By the time lunch break hit, my brain felt like someone had shaken it like a snow globe.
First, Kaelor avoiding me all morning. Then Devin acting like we were suddenly back in Section C. Then Derek hovering around like some storm cloud plotting weather damage.
And now? Now it was raining.
Not a cute drizzle. A full downpour that made the entire school courtyard look like a dramatic movie set.
Advi groaned. "Perfect. I didn't bring an umbrella."
Sana admitted, "Same."
Meera blinked at the sky. "It's like the world is crying for us."
Zoe muttered, "The world is crying because Arista's group project is a triangle-and-a-half catastrophe."
I punched her arm lightly.
"Not funny. Atleast I'm not stuck between a coming soon couple "
"Why are you bringing me in that conversation? I mean it's not like I have accepted Aarvin's proposal." She said
" I didn't even said names. You thought I was talking about you ? Actually yaa I was talking about you." I teased her by pushing her with my shoulder.
Zoe jumped in the talk excitedly" Guys! I forgot to tell you something"
"What"
" Aarvin was asking me about meera that how-"
" Why was he talking to you?!" Meera interrupted
" I mean why not, they are best friend, we all know that" I explained her
" Okay I'm taking a leave. Bye guys." I said.
I was about to run through the rain when someone tapped my shoulder from behind.
I turned.
Devin Lee.
Holding one umbrella. One.
"You'll get drenched." He extended it slightly. "Walk with me?"
My friends looked at me like: Say yes or we'll throw you into the rain ourselves.
I sighed. "Fine. But if you make this weird—"
"I won't," he said quickly. "Promise."
We stepped outside.
The rain drummed softly on the umbrella, close enough that our shoulders brushed sometimes. The air smelled like wet soil and the quiet-before-thunder feeling.
Devin cleared his throat.
"Hey… are you okay lately?"
I stared at him. "Why does everyone keep asking me that today?"
"Because you look like you're carrying three textbooks worth of thoughts."
I huffed. "Well… maybe."
We walked in silence for a few seconds—comfortable, strangely enough.
Then Devin said something unexpected:
"Back in Section C… I was a coward."
I blinked. "What?"
He avoided my eyes. "I should've told you why I stopped talking to you. Why I just drifted away. I didn't know how to deal with—"
He stopped himself abruptly.
"With what?" I pressed.
He shook his head.
"Doesn't matter now. But… I'm sorry."
I didn't know what to say.
Devin never apologized. Not even in primary school when he accidentally stepped on my watercolor painting and blamed gravity.
"…It's okay," I said quietly.
The rain kept falling, softer now, like it was listening.
We turned the corner—and suddenly I noticed someone leaning under the school gate roof, arms crossed.
Kaelor Han.
Watching.
His uniform slightly wet, his expression unreadable—but sharp. Focused. The way he sometimes looked at me when he thought I wasn't paying attention.
For a split second, no one moved.
Not Devin. Not me. Not Kaelor.
Then Kaelor's eyes lowered to our shared umbrella. Slowly. Deliberately.
Something tightened in the air.
Devin didn't notice. I definitely did.
"Thanks for the walk," I said quickly, stepping out from under the umbrella before things turned into a silent showdown.
I jogged toward the gate, not looking back.
But I felt it—
Kaelor's gaze following me.
Not angry. Not jealous.
More like… conflicted.
And something else—something I couldn't name.
---
I was taking my books from my locker when someone spoke behind me.
"You'll catch a cold."
I didn't need to look.
Only one voice was that calm and sharp at the same time.
"Kaelor," I said softly.
He nodded once, eyes flicking from my damp sleeves to my face.
"You walked in the rain."
"With… with Devin," I replied quietly, not knowing why I emphasized that part.
Kaelor didn't say anything for three seconds.
Then—
"That's fine."
The tone said the opposite.
I raised a brow. "Are you sure?"
Another pause.
His jaw tightened.
"…Yes."
Definitely no.
Before I could question it, the bell rang, and he stepped back slightly.
"Don't be late," he said, turning away.
But the way he paused before walking off— like he wanted to say something more— like something heavy was caught behind his silence—
I noticed it.
Even if he didn't.
---
Evening — My Window
The rain hadn't stopped.
I leaned against my window, listening to it fall, replaying the day like a confusing montage:
Devin's apology.
Kaelor's stare.
Derek's smirk from the morning.
Sana whispering, "Something big is coming."
Something was coming. I felt it in my bones.
Maybe it was nothing.
Or maybe…
Maybe it was the beginning of something we weren't prepared for.