Aki's alarm blared, slicing through the early-morning haze of her room. She groaned and pulled the blanket over her head. But even in that half-asleep state, she could feel it — the tight knot in her chest, the one that had grown heavier ever since Lua had shown up at her door last night.
She rolled over and stared at the ceiling, tracing the cracks in the plaster like she traced memories of him in her mind. Sixteen years. Sixteen years of laughter, arguments over the silliest things, scraped knees that Lua would insist on bandaging himself because he refused to "waste his mom's time," and quiet afternoons spent together doing nothing but talking. That's who Lua was — her constant, her other half in the simplest, most chaotic way.
And now?
He was… different.
Not that he'd changed, really. His white hair still caught the sunlight just right, his red eyes still held that unnerving mix of warmth and sharp intelligence, and his lean body still seemed effortlessly graceful. It wasn't his fault he was attractive — that's just how he existed. But now, the very thought of him made Aki's chest ache and her mind trip over itself.
She sighed, swinging her legs off the bed. Her reflection in the mirror told a story she refused to admit to anyone: flushed cheeks, lips bitten absentmindedly, eyes too wide, shoulders tense. She looked like someone caught in a storm, except the storm was entirely within her own heart.
The walk to school felt like a march through fog. She saw him before he saw her — Lua leaning against the school gate, headphones in, scrolling through his phone with that effortless cool he always carried. Every girl in the vicinity seemed to glance his way, some giggling, some whispering. And Aki's stomach twisted.
Competition.
She hated that word. Not because she didn't trust him — Lua wasn't the type to flirt recklessly — but because she couldn't trust herself. Girls at school looked at him like he was some kind of prize, and even though she'd always been his best friend, the thought that someone else could get inside his world before her was unbearable.
"Morning, Aki!" called out Ken, her classmate and one of Lua's friends. Ken always seemed to notice the smallest things — the way she flinched when Lua moved too close, the way she stayed silent when he laughed with other girls.
Aki waved vaguely, trying to appear calm, though her heart was racing. She didn't want him noticing how flustered she was. Not now, not ever.
Lua glanced up, catching her movement. A brief flash of recognition passed through his eyes, followed by… nothing. Nothing other than his usual polite smile, the one that had once made her feel at home. Her chest clenched, and she quickly looked away, pretending to adjust her backpack strap.
The walk to class was quiet. Not the comfortable silence of old days, where they could sit together and feel like nothing else existed, but a tense silence, filled with unsaid words. She felt him every few steps — the warmth of his presence, the way his scent seemed to linger even when he was a few meters away, the way her heartbeat jumped whenever he laughed at something small, a joke she hadn't even heard.
And then, the moment that always threatened her control: the girls.
They gravitated toward him like bees to honey. His charm wasn't intentional; it never was. But that just made it worse. Aki's stomach twisted as she watched him listen patiently to one of the popular girls, offering a kind smile, nodding occasionally.
Her mind screamed at her. It's nothing. It's nothing. He's your best friend. You're imagining things.
But even as she said that, a small, involuntary pang of jealousy hit. She hated the way her chest ached, hated the irrational anger that flared every time someone else sought his attention. She hated that she couldn't stop herself from thinking about him every waking second.
By the time the first class started, Aki had to force herself to focus on the board, on the teacher's words, on anything but Lua. And yet, even across the room, she could feel him. He was leaning back, half-asleep in his chair, smirking at something he read on his phone, completely oblivious to the storm inside her.
She remembered all the times he'd been there — picking her up when she tripped over nothing, laughing at her terrible jokes, saving the last piece of chocolate for her. Memories she had tucked safely away suddenly pressed forward, stabbing at her heart with sharp, relentless clarity.
Why now? Why now, after sixteen years, did he make her heart feel like it could shatter in a single second?
Lunch came, and Aki avoided him deliberately, joining her usual table with a few friends. Yet, even across the cafeteria, she could see him surrounded by laughter and chatter, glowing in that effortless way that made her entire body tense. Every smile he gave someone else twisted in her chest.
Competition. Her best friend had always been hers — and now, she had to fight herself to not lose him, even if he didn't know she wanted more.
She pushed down the wave of feelings, forcing herself to concentrate on her food, on her friends, on anything except Lua's presence. And yet, as she looked up and caught him glancing in her direction for a fleeting second, her cheeks burned, and she quickly looked away, pretending to check her phone.
Her mind whispered a cruel truth she couldn't ignore: She loved him.
And the worst part? He had no idea.