Rain tapped gently on the rooftop of the school's old gym, a sound that was oddly comforting to Elian as he stood beneath the overhang. His fingers curled nervously around the ribbon of a neatly wrapped bento box—his third homemade offering in the span of two weeks.
Across from him stood Levi, the school's volleyball team captain. Tall, effortlessly cool, and blessed with the kind of smirk that made people swoon without trying. And unfortunately, the very person Elian had decided to fall hopelessly in love with.
"I... I like you," Elian said for the third time, voice barely above the sound of the rain. "Again."
Levi looked away, eyes narrowing slightly. "You're persistent, huh."
Elian gave a small laugh, awkward and thin. "Maybe I just believe in second—or third—chances."
That did it.
Levi's shoulders stiffened. "Don't bother me anymore, Elian."
Those words hit harder than a slap.
He didn't wait for a response. Levi walked past him, barely glancing back.
Elian stood there alone for a moment, the warmth of the bento in his hands slowly fading. He didn't cry. He just… nodded to himself, like someone who had made a silent decision.
—
The next day, the courtyard buzzed with the usual noise, but something was different. Elian wasn't trailing behind Levi anymore.
Instead, he sat by the window with a boy no one had seen him talk to before. A transfer student—Ren. Rumored to be from the city, with sharp eyes and a gentle smile that could both disarm and intrigue.
They were laughing.
And worse—Elian was smiling. Genuinely.
Levi, passing by with his team, caught a glimpse of it. His steps faltered. For a moment, he stared.
"Oi, Captain," someone called.
Levi blinked and turned away. "Yeah, coming."
But even as he walked off, he kept glancing back, a strange twist in his chest he couldn't name.
Why the hell did it bother him?