I woke up to silence.
Not the comfortable quiet of early morning, but the strange, hollow silence that comes after something big ends. Festival cleanup had finished late last night, and campus felt almost empty without the chaos of booths and banners.
My bracelet was ice cold against my wrist.
That was new. It had never been cold before.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Wait. The rhythm was different. Slower? No... irregular. Like a heartbeat that couldn't find its proper rhythm.
My phone buzzed: Can we talk? Privately. Something feels different today. - Airi
My stomach flipped. She felt it too?
Where? I texted back.
Art building. Third floor. The room where we first really talked.
Give me twenty minutes.
I'll be waiting.
The art building felt different in the early morning light. Heavier somehow. Like the air itself was holding its breath. I found Airi on the third floor, standing by the window with her back to me.
"Hey," I said softly.
She turned, and something in her expression made my chest tighten. Not scared, exactly. But... unsettled.
"Hey." She moved toward me, and I noticed she was rubbing her wrist absently. "Did you sleep okay?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Just... weird dreams. More vivid than usual." She settled beside me on the window ledge. "What about you? Feel different today?"
I almost mentioned the bracelet's strange behavior, but something held me back. "A little. Post-festival blues, maybe?"
"Maybe." But she didn't sound convinced.
We sat in comfortable silence for a moment, watching the empty campus below. Then Airi shifted closer, close enough that our shoulders touched.
"Yuuma?"
"Yeah?"
"Yesterday was incredible. The festival, our friends, all of it." She turned to look at me. "But the best part was doing it with you."
My heart did something complicated in my chest. "For me too."
"I keep thinking about what you said. About me not peaking at nineteen." Her voice was soft. "How did you know exactly what I needed to hear?"
"Because I pay attention to you," I said honestly. "Because you matter to me."
"How much?" The question was barely a whisper.
I turned to face her fully, suddenly aware of how close we were. Close enough to count her eyelashes. Close enough to see the golden flecks in her brown eyes.
"A lot," I said quietly. "More than I've ever felt about anyone."
"Yuuma..."
"You asked," I said, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm just being honest."
My bracelet suddenly flared hot against my wrist, then went cold again. Airi's eyes widened, and she glanced down at her own wrist, hidden beneath her sleeve.
"Did you feel that?" she whispered.
"Feel what?"
But before she could answer, footsteps echoed in the hallway outside. We sprang apart just as Taichi's voice carried through the door:
"They're definitely in here somewhere! I saw them heading this way!"
"Maybe we should give them privacy," Rika's voice, closer now.
"Privacy for what?" Miyu asked innocently.
"Oh please," Saya's dry tone. "Have you seen how they look at each other?"
Airi and I stared at each other, faces burning red.
"We should probably..." I started.
"Yeah," she agreed quickly.
But neither of us moved.
"Yuuma?" Her voice was barely audible.
"Yeah?"
"What's happening to us?"
Before I could answer, the door burst open and our entire friend group tumbled in like a pack of overeager puppies.
"There you are!" Taichi announced triumphantly. "We've been looking everywhere!"
"Post-festival breakfast meeting," Ren explained, holding up his ever-present clipboard. "We need to debrief while everything's fresh."
"And by debrief, he means celebrate with pancakes," Kouta grinned.
"I'm always up for pancakes," Miyu said cheerfully.
Airi and I stood up quickly, trying to look casual despite the fact that we'd been sitting way too close for "just friends."
"Breakfast sounds great," Airi said, her voice only slightly higher than usual.
"Perfect!" Taichi clapped his hands. "But first, group huddle!"
Before either of us could protest, all seven of our friends had formed a circle and were pulling us into the center.
"Memory Garden success celebration!" Taichi declared dramatically. "We did something amazing yesterday!"
"We really did," Rika agreed warmly, throwing her arms around Airi and me simultaneously. "I'm so proud of all of us."
And suddenly we were all hugging, laughing, talking over each other about yesterday's highlights. In the chaos of arms and voices and genuine affection, I found myself pressed against Airi's side.
She looked up at me, and the expression in her eyes made my breath catch. Soft. Wondering. Like she was seeing something new.
My bracelet gave another sharp pulse of heat, so intense I had to bite back a gasp.
"You okay?" Airi murmured, so quietly only I could hear.
"Yeah," I lied. "You?"
She nodded, but I caught her wincing slightly, as if something had hurt her too.
"Okay, okay," Ren was saying, trying to restore order. "Breakfast first, then proper debrief. But I want to say something quickly."
The group settled, still clustered close together.
"Yesterday proved something important. We work well together. All of us. As a team." He looked around the circle. "I don't want that to end just because the festival's over."
"What are you thinking?" Kei asked quietly.
