The morning Velithra returned, everything felt slightly off-kilter.
Not wrong.Just… alert.
She stood at the school gates longer than necessary, fingers tightening around the straps of her bag. The building looked the same—same walls, same doors, same low hum of voices drifting through the air.
But she wasn't the same.
Neither was this.
She took a breath and stepped inside.
Kai noticed immediately.
He was halfway through pulling a book from his locker when something in the hallway shifted—like the air had been nudged. He looked up without thinking.
And there she was.
Velithra stood near the entrance, scanning the hallway like she wasn't sure where to land yet. Her hair looked a little wind-tousled, her posture familiar but lighter somehow.
Kai's chest tightened.
He closed his locker quietly and started toward her.
Velithra saw him at the same time.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
No rushing.No waving.Just recognition.
Kai stopped a step away, close enough that she could see the way his expression softened.
"You're back," he said.
Velithra nodded. "I am."
There was a pause—small, fragile, full.
"How was it?" he asked.
She thought about it honestly. "Good," she said. "But I missed… this."
She didn't have to explain what this meant.
Kai's mouth curved into a small smile. "Yeah. Me too."
They started walking together without discussing it, their steps falling into sync like they'd never stopped.
The hallway noise faded into the background.
"I kept thinking about things I wanted to tell you," Velithra said quietly.
Kai glanced at her. "Me too."
She hesitated. "Did you ever figure out what you'd say?"
He shook his head. "No."
"Good," she replied softly. "Because I think I'd rather just… be here."
Kai slowed slightly, turning toward her as they reached their classroom.
"Velithra," he said.
She met his eyes.
"I'm really glad you came back."
Her chest warmed, steady and real. "So am I."
They took their seats—side by side, familiar but changed.
Not because something had been said.
But because something had been understood.
And this time…neither of them felt like they were waiting anymore.