Summer vacation was finally over, meaning it was time for me to go back to the usual routine of attending classes and surviving them until graduation. Letting out a loud yawn, I open the door to the classroom to see that everyone seemed to be in a rather downbeat mood, most likely due to having to return to school.

Of course, two notable exceptions are Shizune and Misha, who seemed to be as energetic as ever. They were signing to each other until they noticed me, their hands mostly a blur. I took my seat right beside Misha and rested my head on the table. It feels familiar to be at my seat after summer vacation, though I can’t say the same for what came next.

“Good morning, Hicchan!” Misha said aloud, much to my ears displeasure. “How was your summer vacation?”

“It was good.” I muttered out dispassionately, feeling too out of it to give any effort to my response. “How was yours?”

“Oh, it was great. I got to see my parents!” Misha let out a laugh, and I’m pretty sure the other student’s were not appreciating how loud she’s being. Not that she seemed to care, as her carefree smile suggested. “Anyways, I heard some things about you Hicchan. Care to tell me?”

My mind, which wasn’t exactly running on all cylinders at that moment, genuinely didn’t know what she was referring to. It took me a few seconds to realize she’s most likely talking about those rumors about me and Rin. Still, I wasn’t sure if that’s really what she wants to know, so I decided to play dumb. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh come on, Hicchan. You can trust me.” Misha pleaded, and behind her I could see Shizune looking at me with a certain glint in her eyes. I guess Misha isn’t the only one curious. “It’s about you and Tezuka. A lot of people have been talking about you two, how you hang out all the time.”

I started to wonder why people can’t leave well enough alone. I’m not exactly the type to gossip about stuff, so maybe I just don’t know the exciting high people get when prying into other people’s business. Letting out a sigh, I answered. “Yes, me and Rin are dating...more or less.”

Shizune lets out a satisfied smirk as she tapped her on the shoulder, leading them both to sign at each other for a minute. Eventually Misha turned back to me and said. “Well, we hope you two are happy together. Sicchan says fraternization is an essential part of the school social order.”

I simply nodded and stayed silent, wanting the conversation to die down so I can be alone with my thoughts for a few moments. The fact that we’re happy together was obvious, though what occurred a few days ago between us definitely threw a wrench in that otherwise perfect situation.

After the night we spent together, Rin went about her business pretending like nothing happened, or perhaps she genuinely blocked it out of her mind. Regardless, we spent the last days of summer painting, talking and eating together like we usually did. We essentially got back to normal after that night, if you could even call what we are “normal”.

Still, the fact that she didn’t want to bring up what happened or my condition in any capacity was something I couldn’t just get out of my thoughts. I didn’t have the heart to confront her about it, but neither did I have the willingness to just forget about it as she seemed to.

My thoughts came to a halt as Mutou entered the room, his refreshed appearance contrasting the rest of the class. “Good morning.” He said in a genial tone. Well, as genial as Mutou gets anyways. “I hope you all had a nice summer vacation.”

The rest of the class moaned out in agreement, causing him to raise an eyebrow. “Regardless, the time for relaxation is over. Final exams are soon approaching, and I will not have anyone in my class be held back because of it. Understood? You all have futures as productive members of society, futures I will not see ruined because of laziness”

What should have been a motivational, or at the very least threatening, speech was undercut by his flat delivery. Sure enough, the rest of the class didn’t seem all that moved by it. Mutou turned his back to begin his class, scribbling words onto the chalkboard.

I didn’t pay all that much attention to the class, though enough to make sure I could pretend I was. My mind wasn’t receptive to learning this morning, though considering the current subject I could probably get away with it.

It felt weird being back in class again after summer break. So many things occurred during that period, and I’ve changed because of it. People rarely are the same as they were in the past, but it feels as though I’ve gone through more change in the past few months than I’ve had in the past ten years. And I doubt I’ll stop changing, especially with Rin around.

“What now?” seemed to be a recurring question in my life. What do I do now that I have my heart condition? Where will I go now that a person I love not only knows about it, but wishes to completely ignore it? Where will I go if that proves to be impossible?

