----After the weekend---
"C'mon, man. You're still hung up about the date?"
Elio nudged Aran with his elbow as they walked side by side toward school.
"Yeah," Aran muttered, eyes fixed on the sidewalk. "It's gonna be weird... being in the same room as her after all that."
Elio snorted. "You act like she drop-kicked you in front of the whole class or something."
Aran gave him a look. "Emotionally? Kinda felt like it."
"Alright, alright, fair." Elio held up his hands in surrender. "But hey, maybe she feels bad too. Who knows? You might not be the only one."
Elio shoved his hands into his uniform pocket, glancing up at the blue sky.
"You're not mad at her though, are you?" he asked after a beat.
Aran didn't answer right away. He kicked a loose pebble on the road, watching it bounce ahead of them.
"I don't know," he finally said. "Part of me wants to be. I mean… it was a prank. But when I saw her face back there... I don't think it was all a joke to her anymore."
Elio hummed. "So what you're saying is: you got emotionally bamboozled by a pretty girl with a guilty conscience."
Aran snorted. "That's one way to phrase it. Doesn't change the fact it'll be awkward, though."
They rounded the corner, the school gates just barely in view now.
"I'm just saying," Elio added, tone softening, "she might not be as heartless as her friends. Sometimes people do dumb things just to belong."
"…Yeah. I kinda figured that out too."
A silence settled between them. Not heavy—just thoughtful.
Then Elio perked up.
"Hey, if things get awkward, I'll fake a fire drill and set off the sprinklers."
Aran blinked. "You can't do that."
"Hahaha! I'm joking!
Aran gave him a dry stare.
"…Are you?"
Elio grinned, all too smug. "No promises."
Despite himself, Aran cracked a small smile. It's not like Elio would actually do it.
The school gates loomed closer now, students buzzing in and out. The usual morning chaos.
Then suddenly, they noticed a girl leaning into the wall beside the gate.
A girl with brown hair and white highlights. There was no mistake, it was Kristina.
She waved at Aran with a smile. 'Took you long enough. C'mon—we're running late.'"
"Huh...?"
Nothing but confusion washed through Aran's mind
Elio did a full double take, then turned to Aran with an expression that practically screamed what alternate universe did we just step into?
Kristina, still standing casually by the gate, looked... calm. No nervous fidgeting. No avoiding eye contact. Just that relaxed, breezy smile like nothing ever happened.
"You coming or what?" she called again, walking over to Aran and pulling him away into the school.
Aran looked back at Elio who was watching him get taken away with an equally confused expression.
"Eh...?"
"Huh...?"
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As Kristina led Aran down the hall, her hand tightly holding his wrist, their shoes echoing softly against the tiled floor, Aran began to feel… watched.
He didn't even have to look up. He could feel the stares — a dozen pairs of eyes boring into the back of his head like laser sights.
Sure enough, some of the boys in the hallway were gawking openly. A few whispered. One guy's jaw visibly dropped as he nudged his friend like, "Hey, are you seeing this?!"
Aran could practically hear the unspoken thoughts echoing around him.
Wait… she's talking to him?
No!! I was gonna ask her out next week!
Why him?!
The sound of crushed dreams was almost audible — like a symphony of shattered expectations.
Somewhere behind him, he was pretty sure someone dramatically muttered, "It should've been me…" as they dropped to their knees.
And the girls weren't much quieter.
"My, how brave…"
"Must be nice…"
Aran felt like a toddler being walked through a room full of angry chained up pitbulls.
He wanted to say something — anything — but words were failing him. Not out of fear… just pure confusion.
Kristina, on the other hand, looked unfazed. Like this wasn't the social equivalent of dropping a bomb on everyone's expectations.
She kept walking, hand around his wrist, not even sparing the onlookers a glance.
Aran swallowed hard.
What in the world is happening right now?
"Alright, we're here!" Kristina said brightly, stopping in front of their classroom and finally letting go of his wrist like she hadn't just paraded him through a gauntlet of gawking students.
He blinked, caught completely off guard. "Uh… yeah. We are."
Kristina turned to him, her expression softer now, like the smile she gave him wasn't for show. "Thanks for walking with me."
Then, before he could say a word, she opened the door and slipped inside—like nothing had happened. Like it was all normal.
But nothing about it felt normal.
Aran stood frozen in place, staring at the now-closed door.
Behind him, the hallway buzzed with chatter and distant footsteps, but he barely registered it. His mind was still trying to piece together what that was. What this was.
The warmth of her hand still lingered faintly on his wrist.
"…Huh?" was the only thing he could say.
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Class has started, but instead of the usual hustle and bustle you'd expect, everyone was sitting silently with an unspoken feeling of 'What the hell did we just see?'
Cristina walked through the halls holding Aran without any hint of embarrassment and just went inside the classroom like nothing happened.
Ed looked over his shoulder at Aran who was writing in his notebook as Professor Stein wrote something on the board.
It can't be...
He saw them together when he was working his part time job at the theatre.
It could only point to one undeniable conclusion.
They're dating?!
Ed's pencil snapped as his grip tightened.
And it seems like he wasn't the only one who was surprised as Kristina's friends are also staring at her. But for some reason, Jena seemed particularly mad.
