Ren had barely stepped into class the next day when he heard it.
"Ren!"A sharp, energetic voice rang through the hallway like an alarm.
He turned — and there she was.
Haruka Aizawa, his childhood friend. Short, fiery, and dangerously loud. She had short reddish-brown hair tied into a sporty half-ponytail, and a habit of stomping when annoyed.
"You didn't tell me a girl walked home with you yesterday!" she accused, hands on hips.
Ren blinked. "How do you even—?"
"Kei told me. He said you shared your umbrella with the new girl." She leaned in, squinting at him. "So? What happened?"
"Nothing happened," Ren replied honestly. "She forgot her umbrella. That's all."
Haruka crossed her arms, pouting.
"She already sits next to you. Now you're walking her home too? Are we strangers now, Ren?"
Ren sighed. "You're overreacting. I barely know her."
Haruka paused. "So you like her?"
Ren choked on air. "What?! No! I just helped her!"
She stared at him a moment longer, then flicked his forehead. "Dummy."
"Ow—! What was that for?!"
"For being kind to another girl without telling me. Idiot."
As she stomped away, Ren realized something.
Haruka was... jealous.
He never thought of her that way. They had played together since childhood, eaten ice cream in the summers, even cried over the same cartoon ending once. She had always been the loud, bossy one who pulled him into trouble.
But now, he couldn't ignore it. Her glare wasn't just teasing.
It was filled with something else.
Something serious.
Later that day…
In PE class, Ren was sitting under a tree with a water bottle when Haruka plopped down beside him.
She stayed quiet for a while, until she mumbled, "You're still my closest person, you know."
Ren turned to look at her. "Yeah?"
She met his eyes.
"So don't let some pretty transfer girl steal you away, okay?"
And before Ren could say anything back, she stood up and ran off toward her group of friends — leaving him stunned, staring at her back, and suddenly... a little confused.
Two days. Two girls.
And Ren's heart was already in trouble.