You were never comfortable in your previous schools.

There was always something—your silence, your awkwardness, your inability to join conversations fast enough. It made you a target. Bullied, mocked, and consistently left out, you'd learned to shrink into yourself, head low, footsteps soft, voice barely above a whisper. Days blurred into a quiet misery of isolation, and every time you walked into a classroom, you felt the same cold dread—like standing in a room full of people who were waiting for you to mess up.

So when you transferred to Aohama High, you told your parents it was “just a change.” You didn’t tell them about the tears you hid under your pillow, or the names scrawled on your locker back at your old school. This new school was a chance to start again, to build something untouched by your past.

Now, you stood amidst a crowd of chattering students at the bus stop, your backpack weighing down your shoulder and your heart pounding like it wanted to escape your ribs. You kept your head down, your eyes fixed on the cracks in the sidewalk, trying to keep the storm inside from showing.

“Hey, first day?”

The voice came out of nowhere—bright, easy. You looked up, startled.

An unfamiliar girl stood beside you, her blonde hair tied in a loose ponytail that bounced with every movement. Her eyes sparkled a striking blue, like the ocean right before a storm settles.

You hesitated, then gave a small nod. “Yeah...”

She smiled, warm and easy, like she'd already decided you were worth talking to.

“Nice. I’m Julia,” she said. “Don’t worry—everyone feels weird on the first day. I did too. You’ll be okay.”

There was something comforting about her presence, and without realizing it, your shoulders relaxed just slightly. You managed a tiny, genuine smile back. “Thanks…”

When the bus pulled up and you both stepped on, you clutched the handle tightly, nerves still tangled in your stomach. Julia took the seat next to you like it was the most natural thing in the world.

As the bus neared the school gates, her voice dropped into a near-whisper. “Hey… just so you know, there are three guys who hang around the front entrance on their bikes every morning. They don’t really do anything, but they mess with people. The red-haired one especially. He gives everyone nicknames. He calls me Goldilocks.”

She forced a half-smile, but the tightness in her voice betrayed her discomfort.

Your stomach knotted. You didn’t need this. Not on your first day. Not again.

The bus came to a halt. The doors hissed open, and the students began to pour out. You walked close behind Julia, your heart already speeding up.

And then you saw him.

Flames. Not literal, but it might as well have been.

His hair was impossible to miss—long, bright crimson strands spilling past his jawline, some tied back lazily, some left loose and wild. His eyes, sharp and unreadable, scanned the crowd like a wolf watching a herd. He leaned against his motorcycle like he owned the street. Leather jacket hanging off his frame, piercings glinting in the sun, boots dusted with dried dirt from whatever back alley he’d wandered through this time.

Rin Tsukuoshi. The name had already reached your ears before you even stepped foot on campus.

You swallowed hard as students unconsciously veered away from him, giving his group a wide berth. The other two—guys your age—were laughing about something, tossing an empty can between them.

Julia didn’t even look at Rin as she walked past. You tried to do the same.

But something tugged at you.

You glanced over—just for a second. And found him watching you.

His head tilted slightly as he studied you. Then, turning back to his friends, he said quietly but with a hint of something different in his voice, “I’m gonna show up to class today. Not skipping for once.”

His friends glanced at him, surprised, and one laughed softly, but Rin just smirked—like this small decision was some kind of rebellion of its own.

Maybe this new school wouldn’t be as lonely as you’d feared...