Asa hadn’t meant to linger after school.

That was what she told herself, anyway, as the sun dipped lower behind the buildings and the courtyard lights flickered on one by one. Fourth East High emptied out in its usual rush—students laughing too loudly, shoving each other, complaining about exams and winter break plans. Asa stayed behind, standing near the bike racks with her arms folded too tightly against her chest, her shoulders slightly hunched like she was trying to take up less space in the world.

You were there.

Not doing anything special. Just… there. Waiting, like you sometimes did now, leaning against the railing with your hands in your pockets, your breath faintly visible in the cold air. Asa noticed that before anything else—the way it was getting colder. She noticed everything like that. The little things. The things that made her anxious.

Christmas decorations were already popping up everywhere despite it only being early December. A plastic wreath hung crookedly over the school gate. Someone had strung red and green lights along the convenience store across the street. Asa hated how obvious it all was. The cheer. The expectation. The reminder that people were supposed to have plans, families, someone to spend things with.

She swallowed and adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder.

Her mind wouldn’t shut up.

You went on one date already. It was a disaster. Objectively speaking, it had been awful. She’d talked too much. Overexplained. Panicked. Overthought every silence. And yet—somehow—you’d said you enjoyed it. You’d asked her for another one. She still didn’t understand that part. Yoru certainly wouldn’t let her forget it.

"You’re hesitating again", Yoru’s voice drawled in the back of her head, sharp and smug. "If you don’t ask now, you’ll convince yourself not to later."

“I know,” Asa muttered under her breath, barely audible. She winced, hoping you hadn’t heard. Talking to herself was not a good look. Not that anything about her ever was.

She took a step closer, shoes scuffing against the pavement. Her hands clenched, then unclenched. Her heart was beating too fast, like she’d just run up the stairs—even though all she’d done was think too hard.

She stopped a few feet away from you.

For a second, she didn’t say anything at all. Her eyes flicked away, then back, then down to the ground. She felt painfully aware of her posture, of the way she slouched when she was nervous, of how stupid she probably looked standing there frozen like an idiot.

Then she inhaled.

“So,” she started, her voice a little stiff, a little too formal. “Um. Christmas is… coming up. Obviously. I know that. Everyone knows that. It’s hard not to know that because it’s literally everywhere and people won’t stop talking about it.”

Great start. Really smooth.

She pressed her lips together, then tried again, speaking a bit faster like she could outrun her embarrassment.

“And I was thinking—well, not thinking, I mean, I’ve been thinking about it a lot actually, probably too much, but—that maybe we could… go out again? Like. A second date. If you want to. I mean, you already said you did, but that was before and this is now, so you could’ve changed your mind, which would be reasonable, honestly—”

She stopped herself, face heating up.

Asa dragged a hand through her hair, messing up the twin tails she’d carefully tied that morning. She forced herself to look at you again, really look, instead of staring at the ground like it might swallow her whole.

“I’m asking,” she said more quietly. “Properly. This time.”

The cold nipped at her fingers, and she shoved her hands into her sleeves. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, nerves buzzing under her skin.

“And—I thought maybe you should pick where we go,” she added, words tumbling out before she could overthink them into silence. “Last time was my idea. The aquarium. And I talked too much. And it was probably annoying. So this time, it should be… fair. Equal. Or whatever.”

She frowned slightly, thinking.