrug, shifting my weight like the conversation bored me. "Oh." That was all I allowed myself to say.
But inside, it was a different story.
Rei. His name had once felt safe, familiar. Now, it was like stepping onto unstable ground, not knowing whether I'd sink or stand. The thoughts pressed in, threatening to crack the careful indifference I had built. But this wasn't the time to think about him. Not here. Not in front of them.
I pushed the feeling down, locking it away.
A rustle of movement beside me. I turned my head—and my gaze met Arin's.
I wasn't expecting the way his eyes widened—just a fraction—the way his posture stiffened, like I had caught him off guard. His fingers twitched at his sides. For someone who rarely lost his composure, the hesitation was noticeable.
Heat crept up his neck, his lips parting slightly before he quickly looked away.
For a moment, I just stared.
Arin. Flustered.
That was new.
And I didn't know what to do with that realization.
Clearing my throat, I decided to pretend I hadn't noticed. "Let's go," I said, turning away first.
But even as we walked, something lingered in the air—an unspoken shift, a quiet understanding neither of us acknowledged. And for the first time in a long while, I felt the ground beneath me shift in a way I wasn't ready for.
Just then, the school bell rang, cutting through my thoughts. Everyone started moving toward their classes. I followed, slipping into my seat as the same dull routine began—the teacher droning on, assignments being handed out, and the weight of another long, monotonous school day settling over me.
In the middle of class, while the teacher droned on about something I wasn't paying attention to, Nami slid her notebook toward me. Her handwriting was neat yet rushed, as if she couldn't wait to ask the question that had been lingering in her mind.
"What happened between you and Rei?" she had written, her eyes flickering toward me with curiosity.
I hesitated for a moment before picking up my pen and writing back. "What do you mean? Nothing happened between us."
I wanted to avoid this conversation. Everyone had their suspicions, their assumptions, but I had never openly admitted anything to anyone. And now, I refused to even acknowledge it—to myself or to anyone else.
Nami read my response, then quickly scribbled again. "You turned him down? I thought you liked him."
My grip on the pen tightened for a split second before I responded. "There was never anything like that. I never liked him."
As soon as she read my words, she arched a brow but didn't push further. Instead, she simply wrote, "Oh, I see. If that's how it is, then okay." Then, without another glance at me, she turned her attention back to the front of the class, acting as if the conversation had never happened.
I exhaled softly, my fingers still hovering over the notebook. Even though the discussion had ended, a strange weight settled in my chest.