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[ARAN]
Class just finished and it was time for lunch. This is the moment to escape to my own personal space where no one can bother me.
Without any hesitation, I picked my phone up and messaged Elio.
[Yo, wanna eat on the rooftop? It should be unlocked today.]
I typed send.
My message was then followed up by a sticker of a dog giving a thumbs up.
[Sure! On my way?]
Hoo... I need a break...
Picking up my bag, I quickly scurried away like a rat that was escaping execution.
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Seeing Aran exit the room, Kristina decided to follow him and pick her bag up. This would be a good opportunity to spend some time privately to do what she needed to do.
But before she could take another step, Kristina felt a hand suddenly grab her shoulder. The grip was so tight it hurt.
Ow...
When she looked behind her, she saw Jena who was looking at her with an annoyed face.
"And where do you think you're going?"
She asked her.
Not missing a beat, Kristina immediately answered.
"To go have lunch. Please let go."
"Hah! Would you look at that, you're actually leaving us?"
"What? A girl can't eat in private now?"
Kristina grabbed Jena's hand with an equally strong grip.
Showing signs of annoyance, Kristina activated her perk, making her hand as cold as ice.
"Please, let go."
"Tch!"
Feeling the chill of Kristina's hand, Jena aggressively pulled her hand away.
After that, Kristina's usually bright smile returned as she dusted her shoulder off and grabbed her bag.
"Good! See you later!"
She walked off, with a spring in her step.
________________________________________
[ARAN]
I walked up a flight of stairs and opened the door that led to the school's rooftop. The air hit my face like a sigh of relief. No eyes. No whispers. Just the quiet hum of the city below.
Along the edges was a chain fence painted in yellow, with Elio leaning on it as he sat down, holding his lunch.
"Hey!"
Elio looked up from his lunch and waved way too enthusiastically for someone I'd just seen earlier this morning.
"Yo!" he called. "Welcome to my humble kingdom."
I raised an eyebrow. "You brought a sandwich and a juice box. Some kingdom you got."
"Hey, you're ignoring the humble part."
"Whatever..."
I chuckled.
I sat down beside him, dropping my bag with a sigh.
We stayed like that for a moment, both of us eating in silence. Just the wind and the occasional chirp of a bird passing by.
Then Elio glanced sideways at me, chewing slowly.
"So… Kristina."
I groaned and leaned back, staring up at the sky. "Of course you'd bring her up."
"Dude, she dragged you through the halls like it was a wedding march. What else am I supposed to talk about?"
"I don't know, maybe the weather? A game? Literally anything else?"
"Pfft. No way," he said with his mouth full. "This is way juicier."
"You suck..."
"I'm kidding!" Elio laughed, nearly choking on a bite of his sandwich. "Kinda.... You're like, the main character of a romcom now!"
I gave a long and exhausted sigh...
"Y'know, I always dreamt of a situation like this. A girl leading the way as her hand held mine... But WOW, DOES THIS SITUATION BETRAY EXPECTATIONS..."
Elio burst out laughing, nearly dropping his sandwich. "You looked like you were being escorted to jail, not class."
"I felt like I was."
I threw my head back and groaned.
Just then, the distant voice of a girl called out.
"Finally, I've been looking everywhere!"
"Huh?"
Elio and I looked up to see Kristina again
She stood at the rooftop entrance, slightly out of breath, holding her lunch tray like she'd sprinted across the school. The sun caught in her brown, white-highlighted hair, making it gleam.
What are you—? How did you even—?
I blinked.
I looked to my side and Elio was frozen stiff.
He looked like he'd just seen a ghost. His sandwich hung limply in his hand, forgotten.
Kristina raised an eyebrow. "Did I interrupt something?"
She looked beside me and saw Elio staring at her.
Elio's whole posture stiffened. His shoulders tensed like someone had just aimed a camera at him. He didn't say a word.
He didn't have to.
The stare he gave back wasn't meant to intimidate anyone—it was just his resting face. Cold and unreadable.
Kristina slowed a little.
She didn't step back, but her confidence clearly lowered. Her brows lifted slightly as Elio stared back at her—not intentionally cold, just… Elio.
Kristina let out a soft chuckle, almost nervous.
"I was, um… gonna ask if you wanted to eat lunch together," she said, her gaze aime at me. "But if you're busy…"
Elio blinked and turned back to his sandwich like nothing happened. I swore I saw a faint shaking in his eyes.
I scratched my head. "Well, it's not like this is exclusive territory or anything."
Kristina hesitated, then nodded slowly.
"…Okay. I'll just sit for a bit, then."
She walked over and sat a short distance away, taking out a lunch box. It was quiet for a few seconds—just wind and the soft rustling of cellophane.
Elio didn't say a word. He kept eating, but I noticed he angled his body slightly away, awkwardly reserved in a way I hadn't seen in a long time.
I almost forgot... Elio was less cheerful when we first met.
He's probably trying not to scare her...
Kristina peeked over. "Your friend doesn't talk much, huh?"
I smirked. "Oh, he does. Just not when people besides me are around."
Elio shot me a glare, then went back to chewing.
Kristina tilted her head, amused.
"Is that so..."
And just like that, the rooftop had become the most socially confusing triangle in the whole school.
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