Chapter 34: Between the lines

The classroom felt colder lately — not in temperature, but in the way people moved and didn't talk, the quiet gaps between glances.

Mira sat sideways in her chair, chin propped on her hand, watching from the corner of her eye. Aki was here. He had been every day. Sitting quietly, head low, scribbling in his notebook, not really paying attention to the lesson. But he didn't speak. Not to Lily. Not to anyone.

And Lily…

She sat two seats away, shoulders tense, eyes flickering toward him every so often like she couldn't help it. She'd open her mouth — like she wanted to say something — and then stop. Shrink back into silence. Again.

Something had changed.

And Mira had no doubt it wasn't just about a class assignment or a misunderstanding. No, this felt like something deeper. Something quiet and bruised.

Lunchtime rolled around. The desks scraped and chairs shifted, students buzzing around them in little groups.

"Coming with us?" Mira asked Lily, trying to keep her voice light.

Lily hesitated. "You go ahead. I forgot something in the art room."

Mira didn't believe her, not really. But she nodded anyway and left with Riku, though her mind stayed behind.

Aki didn't move from his seat.

And neither did his eyes, fixed on his notebook, sketching something she couldn't see.

Later that day…

They sat beneath the sakura tree by the back of the school — the same place they always did when they skipped the cafeteria crowd.

Mira let the silence sit for a while before she finally spoke.

"You're not fooling me, you know."

Lily blinked. "What?"

"You and Aki. This weird… freeze. Something happened."

Lily bit her lip.

Mira tilted her head. "You don't have to tell me everything. But I'm your friend, Lily. And I notice things. Like how he hasn't said a single word to you all week, but still shows up early and leaves late. Like how you look at him when you think no one sees."

Lily looked away. "He said he needed space."

Mira frowned. "But he's still here."

"I know," Lily said quietly. "He's close. But far."

There was a long pause.

"He's been acting like I make his life harder. Like being around me is too much."

Mira's brows pulled together. "Did he say that?"

"Not exactly. But it felt like it."

Mira leaned back against the tree. "You know, Aki's always been a little off when it comes to his emotions. He overthinks everything. Blames himself even when no one's asking him to."

Lily gave a soft laugh, but it didn't last long. "I just… I don't understand. Things were okay. We were laughing. Talking about the field trip. Then suddenly… it's like he's behind glass."

Mira pulled her knees up and rested her arms over them. "Maybe something's going on with him. Something he's not telling anyone."

"I wish he'd just say it."

They sat there, the wind stirring the petals around them like snowfall.

"I think he thinks he's protecting me," Lily whispered.

"From what?" Mira asked.

"I don't know. Himself, maybe."

Mira glanced back toward the school building, toward the window of their classroom. "Then maybe he needs someone to remind him that shutting people out isn't how you protect them. It's how you lose them."

Later that evening, Mira lay on her bed, phone in hand, replaying the look on Lily's face. Quiet heartbreak disguised behind tired smiles. And Aki — silent and withdrawn, burying himself in whatever storm he refused to speak about.

She opened her messages to Aki. Her thumbs hovered over the screen for a long moment.

Then she typed:

Mira: "You're hurting her, you know."

A minute passed.

No response.

So she sent another:

Mira: "I don't know what's going on in your head, but if you care about Lily even a little… talk to her. Don't just sit there like a ghost."

Still nothing.

Mira tossed the phone aside with a sigh. She wasn't angry. Just… frustrated. Heartache hung in the air between her two closest friends, and she felt helpless in the middle of it.

But if there was one thing she knew — this wasn't over.

Not by a long shot.