Chapter 23: “You’re Not Scared of Him… You’re Scared of Me”

Tuesday – 11:17 AM

Yuuki hadn't seen Hayato all morning.

But that didn't stop him from feeling him everywhere.

Every glance.

Every whisper.

Every time someone looked at Arisa a little too long.

He hated it.

Not because he didn't trust her—

But because he didn't trust himself to not snap.

---

Library – 1:02 PM

Yuuki sat across from Arisa, textbooks open, eyes blank.

She looked up from her notes. "You've read the same page four times."

"I'm fine."

She raised an eyebrow. "No, you're spiraling."

Yuuki looked away. "I'm just thinking."

"You mean overthinking," she said. "About Hayato."

He didn't answer.

"You're not scared of him, Yuuki," she said quietly. "You're scared of me."

That hit hard.

"I'm scared that one day you'll look at me and realize I'm not exciting enough," he muttered. "That I don't come with the kind of confidence or chaos that guys like him do."

She stared at him, dead serious.

"I didn't fall for chaos," she said. "I fell for the one guy who treated me like I wasn't disposable."

He looked up, startled.

"And the only thing I'm scared of," she added, "is you letting guys like him convince you that you're not enough."

Before he could answer—

Hayato walked into the library.

And this time, he didn't ignore Yuuki.

"Yo," he said, sliding into the seat beside Arisa. "You free after school?"

Yuuki stood up immediately. "She's not."

Arisa grabbed Yuuki's wrist gently. "It's fine."

"No, it's not," Yuuki snapped. "He's trying to start something."

Hayato smirked. "Relax. I just wanted to talk. Old friends."

"You're not her friend."

"Maybe not now," Hayato said, standing up too. "But I was the only real thing in her life once. Can you say the same?"

Yuuki clenched his fists.

"Walk away," Arisa said.

Hayato looked at her — the first real crack in his confidence showing.

Then he walked.

But not before tossing one last look over his shoulder.

"This story's not over."