002

CONTINUE...

After that night, Shizen transfers to Zhethea's school, coincidentally. He becomes one of her classmates. Zhethea was surprised to see Shizen in her class.

She had been thinking about him since that night in the alley, wondering who he was and what he was doing there. She wanted to thank him properly, but he was never alone.

He always had a group of girls surrounding him, giggling and fawning over him.

Zhethea couldn't help feeling a little jealous, even though she knew she had no right to be. She watched him from afar, noticing the way he smiled politely at the girls, but never actually reciprocating their attention.

He seemed distant, almost indifferent to their affections.

This puzzled Zhethea even more. Why didn't he care about the attention of all those girls? Was he really that confident, or was there something else going on? Iriya was walking back from her club activities when she saw Zhethea standing by the window, staring out at something (or someone). Iriya could tell from the way Zhethea was standing that she wasn't just looking out casually. She was watching something or someone intently.

Iriya walked over to Zhethea and gave her a nudge. "Hey, what are you looking at?" she asked, following Zhethea's gaze. Zhethea looked at her for a moment, then turned back to the window. "Nothing," she mumbled, not really wanting to be caught. But Iriya wasn't one to let things go so easily. "Come on, spill," Iriya said, nudging her again. "You're clearly looking at something or someone. Don't try to play it off."

Zhethea sighed, knowing she couldn't get out of this. "Fine," she said. "I was watching...Shizen." Iriya raised an eyebrow. "Shizen?" she repeated, surprised. "The new guy in class?"

Zhethea nodded. "Yeah," she said, still gazing out the window. "He's just... interesting." Iriya looked at Zhethea for a moment, taking in her expression. She could tell that Zhethea was more than just interested in Shizen.

She was intrigued by him. And Iriya could also tell that there was more to the story than what Zhethea was telling her. But she didn't press the issue. Instead, she changed the subject.

"You know," she said casually, "Shizen is actually in the same club as me." Zhethea' eyes widened. "He is?" she asked, turning to look at Iriya. Iriya smiled. "Yeah, he is," she said. "He's a bit of a loner, though. Doesn't say much, doesn't talk much. But when he does, he says something really smart or funny." Zhethea was surprised to hear this.

She had seen Shizen interact with others before - usually when he was surrounded by a group of girls.

But she had never seen him talk to anyone on a deeper level. It fascinated her. "Really?" she said. Iriya nodded. "Yeah, really," she said. "I guess he's just really quiet when there's a lot of people around. But when it's just a few people, he opens up more. At least, that's been my experience with him." Zhethea was silent for a moment, processing this new information. "I wonder why he acts that way," she said finally. Iriya shrugged. "Who knows?" she said. "Maybe he's just a private person. Or maybe he's just shy around big groups of people. Either way, he's pretty cool once you get to know him." Iriya glanced at Zhethea's expression, seeing the curiosity in her eyes. She could tell that Zhethea was intrigued by Shizen... and a little smitten with him too. Iriya smiled to herself, knowing that she had sparked something in Zhethea.

"You know," she said casually, "if you're so interested in Shizen, why don't you talk to him?" Zhethea looked at Iriya, surprised. "Talk to him?" she repeated, as if the idea had never occurred to her. "Yeah, talk to him," Iriya said, shrugging. "You seem interested in him. Maybe talking to him will help you get to know him better." Zhethea was silent for a moment, thinking about Iriya's suggestion. She had thought about talking to Shizen before but never had the courage to approach him. But now that Iriya had brought it up, she couldn't help but feel curious. Maybe talking to him would give her some insight into why he acted the way he did. She looked at Iriya, unsure. "I don't know," she said hesitantly. "What would I even say to him?" Iriya was just about to respond when a voice behind them stopped her. "Hey."

Zhethea spun around, her heart skipping a beat. It was Shizen, standing behind them with his hands in his pockets. "How long have you been standing there?" Iriya asked, eyeing him skeptically.

Shizen just shrugged, not answering her question. He was looking at Zhethea, his eyes locked onto hers. Zhethea felt her cheeks heat up under his gaze. She didn't know what to say. Iriya looked back and forth between them, realizing that she was no longer included in the conversation. She cleared her throat, trying to break the silence.

"So," she said awkwardly, "what brings you here, Shizen?" Shizen didn't take his eyes off Zhethea as he spoke. "I was looking for you," he said to her, his voice serious.

Iriya looked back and forth between the two of them again, feeling a little left out. "Um, is there something happening here that I should know about?" she asked curiously. Zhethea didn't know how to respond. She didn't want to admit that she had been looking at Shizen earlier, but she couldn't deny it now that he was standing right in front of her. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as he continued to stare at her.

Iriya watched them both, wondering what was going on. She could sense the tension between them, but she couldn't quite figure out what it was about. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Shizen looked away from Zhethea. He glanced at Iriya, as if finally remembering her presence.

"Oh, hey Iriya," he said, his voice back to its usual easygoing tone. "I didn't see you there." Iriya rolled her eyes, realizing that she was no longer needed. "Yeah, yeah," she said sarcastically. She shot Shizen a look, then grabbed her bag and walked away quickly.

Shizen watched her go, then turned back to Zhethea, who was still standing there, her heart beating rapidly. They were alone now.

TO BE CONTINUED...