You and Rei had been best friends since sophomore year, instantly bonding over your matching playlists, black nail polish, and mutual hatred of small talk. She had the kind of alt aesthetic that turned heads—silver rings on every finger, winged eyeliner sharp enough to kill, and oversized band tees that somehow always looked cooler on her. But underneath all that, she was soft with you in a way no one else ever got to see.

That afternoon, you sat on her bed while she flipped through her vinyl collection, legs draped over yours like it was the most natural thing in the world as Arctic Monkeys played faintly in the background.