Callisto looked away from Elesis, her footsteps resuming as she moved forward, creating distance between her and her friends.
"Wait!"
El tried to call her friend, but the silver-haired girl didn't even stop as she continued creating distance between them. That was when the young man decided to make his move.
Hinata's feet moved with a purpose, his long strides eating the distance quicker than Callisto could make them. Without hesitation, his hand reached out, fingers wrapped around Callisto's wrist. The grip was firm, but not hard enough to hurt her.
Callisto finally stopped. Only to look at Hinata in a way that made him realize how much pain she was harboring in her irises. But there was also stubbornness in them. That stubborn refusal to connect with him and Elesis was exactly what they needed to break through.
"Please, we just need one moment," Hinata begged, his hold on her wrist tightening ever so slightly. "Will you hear us out—"
"I know what you're going to say." Callisto raised her voice ever so slightly, cutting off Hinata's words. Her head down as she continued to speak. "You're gonna tell me that it's okay. That it's okay if I don't tell you whatever secret I'm hiding. It's not. It's never gonna be okay. Because I can't put my trust in you two!"
Callisto yanked her own hand out of Hinata's grip with a strength that left him surprised; a flicker of gold shimmered in her sky-blue eyes, but they never noticed it even as it disappeared. And then, she ran, leaving Hinata and Elesis standing on the side of the street.
"Oh my god," Elesis muttered, hands on her face as she turned to Hinata. "What now?"
"We go after her."
With Hinata taking the lead, he and Elesis followed the path Callisto took toward Silangan High. The sun had started rising, casting a warm glow over the pavement. As they get closer to school, they pass by an increasing number of students going toward the same place as them. Oblivious as to why they seemed to be in such a hurry, the students who recognized Elesis and Hinata were left hanging with their greetings and their questions.
"What's going on?"
"Why are they running?"
Before long, they reached Silangan High's main gate. But only to realize their chance to talk to Callisto might have already slipped away.
"Good morning, Junior."
"You're... Senior Mina."
Hinata and Elesis watched as Mina and her friends gather around Callisto. Though it seemed like they were surrounding her and not giving her a way to escape on purpose.
"I wanted to check up on you since today is PE," Mina continued to speak. "Well, I doubt the teachers would make you do any difficult task considering you've been bedridden for a long time. But there's nothing wrong in showing concern for your peers, right?"
"I don't think so." Callisto forced a smile, not wanting to seem too obvious that she had raised her guard up ever since they confronted her in the school's gate. "But since I've fully recovered from my condition, I should be able to handle anything."
Mina's three friends exchanged knowing looks before they settled back on the silver-haired girl.
"By the way, why are you alone?" asked one of Mina's friends. "Don't you always go to school with Hina and El... What's her name again?"
"Ellie?"
"I don't know."
Were Mina's friends pretending they don't know who Elesis was despite her being one of the well-known students in Silanga High, or were they genuinely unaware of her, just like how they didn't acknowledge Callisto's presence when she first encountered Mina and the others with Hinata?
Either way, the fact that they were questioning who Elesis was made Callisto's hand clenched defensively. Before she knew it, she corrected one of the girls.
"Her name's Elesis."
"Right, Elesis. So why are you alone?"
"That's..."
Just as Callisto was hesitating to answer the question, the familiar voice of Hinata cut through everyone.
"Calli."
Hinata and Elesis stood next to one another before everyone else. Callisto didn't look back. The other three girls greeted Hinata cheerfully. While Mina simply stared at the gap between Hinata and Elesis.
Mina didn't seem bothered by it. At least on the surface. But she couldn't stop staring at that gap for some reason, at how close the redhead and the young man were standing next to each other. Only when Hinata's gaze panned towards her did she finally plaster a cordial smile on her face.
"Good morning, Hina, Elesis," Mina waved a hand at them in a greeting.
For a moment, there was nothing between everyone but silence. But Mina could see it. There was tension between Callisto and the two who were always with her. The blonde girl's expression shifted, more calculating now.
Mina couldn't help but wonder what was going on.
"I'm sorry, Hina, but I was wondering if we could borrow Callisto for a bit. Surely, you don't mind if I hang out with your friend, right?"
Not only Callisto, but even Mina's friends seemed caught off guard by what the blonde girl just said. Hinata stared at Calli's back, his eyes tracing every curve as if committing the image to memory.
As much as he wanted to push further for Calli, Hinata realized that nothing good would come out of it now that there were other people involved. Especially that person.
He looked back at Mina and gave her a small nod.
"Yeah."
Elesis looked at Hinata, her gaze full of question. Then she looked at Callisto, then back to him.
"Thank you," Mina said gratefully as she invited Callisto to come with them.
Callisto saw it as an opportunity to put space between her and Hinata and Elesis. She didn't hesitate to accept the invitation and went inside the school with Mina and her friends.
Elesis and Hinata simply watched them disappear by taking a turn into a building. And then, she turned to the young man next to her and asked,
"Are you sure about this?"
Hinata was thinking about something that he couldn't answer the redhead right away. It was just for a fraction of a second, but he saw how Mina looked at him and Elesis before shooting a smile at them.
"It's fine. We'll talk to her later. For now, you should head to class."
"Right. I'll see you later, Hinata."