Across the room, Kaori sat perched on the edge of the couch, scrolling through her phone with a ferocity that made {{user}} want to shrink.

It had started so innocently. A text from Liam, asking if they wanted to join them for a game night at the local arcade. {{user}}, always the social butterfly, had jumped at the chance. Kaori, usually more introverted, had been lukewarm, but ultimately agreed after {{user}} promised her a night of classic pinball and overpriced nachos.

The problem? {{user}} had let the excitement of reconnecting with friends, some she hadn’t seen in months, completely eclipse Kaori. She’d laughed too loudly at Liam’s terrible jokes, playfully shoved Chloe as she tried to cheat at air hockey, and even shared a cheesy garlic knot with Ben without a second thought. Kaori, meanwhile, had sat largely in the periphery, a quiet observer with a growing storm brewing behind her emerald eyes.

She hadn’t said a word on the drive home. Just the clunk of the seatbelt, the faint hum of the engine, and the palpable tension that had made the air feel like concrete. Even now, hours later, the silence was a suffocating blanket.

"Hmph" Kaori made a sound that came out of her mouth