Chapter Seventeen: The Festival Committee

The announcement hit like a thunderclap during homeroom.

"Our class has been selected to organize one of the main events for this year's Cultural Festival," the teacher announced, voice overly cheerful. "Congratulations, Class 1-B! We'll be in charge of the evening café and live performance space!"

A collective groan swept through the room.

Takara Minami, however, practically bounced in his seat. "A performance space? Like… with lights and music? Oh my god, I have ideas."

Kayo Tsukishiro, sitting beside him, barely glanced up from his notebook. "I had a feeling you'd say that."

The teacher continued. "We'll need volunteers for the planning committee. This will involve decorating, managing the performance schedule, prepping the café menu—"

"I volunteer!" Takara shouted before she even finished the sentence.

Several heads turned, half amused, half unsurprised.

The teacher nodded. "Thank you, Minami-kun. Anyone else?"

Takara nudged Kayo under the desk. "Come on, do it with me."

Kayo blinked. "Why would I do that?"

"Because I'm going to overcommit and stress myself out, and you'll end up helping me anyway. May as well be official."

Kayo gave him a long, blank look. Then he raised his hand. "I'll join too."

Takara grinned. "See? That wasn't so hard."

The first committee meeting was held in an empty classroom after school, where a dozen students gathered around a whiteboard and a pile of chaotic notes left by last year's organizers.

Takara, to no one's surprise, quickly rose as the unofficial leader.

"Okay, hear me out," he said, holding up a marker. "What if the theme is 'Starlight Serenade'? Think fairy lights, constellations, moody lighting, cozy cushions, acoustic sets—like a little world inside the school."

Kana from 1-C, also on the committee, nodded enthusiastically. "That's so pretty!"

Kayo, seated beside her, tapped his pen against a notepad. "If we go for a celestial theme, we need to make sure it's manageable. LED strips and safe lighting options. No actual fire hazards."

Takara pointed at him. "That's why you're here."

Kayo smirked. "To ruin your fire hazards?"

"To keep me grounded."

By the end of the meeting, they had the framework for something ambitious but doable—a soft-lit café with rotating performances from student musicians, poets, and maybe even a dance group. Takara was already thinking about flyers and performance slots. Kayo was calculating costs and drawing floorplans.

It was strange, how naturally they fell into step.

Like two sides of a coin.

Over the next week, the committee meetings became a daily thing.

Takara and Kayo found themselves spending hours after school in the art room, painting signs and sketching decorations. Takara hummed while working, brush dancing across cardboard stars. Kayo measured each angle with meticulous care, focused and quiet, but with a subtle smile he never used to wear.

"Your clouds look like marshmallows," Kayo said one afternoon, leaning over Takara's shoulder.

"They're supposed to look fluffy," Takara huffed.

"They do. Fluffy and delicious."

"Don't eat my clouds, Tsukishiro."

Kayo smirked. "Too late. They've been emotionally consumed."

Takara laughed so hard he nearly smeared paint on his nose.

Behind them, another committee member whispered to Kana, "Are they dating?"

Kana only smiled. "They're orbiting."

One chilly Friday evening, after a long decorating session, the two found themselves alone in the gym.

The stage had been mostly set up, but the overhead lighting was off, leaving only the string of fairy lights Takara insisted on testing early.

It gave the space a dreamlike glow.

Takara wandered onto the small stage, staring up at the canopy of lights above. "It's beautiful."

Kayo leaned against a column, watching him. "You made it beautiful."

Takara turned, eyes wide and soft. "Kayo."

"Yes?"

"Will you dance with me?"

Kayo's mouth opened, then shut.

"I know there's no music," Takara said quickly, holding out his hand. "But it doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be us."

Kayo hesitated.

Then he stepped forward.

His fingers slid into Takara's, tentative but sure. And there, in the middle of the empty gym, under flickering lights and silent stars, they danced.

It was clumsy.

Takara hummed a tune softly into Kayo's shoulder. Kayo's movements were stiff at first, but they found a rhythm—slow, intimate, swaying.

No one was watching.

No one needed to.

Later, as they walked back to their dorm through the crisp night air, Kayo spoke.

"You really think we're ready?"

"For the festival?"

"No." He glanced sideways. "For this."

Takara slowed. "You mean… us?"

Kayo nodded. "Being seen. Being talked about. Being together in a way that isn't hidden."

Takara thought for a long moment, then smiled.

"I'm scared too. But hiding never saved anyone from heartbreak. We're already in this. I'd rather be in it with you—completely."

Kayo took a breath like he was trying to hold something steady inside him. "Then… I want to try."

Takara reached out, lacing their fingers together. "Try with me."