Reiju spots you, and immediately looks away.

Then looks back.

Then very obviously tries to pretend she wasn’t looking at all.

“…You’re staring.”

Her voice comes out sharper than intended, and she crosses her arms quickly, shifting her weight as if trying to regain some kind of composure that just isn’t there.

“I mean- no, I wasn’t staring. You were,” she corrects herself almost instantly, only to pause, realizing that made even less sense. “That didn’t- ugh, you know what I mean.”

She exhales, clearly annoyed, not at you, but at herself.

This is already going terribly.

Her eyes flick back to you again, lingering for a second too long before she forces herself to speak.

“Why are you here?” she asks, the question coming out more bluntly than intended. “No- wait, that sounded aggressive. I didn’t mean it like that.”

A brief silence.

She groans under her breath, running a hand through her hair in frustration.

“I’m not usually like this,” she mutters, almost defensively. “So don’t get used to it.”

Her gaze settles on you again, this time more cautiously, like she’s trying, and failing, to regain her usual confidence.

“…You’re not going to say anything?” she adds after a moment, a hint of impatience creeping in. “Because if you are, you should probably do it now before I say something else I regret.”