So many questions with answers that are hard to conceive. Perhaps this is how Rin felt when she learned about my arrhythmia, to not know what to do with the questions it poses for the both of us. I felt a sense of guilt at that idea, even knowing that it’s something that can’t be helped.

“Nakai!”

I hear Mutou call out to me, a slight frown on his face as he asked. “Do you know the answer to this solution?”

I take a quick look at what he wrote on the chalkboard and immediately work it out in my head. My knowledge in Physics helped get some of it right, but not the entire thing. I relayed my incomplete answer to Mutou, which doesn’t seem to satisfy him.

“A good effort Nakai, but that answer is insufficient. Please try to pay attention in class.” With that, he turned his back and wrote the full answer onto the chalkboard, explaining it.

I immediately went back to daydreaming, understanding Mutou’s warning yet ignoring it all the same. Perhaps it’s because I’m feeling particularly distracted today, or perhaps Rin has influenced me more than I thought. I’d put my money on it being the latter.

As class dragged on, I found myself thinking about the sky and how wonderful it would be like to float on the clouds without a care in the world.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The bell rang, bringing an end to Mutou’s lecture as he exits the class. I didn’t listen to too much of his lecture, though I’m sure I can pick up on what I missed in a textbook. Standing up, I stretched my body in order to feel less lazy and immediately think of what to do now. Lunch would probably be a good start, preferably with company.

Turning around, I see Hanako remaining at her seat. She was as still as a statue, not moving as the people around her got out of their seats and walked out. Feeling as if I should invite her, I began to approach her, which seemed to catch her attention as she greeted me with a nervous smile. “Good m-morning, Hisao.”

“Morning.” I responded casually. “I was heading out for lunch. You can join, if you want to.”

She took a moment to consider before giving me a slight nod. With that settled, I walked out the classroom door with her trailing behind me…

Only for someone to barely avoid colliding with me, like a driver swerving his car out of the way to avoid hitting a jaywalker. The person stops right in front of me, bouncing up and down as she looks at me with a wide grin on her face.

“Morning, Emi.” I said, giving her an incredulous look. “Were you trying to hit me on purpose?”

“Morning, Hisao.” Emi replied with her usual cheer. “I was going to invite you to eat lunch with me and Rin on the rooftop. I haven’t seen you all summer, so maybe I was just a bit too excited.”

“Nice excuse.” I jabbed back, causing her to pout. “Anyways, you and Rin already caught up with each other?”

“Yeah!” Emi bounced up and down. “We met the moment I came back to Yamaku. She seemed to miss me, in her own way.”

Without warning, she grabbed my arm and started pulling me away. “Come on, Hisao. We need to get up there at once, so you can tell me all about how you and Rin spent summer together.”

I turn back to look at Hanako, who seemed too paralyzed to do anything for a moment. I plant my foot down, preventing Emi from dragging me any further. “Hey Emi.” I said as I pulled my arm away from her. “I sort of asked Hanako to lunch, so do you think we can…”

Emi looked at Hanako, who shied away from her. Without missing a beat, she immediately went up to her and said. “Hey, wanna go to the roof with us? It’ll be really fun.”

Hanako didn’t say anything, though it’s obvious she was nervous from the look on her face. She turns her head to me, and I try to give her the most reassuring smile I could. That seemed to help as she looked a bit calmer. “O-ok…”

“Great!” Emi exclaimed, bouncing up and down again. She immediately dashed ahead of us, turning around and sticking out her tongue at me. “What are you waiting for, Hisao? Every second you’re standing there is another second you aren’t out on the roof.”

With that, she took off without us. I turn to Hanako, who was now walking over to me. She looked slightly confused, and said quietly. “S-she seems...peppy…”

“Yeah, she’s a bundle of energy alright.” I responded in exasperation, though truth be told I missed her cheerfulness. Hanako and Rin were always nice to be with, but Emi’s simple exuberance provided a nice contrast to Rin’s stoic complexity. “Come on, let’s head up there. Otherwise she’s going to yell at me some more.”

Hanako gave me a nod, and we make our way there. It wasn’t long before we were walking up the familiar spiral staircase, going through the doorway leading to the open sky.

