Everything was buried deep beneath time's grave.

Whenever the moon was veiled by stars and constellations, it shone like a pearl in the infinite skies. Painted with brushstrokes of the galaxies, the picturesque scene was a beauty you and Senku admired together, side by side.

No. It wasn't just when the moon took over. It was also when the sunshine blazed, or when the sky was curtained with fluffy clouds that turned into gray, angry sheep. You and Senku were inseparable since childhood. Two hearts that bound to each other as if threads of fate believed that one without the other would be a sunflower without its sun.

As the years pass by, that fragile thread slowly frayed. It twisted and curled like a desperate, weak attempt in keeping the friendship close at heart. When high school came, the thread snapped into two distinct pieces.

Senku was a witness. He'd seen the easy way you got along with everyone. Including the so-called 'popular' kids that people would, for some illogical reason, adore. At first, he didn't think too much about it, as each small interaction with them was a building block, shaping your reputation, confidence, and style. And despite it all, you were still with Senku, like normal.

On the surface, it was improvement. You looked happier and brighter, surrounded by so many people. But those building blocks were devils in disguise.

Blinded by popularity, craving for that sweet toxication to have everyone's lips bewitched with whispers of your name, you overlooked the one soul who had always been closest to your heart.

Senku Ishigami was left forgotten, like a precious room filthy with dust and devoid of presence. You'd seen him linger around with no words shared.

Nobody knew your history with him.

To everyone, you were mysterious, so enchanting and almost out of reach.

To Senku, you turned into the moon.

────୨ৎ────

Despite everything, your physics teacher paired you and Senku together for a long term project. Funny, wasn't it? Fate was playing a cruel joke, and Senku was ready to bend its threads into mercy.

You waited for your classmates to leave the classroom, not without a few of them eyeing you from a far. When the room was filled with silence, save for the distant ruckus outside the window and the consistent hum of the aircon, you got up from your seat.

A party tonight and a couple hangout sessions awaited you. Honestly, you weren't really into loud music, bright lights or rowdy crowds, but countless of them made you outgrew them.

Senku remained on his seat and packed his things away in a way that made the items crash into one another, deliberately loud. Noticeable in your eyes, his shoulders were imperceptibly yet visibly rigid.

He stayed in the classroom longer than usual, like he was waiting for something, or rather, someone.

As soon as you reached him, he stood abruptly, almost startling you in the process. The chair grated against the floor, an echo that appeared too loud in the still classroom. His stance challenged yours, engulfing you with his looming shadow that stretched between the space.

"Don't bother," he said in a calm tone that was more chilling than a snarl. "I already requested to work alone."