—Naoaki's POV—
The dream came again.
Familiar.
Like a hand reaching for me in the dark, trying to pull me into something I couldn't quite grasp.
I was standing at the edge of a crowded street, but there was no sound.
No people.
Just me, waiting. And then I saw him.
Ren.
He was standing in the middle of the road, his back to me, and I wanted to call out, but no words would come.
I reached out to him—
And then a truck came, its headlights blinding.
My heart stopped.
I woke up in a cold sweat, breathing hard.
"Just a dream," I whispered to myself, but it felt too real. Too vivid. Too… him.
I sat up in bed, the room too quiet. My chest ached, like a weight was pressing on it.
Had the dream been about him? Or had it been about something else?
I couldn't remember.
I only knew I wanted him to be here, not the version of him I saw in my dreams, but the real one.
The one that looked at me like he hated me.
[Scene: School the Next Day]
I stepped into class, feeling the sharp pang of being an outsider. Ren wasn't at his seat.
It was the first time in a week he hadn't been here before me.
I sat down, still groggy from the dream. Trying to shake the feeling of unease.
Trying to ignore the part of me that wanted to go to him and shake him awake from whatever nightmare he was living in.
Kazuma plopped down next to me with his usual grin.
"You're up early. Looks like you've been thinking about something all night."
I didn't know how to respond, so I kept my gaze focused on my desk.
The door opened and Ren walked in.
He was wearing the same indifference as always, his long stride echoing through the room.
But today, there was something different in the air. A certain weight to his presence that made my heart stutter.
[Scene: History Class – Ren's POV]
Ren sat in his usual spot, eyes half-lidded, like he could barely stay awake.
Naoaki was close, too close, his scent filling the space between them.
> I shouldn't be looking at him this way.
I shouldn't care. But I do. I do more than I should.
I wish I didn't know him.
I wish I could forget him.
Ren's fingers twitched slightly, like he was about to reach for something.
Like he might say something. Anything.
But when their eyes met, the words died before they could leave his mouth.
Naoaki, as always, wore that quiet expression, like there was more to him than what the world saw. Like there was something buried deep in those eyes.
[Later that Afternoon – Naoaki's POV]
It was raining again.
Of course. It always rained when I needed to think, when I needed space to breathe.
I grabbed my umbrella, stepping out of the school gate, just to find myself face-to-face with Ren again.
"Not going home yet?" I asked, hoping my voice didn't betray the wild thrumming in my chest.
Ren gave me a sidelong glance. "I don't know. I just—don't feel like it."
I nodded, biting my lip, trying to think of something to say. "Wanna walk together?"
Ren hesitated, his expression unreadable. Then he sighed.
"Fine."
I tried to keep the smile from spreading across my face. I hadn't expected him to agree so easily.
Maybe things weren't as bad between us as I'd thought.
But then, as we walked, something shifted in the air.
I could feel it.
Ren was here, but somewhere else, too.
Like the weight of his thoughts was pulling him away from me, even when he was standing right there.
[Scene: Alone in the Rain – Ren's POV]
> He's so close.
I should pull away.
But I can't. I don't know if I want to.
I've been so angry for so long.
And I don't even know why.
His laughter echoed in Ren's mind. The one from when they were younger.
Before everything fell apart. Before he remembered. Before everything shattered.
It hurt. This ache in his chest. The way it felt like he was suffocating, caught between two versions of himself: the boy who loved and the boy who hated.
He was slipping.
Slipping in a way that felt dangerously familiar.
He could feel it again, like he was back in another life.
[Later – Naoaki's POV]
We parted ways by the gates, and I watched him disappear into the rain, his shoulders tense.
I couldn't help but feel like I'd failed, even though I didn't know what I was supposed to do.
"Don't worry," Kazuma said, patting my shoulder. "You'll figure it out."
Maybe. But part of me already knew: I was going to lose him again.