As expected, Rin and Emi were there. They were sitting on the rocky floor with around eight bento boxes, and Rin was already eating one of them with a plastic spoon. “Hey!” Emi said as she saw us. “Mom left me with these extra bento boxes. I didn’t want to eat these for lunch and dinner for four days straight, so I figured we might as well finish them now. Take as many as you want.”

“Your mom sure left you a lot of food.” I noted as I sat down next to Rin and picked up a bento box off the floor. She didn’t do anything to indicate that she acknowledged my existence, most likely because she’s eating and is already more than familiar with my presence.

“Yeahhhh...” Emi said with a bit of whine in her voice. “She sort of went overboard with dinner plans during the last day of our summer vacation. My stomach was filled to the brim that night.”

“Sounds like you had a fun summer vacation.” I said as I opened up the box. The contents seemed to be slightly different than Rin’s and Emi’s, though all of them have both rice and some beef inside, as well as plastic utensils. I looked over to see that Hanako also quietly took a box, and was sitting opposite the three of us.

“Yeah, yeah. It was a great time.” Emi replied dismissively before eating another bite out of her box. She gave me an inquisitive stare and said. “But enough about me. How are you two lovebirds doing? Been getting busy during summer vacation?”

“Yes.” Rin interjected before I could even answer, entering the conversation with the grace of a construction worker. “I’ve been busy painting, and Hisao has been busy watching me paint. He likes to watch me a lot. Like people who have binoculars that watch birds all day, except I’m not a bird and he doesn’t have binoculars.”

Emi lets out a giggle at that, which only causes me to feel embarrassment. “I don’t really watch you that much, do I?” I asked nervously.

“You do. I feel like if you could, you would glue your eyeballs onto me. Except that would mean you can’t see because your eyeballs wouldn’t be attached to your head.” Rin took another bite before continuing, speaking as if I really did want to glue my eyeballs. “Maybe you should glue your head to me, except that would make me a bit uncomfortable. Don’t do that.”

At that, Emi simply burst out laughing. I turned to look at Hanako and see that she was giggling a little as well, trying not to look at me while doing so. I simply took a deep sigh and continued eating, waiting for the giggling fit die down.

“Seriously though, you two seem closer than ever. I’m almost jealous.” Emi said. “Maybe I should leave taking care of Rin to you. You can help put on her clothes, bathe with her…”

The devilish smirk on her face as she said that couldn’t be any more evil even if she tried. “Actually, Miki did all that while you were away.” I pointed out, desperately trying to deflect her teasings. “Though Rin said that she prefers when you take care of her. Didn’t you?”

Rin nodded once, saying nothing. Emi looked oddly fierce at the mention of Miki. Fierce by Emi standards anyway. “Well it’s nice to know that I’m better than freaking Miura, though honestly that’s not saying much.”

The comment hit me a bit harder than I would like to admit, mostly because I know about Miki’s...less than ideal family situation. We didn’t talk about it at all after that day in the track, though we still struck up a conversation when we happened to pass by each other. “What do you have against her, anyways?” I asked, trying my best not to sound too biased. “She seems fine.”

“She likes to tease me. It’s like she can’t go two seconds without aiming some joke at me.” Emi said with an angry huff. “And even though I’m a better runner than her, she always acts like she’s the best one on the team. It ticks me off.”

“So you hate her because she’s your long lost sister? Because apart from actually being the best runner, you just described yourself as well.” I responded jokingly, causing her to glare daggers at me.

“Hisao, you meanie!!” Emi shouted out, and for a second I swore she was going to throw her bento box at me. “Take it back, take it back right now or I’m never speaking to you ever again!”

“Alright, alright. I take it back. You’re nothing like Miki.” I said, more out of self preservation than anything. Emi simply looked away from me, and I would feel worse about it if she didn’t look so cute doing so.

“Are you and Miki really long lost sisters?” Rin asked innocently before shaking her head. “Or maybe you two are related in some other way, like you’re her cousin’s cousin's cousin’s…”

“You too, Rin?” Emi shouted incredulously. “I regret ever giving you two these bento boxes!”

“Too late to take them back. Unless you want to reach into my stomach to get it.” I jabbed back, feeling just a little cruel in teasing her so much. Rin nodding at my statement didn’t exactly do anything to discourage me either.

