There's something terrifying about being seen.
Not just looked at seen.
It's in the way Souta's eyes linger longer now, not searching, not questioning… just noticing. And it makes my skin feel too tight. Like I'm wearing something I never meant anyone else to touch.
Ever since I told Kaori I wouldn't play her game, things have felt different.
People still whisper. Still glance. But no one's approached me directly. Not yet.
Maybe they're waiting for me to fold.
Maybe they're hoping I do.
But I haven't.
And he sees it.
Souta.
He doesn't look at me like I'm fragile anymore. Not like I'll shatter if he says the wrong thing. He looks at me like maybe… I've stopped disappearing.
I'm still quiet. Still tired. But now, when I walk into class and his eyes meet mine, I feel something new.
Not fear.
Not uncertainty.
But strength.
Like I'm slowly building something inside myself he already believes exists.
He held the door open for me today not in that chivalrous, performative way boys sometimes do but like he didn't even think twice. And when I passed him, his hand brushed my sleeve just barely, just enough.
And I didn't flinch.
That's what stuck with me all morning.
I didn't flinch.
There's something shifting between us. Quietly. Steadily. Like the sky warming before dawn.
At lunch, I sat under the tree again. I didn't expect him to follow. He didn't not right away. But I knew he was watching. I could feel it in my spine, that soft tension of being someone's focal point.
He sat across the courtyard with Itsuki, but I swear every time I looked up, his gaze had just flicked away.
And part of me wondered:
What does he see when he looks at me now?
Not the invisible girl. Not the background blur.
Maybe not even the broken version Kaori tried to frame me as.
But something else. Something whole.
I'm not used to this. Being strong in front of someone. Being worth something without having to prove it.
It's scary. It's overwhelming.
But it's also…
Beautiful.
And maybe, just maybe
I want him to keep seeing me this way.
Even if I don't fully believe it yet.
Even if part of me still fears I'll vanish again the moment he blinks.