It was morning.
The sun peeked out, playing peek-a-boo with the world like a shy kid hiding behind clouds.
Sia and Souta sat on the school grounds, quietly munching on ice cream.
"Nothing's better than ice cream in winter," Souta said with a grin, swinging his legs like a kid who just solved life's biggest problem.
"That's kinda opposite, but whatever," Sia replied, eyes locked on her cone like it held all the answers to the universe.
A moment later, Rei and Sera walked up to them.
Souta instantly jumped up, jogging over and bumping Rei with his shoulder.
"Yo, you and Sera have been together for a whole month. Sooo... did some couple stuff or not?" he asked with a grin way too chaotic for this early in the day.
Rei's face turned red—instant tomato mode.
"What the fuck, dude?! I'm not even an adult yet!"
"What's he saying?" Sera asked, blinking in confusion.
Rei turned to her, voice dead serious.
"He's asking if I've got the right to vote or not."
Sia grabbed Souta's ear like a mom catching her kid sneaking snacks at midnight.
"You dumbass! Won't you ever listen to me?!"
"REI, HELP! She's out for blood!" Souta howled dramatically.
Rei stared into his eyes with the straightest face known to mankind.
"...Who are you?"
"Aight, Sia, just end me. I've already lost my will to live anyway…" Souta sighed like a tragic anime MC.
Then Haruta and Alya showed up, hand-in-hand, looking like a soft couple straight outta a shoujo panel.
"Wassup?" Haruta asked, as chill as ever.
"…Even you got a girl?" Souta whispered, like life itself had betrayed him.
Alya smirked and tilted her head at him.
"Why are you single though? I mean, you and Sia make a good match. Why don't you two just date already?" she said in her usual teasing tone.
BOOM.
Both Sia and Souta went full red—faces heating up like toasters on max.
Sia squeaked, "H-Hey, it's nothing like that, y'know!" as she stared at literally anything except Souta.
"Yup," Souta said, suddenly raising his hand like he was doing a summoning ritual,
"Me, the Ghost of Uchiha! Souta Uchiha is still single! Any girls here who wanna date me?!"
...
No one looked at him.
Not even a pity glance.
Bro was invisible.
LOL.
"More like… Souta Takahashi, y'know," Sera said, patting his back like he just lost a war.
---
Later in class, Sia and Souta were seated next to each other—like always.
It was art period.
Sia was working on a seriously good portrait—like, frame-it-and-hang-it level stuff.
Meanwhile, Souta was drawing… a cat. Doing ballet.
Wearing a pig helmet and pig gloves.
"...That's my piggy girly," Souta grinned proudly, like he'd just drawn the Mona Lisa.
Sia glanced at him and sighed.
"Why are you always like this?"
For a second... just a small one... his grin faded.
And his voice—just low enough to almost miss it—slipped out.
"Because I think... if I stop pretending I'm not bothered by anything... I might actually start feeling bothered.
Like, y'know... trauma and pain might crawl in and I don't want that, to be honest."
He gave a soft smile.
The kind that hides way too much behind it.
Sia stared at her drawing, then spoke.
"Maybe you're right…
But at the end of the day, what Alya said was wrong, wasn't it?
We don't make a good couple at all."
Souta's eyes widened for a second—but he hid it quick.
"...Yeah. Maybe."
Silence.
Just the soft scratch of pencils on paper.
Souta's inner voice:
She's way outta my league. She's so mature… she deserves better.
Sia's inner voice:
He's like sunshine… and I'm like rotten snow. Depressing. He deserves someone brighter.
Their hands kept drawing.
Eyes on their papers.
Hearts a little too loud in the silence.
---
-- To be continued
-~Rei