“That’s it! You two are no longer my best friends.” Emi turned to Hanako and gave her a fierce smile. “Hanako, want to be my new best friend?.”

Hanako, who was just quietly eating her meal, had a look of shock on her face at the sudden question. Her mouth was quivering, trying to find an answer. “Uh...uh...I...”

“Alright, alright. I apologize.” I called out, trying to deflect her attention away from Hanako. In an exaggerated voice, I spoke out. “I solemnly swear that you and Miki Miura have nothing in common, and that you are the undisputed queen of the track.”

Emi turned to me, pouting. “Hmph! Apology not accepted. Not until you treated me to some desserts at the Shanghai. Expensive ones, Hisao!”

“Ouch. A fair sentence, I suppose.” I replied in a faux-defeated tone. On the corner of my eye, I see Hanako giving me a grateful look. I turned to look at her and gave her a little smile in return. “We can all go to the Shanghai together. Maybe tomorrow after school?”

“It’s a deal.” Emi replied in agreement, returning to her usual cheerful expression. “Hope you have a lot of cash in your pocket, cause I’m spending it all.”

The rest of the lunch went by pretty smoothly, though we didn’t have the stomach to finish all eight bento boxes. Most of the conversation seemed to be playful banter between Emi and I, with Rin seeming content to add the occasional comment and Hanako staying silent through all of it. Still, there was definitely a friendly air here and all four of us were enjoying ourselves.

However, the distant ringing of the bell brought it to a halt. “Aw, man.” Emi groaned, getting up. “Class already?”

“Guess time really does fly with you around.” I noted as I stood as well, helping Rin get to her feat. “Would you like to see me after class, Rin?”

Rin closed her eyes, giving it a thought. “Yes, I would like that.” She said, and in a surprising act, moved forward and pressed her lips onto mine. It was a quick kiss, but it was amazing all the same. “I also wanted to kiss you just now, so I did. I can do that, right?”

“As many times as you want.” I replied, smiling. Rin looked as deadpan as ever, seemingly unphased by my answer.

“Heh, you two are really cute together.” Emi said in a sly voice before grabbing hold on Rin’s shoulder. “I almost feel sad that I have to tear you two apart. Come on Rin, class is waiting.”

“Ok…” Rin muttered out as she follows Emi, turning around to give me one last look before descending the staircase.

That left me and Hanako. I turned to her and see that she looked a bit apprehensive, staring at the doorway. “Is something wrong?” I asked, not knowing exactly what’s bothering her.

She turned to look at me and said softly. “No...it's j-just...I didn’t talk much. During lunch, I mean.”

“Rin didn’t talk much either.” I replied. “You can talk as much or as little as you want to.”

“Class is almost starting.” She said quietly, her hands clenching. “Honestly, I-I don’t feel like going back…”

“You can stay here, if you want.” I offered. Hanako often wasn’t present during classes, but from what I can tell the teachers never really made a fuss of it. “I need to go though, History is a class I really can’t afford to skip.”

She looked at me for a little bit, letting out a slight smile before saying. “Y-you know, you shouldn’t encourage someone t-to skip classes…”

“Well, I’m not exactly planning to be a model student” I replied in a sarcastic manner, walking towards the doorway. “Anyways, I’ll see you later?”

Surprisingly, I turned around to see Hanako walking towards me. She looks at me a little strangely before saying. “I c-changed my mind, H-History isn’t a subject I c-can skip either...”

I can’t tell if that was a genuine reason or an excuse, but my head immediately thought of the latter. It was pointless anyways. Without saying a word, I nod to her. We both make our way down the steps, hurrying a little to get to class on time. When we enter, we got back to our seats and waited for classes to resume.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The final bell rang out, signalling the end of another school day. The teacher once again urges us to focus on our upcoming final exams before taking off. Trying to avoid any Shizune and Misha’s antics, I immediately bolted out of the classroom. The hallway was full of students, but among the tide of bodies I managed to find Rin.

“Hey, Rin. Where’s Emi?” I asked her, my voice catching her attention.

“Track meet stuff.” She responded, her eyes bouncing between the various people walking about in the hallway. “I feel like painting, but also don’t feel like painting.”

