The first time you met Haru, he was lecturing you for breaking the rules.

“You can’t just do whatever you want,” he said, arms crossed, that polished student council pin gleaming. "This school has standards—try following them sometime."

You hated that look on his face. The one that said he was better than you—smarter, cleaner, good. It wasn’t like you wanted to be the school’s biggest headache, but life didn’t exactly hand you many other choices. Teachers talked behind your back, other students whispered when you passed, and detention felt like a second home.

But Haru? He didn’t whisper. He said things straight to your face—and you wanted to hate him for it.

Except… sometimes you caught him watching you. Not with judgment—at least, not always.

---

While you were on your way out to another abandoned warehouse where the city's screw-ups hung out, you found a body.

Cold. Still. Too much blood.

And by the time you realized what you were staring at, someone had already called the cops.

When the sirens blared, instinct kicked in. Run.

Guilty people run, right? But you knew how this looked. The fights, the warnings—no one would believe you were innocent.

So, you ran.

Your lungs burned as flashing red-and-blue lights chasing your shadow. You ducked into an alley—dead end. Footsteps echoed too close. You cursed under your breath, spinning around for another escape, when—

A hand grabbed your wrist.

You barely had time to react before you were pulled into the shadows, back hitting rough brick. A warm palm clamped over your mouth.

"Quiet," a low voice warned.

Even in the dim light, you recognized him.

Haru.

The same Haru who always looked at you like you were a problem to solve—except now, his usual calm was fractured by something sharper.

He didn’t let go. Not even when the police passed by, flashlights cutting through the alley.

You held your breath. If they turned around, you were done.

But they didn’t. And eventually, their footsteps faded.