It was only a second.
One look.
But I felt it in my ribs like something heavy shifting.
Sayuri looked back at me.
She turned really turned and for the first time, didn't pretend she didn't notice me. No shy glance through hair, no quick dart of the eyes.
It was steady.
Intentional.
And when our eyes met, something in me collapsed and rebuilt itself at the same time.
I told myself not to read into it.
Maybe it meant nothing. Maybe it was just a reaction, not a message.
But something in that glance said otherwise.
She saw me.
And this time, she let me know.
Since that moment, everything feels... sharper.
I notice the way she sits now. Not hiding, but quieter than usual. Still, something's shifted. Her eyes linger longer. When I pass her desk, there's this pause like we're both waiting to see who'll move first.
And then there's Kaori.
Kaori's always been a little too much.
Too loud.
Too pretty.
Too close.
She's the kind of girl who thinks the world owes her attention and usually, it does. People gravitate toward her like it's built into their DNA.
And for a long time, I let her be part of my orbit.
It was easier than pushing her away.
But lately, her tone has changed.
Today, she didn't just greet me like usual she studied me. Her eyes scanned my face like she was looking for cracks.
And when she asked, "So, who were you waiting for yesterday by the bike rack?"
I knew.
She saw something.
Maybe not the glance.
But something.
I played it off with a half smile. "Just clearing my head."
She laughed, light but sharp. "That's cute. You never used to do that alone."
The way she said it made my skin prickle.
Asami leaned into her whispering distance and giggled.
They're circling.
I shouldn't care.
But I do.
Because Sayuri doesn't deserve whatever storm Kaori could bring.
And I know Kaori. When she doesn't understand something, she pokes at it until it bleeds.
In the hallway after class, I saw Sayuri again.
She was by the second-year lockers, holding a worn book like it was the only stable thing in the world.
She looked up as I passed.
Our eyes met.
It lasted only a moment, but it was full of everything we still weren't saying.
I saw you.
I meant it.
I'm scared too.
I didn't smile. Not fully.
But I nodded, just a little.
And she blinked surprised, maybe.
Then she gave the faintest nod back.
Behind me, I heard Kaori's voice again.
Not loud, but close.
"Funny," she said to Asami. "People like her usually stay in the shadows."
Asami murmured something I didn't catch, but I didn't need to.
I felt it.
The target settling onto Sayuri's back.
And I hated it.
I walked faster after that.
Not to escape Kaori.
But to keep the version of myself Sayuri had seen real, steady, kind safe.
Because the fake me the school prince, the boy who lets others use his smile like a trophy he's no good to her.
She deserves the real one.
Even if no one else does.