LightReader

Chapter 19 - Echoes Between Them

"Sometimes, it's not what we hear that changes us… it's what we try not to."

Sayaka walked down the hallway the next morning, her fingers grazing the edges of the lockers as she passed.

She wasn't late.

She wasn't early.

Just… slower than usual.

Everything felt heavier than it should.

The corridor buzzed with early chatter — classmates swapping test scores, planning lunches, laughing over things that didn't matter.

She didn't join in.

Her mind replayed the image from the day before:

Ren, standing with Hana.

Heads close.

Not touching — but close enough that Sayaka could still feel the space between them pressing on her chest.

When she reached class, Ren was already there.

He sat near the back window, sketchbook open — as always — but not drawing.

He seemed distracted.

His eyes followed something invisible outside.

Sayaka paused in the doorway, just a second.

Then walked to her seat and said nothing.

During break, she lingered by her locker, hoping — maybe — he'd stop by like he sometimes did.

But he didn't.

Not even a glance.

It wasn't coldness.

It was just… distance.

A distance she hadn't noticed growing until now.

She turned and found Yuki, one of the girls from their class, watching her.

Yuki had always been kind — cheerful, loud, and sharp-eyed in a way that sometimes made Sayaka nervous.

But today, her expression was soft.

"You okay?" she asked, nudging Sayaka with a knowing look.

Sayaka blinked. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"No reason," Yuki said. "Except you've been staring at Ren like he's an unsolvable math problem."

Sayaka blushed.

Too fast. Too obvious.

"I wasn't."

"Mm-hm," Yuki said, unconvinced. Then: "You know he and Hana have been talking more lately, right?"

Sayaka froze.

That wasn't news.

But hearing someone else say it made it feel real.

"People say she might be the one who's been leaving notes for him."

Sayaka turned sharply. "What?"

Yuki raised a brow. "You didn't know?"

Sayaka didn't answer.

Because no — she hadn't known anyone *else* noticed.

She thought she was the only one watching.

Later, in music class, they were paired in trios.

Ren, Sayaka, and Hana — by coincidence or fate — ended up in the same group.

They didn't sit close.

But they didn't need to.

Sayaka felt everything between them.

The slight pause before Ren answered Hana's suggestion.

The way Hana smiled after his quiet "that works."

The way her own voice felt too loud — too careful — when she spoke.

And when Ren laughed at something Hana said, soft and genuine…

Sayaka looked down.

That night, alone in her room again, Sayaka finally allowed the feeling to settle.

Not jealousy.

Not yet.

Just a slow, creeping awareness that something delicate was slipping away.

She reached into her desk drawer and took out a blank sheet of paper.

She didn't know what she was doing.

She only knew one thing:

She needed to write something down before she exploded.

But the pen in her hand hovered above the page, unmoving.

Because what do you say, when you're not sure who you're even writing to?

More Chapters