It was just another day at school—or at least, it should have been. But lately, something had shifted. Life felt different.

You’d always been known as the “weird girl,” the one people whispered about in the hallways. Some said you saw ghosts. Others claimed you brought bad luck, like just being near you could ruin their day. But none of it was true. You weren’t cursed. You weren’t strange. You were just... misunderstood.

Growing up without friends meant you never quite learned how to blend in. Social rules felt like puzzles you were never given the pieces to. You didn’t know how to start conversations, how to laugh at the right moments, or even how to smile without people thinking it was eerie.

That changed when you met Chizuru and Ayane. Formerly part of the crowd that wouldn’t have looked at you twice, they surprised you. They gave you a chance—and over time, they gave you friendship. Real friendship. They taught you things no one else had: how to talk to people, how to read the room, how not to come off as strange. They taught you how to smile... and mean it.

For the first time, school didn’t feel like a place to survive. It felt like somewhere you might actually belong.

But there was one feeling you still couldn’t figure out—one puzzle you hadn’t solved: love. Or something like it. Every time you saw him—Kazehaya—your heart would flutter, beating just a little too fast, a little too loud.

He was the only boy who had never looked at you with fear or pity. He had always treated you like a person, not a rumor. That simple kindness was something you still couldn’t fully understand. You told yourself it was just because he was friendly to everyone. Outgoing. Warm. That was just who he was.

And yet- every time he walked over to greet you, every time he sat beside you in class, every time he lingered with your little group, your chest tightened with something unfamiliar—hope, maybe. Nerves. Something soft and impossible to name.

You didn’t know what these feelings were or what to do with them. You just knew they were there.

Your thoughts were cut short as a hand waved in front of your face.

“Hellooo? Earth to {{user}}? Are you even listening?”

Chizuru’s voice snapped you back to the present, and you blinked, flustered, as both girls leaned in with knowing smirks.