"I'm thinking we should make this official. Not just for projects, but as a friend group. Regular meetings, group activities, looking out for each other."
"Like a family," Miyu said happily.
"Exactly like a family," Ren agreed.
"I'm in," Airi said immediately.
"Me too," I added.
One by one, everyone agreed. And as we stood there in that circle, arms around each other's shoulders, I felt something shift. Something deeper than friendship forming.
My bracelet was practically vibrating against my wrist now, hot and cold in alternating waves. Across from me, I saw Airi close her eyes briefly, like she was dealing with the same sensation.
"Alright," Saya said finally. "Enough emotional bonding. I need coffee and pancakes before I start crying."
"Too late," Miyu giggled, wiping her eyes. "I'm already crying."
"Happy tears don't count," Taichi declared, throwing his arm around her shoulders. "Come on, let's go make Ren buy us breakfast."
"Why do I have to buy?" Ren protested as we headed for the door.
"Because you're the one with the organizational skills and the budget spreadsheet," Kouta pointed out.
As our friends filed out, chattering and laughing, Airi caught my hand.
"Wait," she said softly.
I turned back to her, and she stepped closer. So close I could smell her shampoo, see the way her pulse fluttered at her throat.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"For what?"
"For being exactly who I needed. For seeing me." She reached up and touched my cheek gently. "For making me feel like I belong somewhere."
"Airi..."
"I know we haven't said... I mean, we haven't really talked about what this is," she continued, her cheeks pink. "But I want you to know that you're important to me. Really important."
My heart was racing so fast I was sure she could hear it.
"You're important to me too," I said. "More than important."
"What does that mean?"
I looked down at her, at this incredible girl who'd changed everything about my world, and felt the truth rising in my chest like a tide.
"It means..."
"Hey!" Taichi's voice echoed from downstairs. "Are you two coming or what? The pancakes won't wait forever!"
The moment shattered. Airi stepped back, laughing shakily.
"We should go," she said.
"Yeah." But I caught her hand as she turned away. "Airi? This conversation isn't over."
She smiled, soft and promising. "Good. I don't want it to be."
Breakfast was chaos in the best possible way.
We commandeered a large table at the campus diner, and for two hours straight, it was nothing but laughter, terrible jokes, and the kind of easy conversation that happens when people genuinely enjoy each other's company.
I found myself watching Airi across the table, noting the way she lit up when she laughed, how she listened to everyone with complete attention, the graceful way she gestured when she got excited about something.
And I wasn't the only one watching her.
"Earth to Yuuma," Kouta said with a grin. "You're staring."
"What? No, I'm not."
"You absolutely are," Saya said dryly. "It's actually kind of sweet. In a completely obvious way."
"Leave him alone," Rika chided gently. "Some things don't need commentary."
But Airi was blushing, and when our eyes met across the table, the look she gave me was so warm, so full of promise, that my bracelet gave another sharp pulse.
This time, I definitely saw her wince.
What the hell is happening to these things?
"So," Taichi said, completely oblivious to the undercurrent of tension. "What's our next group project? Because I have ideas."
"Oh no," everyone said in unison.
"Hey! My ideas are good!"
"Remember the theme song?" Saya reminded him.
"The theme song was a masterpiece!"
"The theme song was a crime against music," Kei said mildly.
As they dissolved into familiar banter, I felt my phone buzz. A text from an unknown number:
Some things are not meant to last forever. Enjoy what time you have. - A friend
I stared at the message, ice running through my veins.
"Everything okay?" Airi asked quietly.
I showed her the text. Her face went pale.
"Who is this?" she whispered.
"I have no idea."
My bracelet was burning now. Actually burning. I pulled my sleeve down further, trying to hide the glow that was starting to seep through the fabric.
"Yuuma," Airi's voice was strained. "We need to—"
"Alright, everyone!" Ren interrupted, standing up. "I hate to break this up, but I have a study group in an hour. Rain check on the project planning?"
The group began to disperse, making plans and saying goodbyes. In the chaos, Airi grabbed my arm.
"Meet me tonight," she said urgently. "Eight o'clock. The garden behind the library."
"Why? What's wrong?"
"I can't explain here. But something's happening, Yuuma. Something bigger than us."
Before I could ask what she meant, she was gone, swept away by Rika and Miyu making plans for an afternoon shopping trip.
I stood there in the diner, watching her leave, my bracelet burning against my skin and that mysterious text message glowing on my phone screen.
Some things are not meant to last forever.
What did that mean?
And who was watching us closely enough to know something was happening?
I looked around the now-empty diner, but saw nothing unusual. Just normal college students, normal conversations, normal life.
But nothing about my life had been normal since I'd arrived here.
And I was starting to think normal was never coming back.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
The rhythm was definitely getting faster...