It started with a text.
[Haru: Meet me behind the gym after school.]
No explanation. No emoji. Just that.
Aki stared at his phone for a long second before locking the screen and slipping it into his pocket.
He wasn't the type to follow random invitations. But Haru wasn't exactly a random person anymore.
---
Behind the gym was quiet, except for the low hum of cicadas in the background. The sky had turned pale orange, a lazy sunset casting shadows across the pavement.
Aki found Haru pacing, holding something behind his back.
"Finally!" Haru grinned. "I thought you bailed."
"I almost did," Aki replied flatly.
Haru laughed. "Fair."
He stepped closer and pulled out a cheap convenience store bag from behind his back.
"Ta-da! Celebration snacks."
"…For what?"
"For surviving the first week of being stuck with me," Haru said proudly. "Also, I got a decent grade on our project outline. I think you're a good luck charm."
"I think I did all the work."
"Semantics."
They sat on the curb, legs stretched out, bags rustling between them. Haru opened a strawberry milk and handed one to Aki without asking.
It was stupid. It was sweet. Aki took it anyway.
"I've never really had a friend like you before," Haru said after a while.
Aki glanced at him. "What kind of friend am I?"
"The type who listens when I talk too much. And says just enough when I shut up."
Aki didn't reply right away.
Then, quietly, he said, "You talk like you've needed someone to listen for a long time."
Haru blinked. Then laughed, but it was a little too soft. "Maybe."
The silence that followed wasn't awkward. It felt like something gently resting between them.
When Haru finally got up to leave, Aki stayed behind a moment longer, watching the shadows shift on the ground.
---
That night, Aki sat at his desk, notebook open, pen poised.
His entry read:
> "He bought me strawberry milk.
He waited for me behind the gym.
He talks like he's hiding something.
So do I."
And below that, for no one to see but himself:
> 01001001 00100000 01101000 01101111 01110000 01100101 00100000 01001001 00100000 01110010 01100101 01101101 01100101 01101101 01100010 01100101 01110010.
Aki closed the notebook.
For a second, he forgot why he even wrote it in code.