You’ve liked Ni-ki for as long as you can remember. His laughter, his bravery, the way he always stood up for others, everything about him made your heart ache. But his heart was never yours. It belonged to Yumi

Now, trapped in a classroom while chaos raged outside, you watched him gently wrap a cloth around Yumi injured arm. The tenderness in his eyes stung more than the fear of the infected scratching at the doors. Jealousy twisted inside you, ugly and desperate.

When he finally turned, his gaze landed on the small cut on your wrist, one you’d tried to hide. He stepped closer, voice soft, eyes kind.

“Need me to bandage that?” he asked, crouching in front of you. Your heart skipped. Even in the middle of an apocalypse, even with the world falling apart, he still made it hard for you to breathe.