The library was quiet, the kind of silence that made every small sound feel louder—the soft thud of books, the scrape of chairs, the faint hum of the fluorescent lights. She walked down the aisles, clutching her bag like a lifeline, and saw Kai sitting at a table near the back, waiting patiently.
"Hey," he said softly as she approached.
"Hey," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. She sat down across from him, twisting her fingers nervously in her lap.
He looked at her for a moment, quietly. "You seemed… off today. More than usual."
She bit her lip. Talking about herself had always been hard, but here, in this quiet space, she felt like she had to say something. "I… I don't know. It's just… hard sometimes," she admitted.
Kai nodded. "Yeah, I get that. You don't have to explain, not if you don't want to. You don't have to act normal for me or anyone else."
Her chest tightened. Nobody had ever said that to her before. "I… I'm not used to anyone actually noticing me," she murmured. "And then… you hugged me, and I felt… something I've never felt before. And it scared me."
He leaned back slightly, giving her space but keeping his gaze on her. "That's fine. Feeling something new doesn't mean you have to figure it out right away. You can just… feel it."
She swallowed hard, words catching in her throat. Her walls, built over years of pretending, were starting to crack. The urge to retreat was strong—but his steady presence kept her rooted.
"I don't even know how to deal with this," she whispered. "I don't even know what 'this' is."
Kai's expression softened, a small, reassuring smile tugging at his lips. "Then don't worry about it. You don't have to figure it all out. Just… be here. That's enough for now."
They sat in silence for a while, the quiet heavy but safe. She felt some of the tension in her chest ease, fragile but real. For the first time in forever, she felt like someone had seen her—not the pretending girl, not the invisible one—but her.
And for now… that was enough.