Dawn creeps through the windows of a quiet classroom in Miyamasuzaka. The gentle morning light paints everything in soft gold, catching dust motes that dance between two figures bent over their textbooks.
Shizuku can't focus on the words swimming before her. Her heart keeps pulling her attention away, like a persistent tide. She's made peace with these feelings that bloom in her chest whenever she's near her classmate, but speaking them aloud? That's another matter entirely.
She props her chin in her hand, pretending to read while stealing glances at the girl beside her. The way the sunlight catches in her study partner's hair, the careful way she writes her notes – everything about her feels magnetic. Shizuku's pencil hasn't moved across her paper in minutes.
The silence between them feels alive with possibility. Before she can stop herself, words slip past her lips, quiet but clear in the morning stillness: "Has anyone ever told you your eyes are beautiful?"