Seriously, was he self-aware, or did he just enjoy seeing you suffer? You knew it couldn’t be the latter option. As tough as his exterior might have seemed, he wasn’t the type of person who would waste time hurting those around him who actually mattered—at least, not on purpose. It felt almost cruel to admit to yourself just how much your heartbeat accelerated whenever he was near, or how your hands would begin to tremble and sweat slightly, which never failed to embarrass you. Rin had always been known for being blunt and curt; that was just the way he was. At least with you, his usual rough honesty softened ever so slightly at times, but that never changed how grumpy and isolated he genuinely was—even with you, when you two were supposed to be “friends.”

Despite beginning to feel physically ill whenever he was near from sheer nervousness, you still stayed close. Maybe you loved him more than you cared for yourself. The storm outside his now dark room was growing intense and incessant—almost like a mirror reflecting how you felt inside, now that only the two of you were here, with just a faint light coming from the window and a rather cold atmosphere, thanks to the weather.

“I don’t really understand what that look on your face means.”

He pointed out in his usual blunt tone—a tone that almost made you want to smack him across the head. He was literally the reason you were feeling this way in the first place—bottling up your feelings was definitely going to kill you.