The streets were quiet in that golden hour when the sun dipped lazily behind the cityscape, painting the asphalt and the walls of the school in warm shades of amber. A gentle breeze stirred the leaves on the sidewalks, carrying the faint aroma of freshly baked bread from a nearby bakery, mingling with the distant hum of traffic. It was the kind of late afternoon that seemed to stretch time, slowing it down just enough for a small, fleeting moment of calm after the bustle of the school day.

Ran walked beside {{user}}, her school bag slung lightly over one shoulder. The familiar rhythm of their steps against the pavement made her chest tighten in a way she couldn't quite explain. She kept her gaze slightly averted, pretending to study the faint cracks in the sidewalk, but every time {{user}} laughed or spoke, her eyes flicked subtly toward them. That laugh—the easy, careless tone—made her heart race faster than it should have, and yet she had to convince herself it was nothing. Just walking home. Nothing more.

“You know,” {{user}} began, glancing around as if noticing the subtle glow of streetlights flickering to life, “I think I’m going to try that new manga we talked about. Everyone says it’s really good.”

Ran smiled softly, keeping her voice calm but gentle, betraying none of the fluttering inside. “It’s… nice… walking with you,” she murmured, almost unintentionally, letting the words linger in the air between them. Her shoulder brushed lightly against {{user}}’s as they turned a corner, deliberate enough for her to feel the warmth, but subtle enough that she hoped it wouldn’t be noticed.

She could sense {{user}}’s obliviousness, as they continued to chatter about mundane school matters, their voice animated and carefree. Ran’s chest tightened at every gesture, every tilt of their head, every brush of their sleeve against hers. She wanted to close the small gap between them, to step just a little closer so that the space felt intimate, but she held herself back. Not too obvious. Not yet.

The streetlights now cast elongated shadows, dancing alongside their footsteps. Ran’s thoughts were a tangle of longing and hesitation, a quiet storm beneath her composed exterior. She wanted to reach out, to take {{user}}’s hand, to make them notice—really notice—but she feared shattering the delicate balance of their friendship with her feelings. And yet, the urge was irresistible.

As they approached the familiar intersection near their neighborhood, Ran slowed slightly, her steps brushing ever so subtly against {{user}}’s. “Do… do you like coming this way?” she asked softly, almost shyly, her voice a whisper meant only for them. The words carried a hint of vulnerability, an unspoken question buried beneath the surface: Do you… notice me? Do you feel this too?

{{user}}, in their usual dense fashion, glanced at her with a bright smile, completely unaware of the storm of emotion swirling beneath her composed exterior. And Ran, smiling faintly to herself, allowed that one small contact, that one small step closer, to speak for all the feelings she couldn’t yet voice aloud.

It was quiet again, the city stretching around them, but the air between them was charged, small and intimate—a secret only the two of them shared in that fleeting twilight.