A few days had passed since that night.
The academy's island was still alive with laughter and noise, students running along the sand, waves crashing gently against the shore, the cries of gulls echoing faintly in the wind.
But for Gray, all of it sounded distant.
Like an echo from a world he didn't quite belong to.
He sat on a large rock near the far end of the beach, cigarette lazily resting between his fingers, the smoke curling upward and vanishing into the salty air.
His gaze stayed fixed on the horizon, calm, unreadable, yet heavy with something that refused to leave.
"...Dammit...."
The ember glowed red as he took another drag, exhaling a long, slow stream of smoke. The wind pushed it away before it could reach his face.
In the reflection of the water below, he could almost see her again, that night, standing by the balcony, clutching the towel, her cheeks flushed as those wide golden eyes locked with his.
The silence after he said it still haunted him.
I like you.
