The hallway was thinning out now, most of the students already gone, their voices fading outside the building. But a few stragglers still lingered—some girls at the lockers, a couple of boys joking loudly near the exit.
She could feel their eyes on her. On them.
Kai didn't seem to care. He still stood close, his hand brushing against her wrist. His dark eyes didn't waver, didn't flinch, like he was searching her face for answers she didn't know how to give.
"Why are you…" She swallowed hard, her words shaky. "Why are you even talking to me like this? You don't even know me."
He tilted his head slightly, studying her. "I don't need to know everything to see you're pretending. I know what it looks like."
Her heart thudded painfully. His voice was quiet, almost intimate, but it cut through her like glass.
She tried to step back, but this time he followed—slowly, deliberately—closing the space between them. His hand slid from her wrist to her fingers, threading through them gently, his warmth sinking into her skin.
The girls at the lockers gasped softly, whispering furiously. Her stomach twisted, panic bubbling in her chest. They're watching. They're going to talk. Everyone's going to know.
But Kai didn't look at them. His focus was only on her, his expression unshaken, serious.
"You don't have to run from me," he murmured, leaning closer. His breath brushed her ear, sending a shiver down her spine.
Her chest tightened. The closeness, the touch, the way his voice seemed to drown out everything else—it was too much. It was dizzying, overwhelming, like standing on the edge of something she wasn't ready to fall into.
She stiffened. Just barely—but enough.
And Kai noticed.
Immediately, he froze, his hand pulling back as if her skin had burned him. His eyes widened, and for the first time since she'd met him, she saw fear flicker across his face.
"I—" He took a step back, shaking his head. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have—" His voice cracked, panic leaking through. He ran a hand through his hair, avoiding her eyes. "God, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to—"
She blinked, startled. "Kai—"
"No, seriously," he cut in quickly, his words tumbling out in a rush. "I wasn't thinking. I shouldn't have done that. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." His chest was rising and falling fast now, his usual calm unraveling. "I know what that feels like and I—I swore I'd never—"
He stopped himself, pressing his lips together tightly, his hand trembling slightly at his side. His dark eyes were stormy now, full of something raw and broken she didn't understand yet.
And in that moment, she realized—he wasn't just someone who had seen through her walls. He had walls of his own.
Thick. Heavy. Cracked in the same way hers were.
And somehow, that terrified her and comforted her at the same time.