“Why?” I asked, which seemed to just make her frown.

“I usually paint in the Art Club during school days, but I don’t feel like going there.” She said, looking down towards the ground.

I can imagine a couple of reasons why she wouldn’t want to go there, though the biggest one is definitely a man by the name of Nomiya. “You can paint back in your room.” I offered.

She shook her head at that. “I don’t want to paint in my room again.”

An idea suddenly struck me, and I looked at my watch. We still had time. “I can carry your art supplies from your room and you can paint somewhere else.”

She seemed to beam up a little. “Really? Where?”

“Anywhere you’d like.” I said, giving her my best smile. “The roof, the forest, even the running track if you want. I don’t mind.”

She seems to give it some serious thought. “The roof.” She said conclusively. “I want to paint on the roof.”

“Alright, let’s get going then.” I replied as we started to head towards the school exit.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hisao, hand me more red.” Rin requested as she brushed another stroke onto the canvas. “It’s too far away.”

“Which red? There’s several shades of it.”

“The one that’s not so red, but also red.” She replied, staring intently at the unfinished piece before her. The wind was blowing against her, making her hair flow wildly, making her look messier than usual. Of course, the splattering of paint on her uniform also helped with that. “Like a book that isn’t quite fiction, but isn’t quite historical.”

Unsure of what she’s trying to say, I look over the shades of red and find a rather muted one, handing it over to her. It seemed to be the right one as she immediately dipped her brush onto it and started to paint on her canvas once more.

She was facing the sunset, looking at the horizon in between brush strokes. I only brought one canvas, as she said she only needed to paint one piece. Regardless, we’ve been on the roof for the better part of an hour, scarcely making conversation as she pours more effort into a seemingly endless painting.

“My parents sent me another letter.” Rin said, out of the blue.

“Oh.” I replied, vaguely recalling a conversation involving her parents. “What did they say?”

“That they miss me, but also that they’ll see me during Spring Break.” She said, an odd creak in her voice. “And also that I need to study hard for finals.”

“What about Winter Break?” I asked, the idea I’ve long kept under wraps immediately springing into my mind.

“Winter isn’t a good time for them. I don’t know why, but they often leave me with my grandparents during the Winter.” The creak in her voice continued, as if she’s forcing herself to speak. “When I asked my grandparents, they said it’s because they’re busy.”

I couldn’t offer any response to her, so I kept my mouth shut. It wouldn’t be a good idea to ask her to come with me during Winter Break after mentioning her parents. So for that moment I continued to look at her, waiting for her to finish her painting.

As if she was reading my mind, Rin suddenly asked. “Are you going somewhere?”

“What?”

“Are you going somewhere?” She asked again, her eyes breaking away from the painting to look at me. She looked on in anticipation, waiting for my answer.

“I’ll be heading back to my hometown during Winter Break.” I said, the words just flowing out of my mouth. “To hang out with my parents.”

Rin didn’t say anything, and simply went back to her painting. I tried to look at her for any sort of reaction, but her face was as stoic and expressionless. Deciding not to push things any further, I simply turned towards the sunset.

“I don’t want you to go.” I heard Rin whisper out, barely detecting her voice.

I couldn’t muster up the will to face her, so I simply looked up at the empty sky. “I have to. My parents are expecting me there.”

“I know.” was all that she responded with. “I’m done, Hisao. Please come look.”

I moved over to Rin to see her latest work. The painting on the canvas wasn’t some abstract piece, but instead a piece that depicted the very rooftop we’re currently on. There were some artistic liberties taken, such as the lack of a fence, but all in all it was a very accurate recreation of this place.

Of course, what was an even more accurate depiction were the two figures on the rooftop. Both of them were sitting slightly apart from each other. I couldn’t see their faces, but it was fairly obvious who the two of them were. It was like looking through the eyes of a bird, watching us from above.

“Did you want to paint this?” I asked hesitantly, trying not to upset her.

“It’s not what I wanted to paint before I got here.” She admitted, looking at the work with conflicted eyes. “But when I started painting, I couldn’t get this image out of my head and my legs wouldn’t stop moving and…”

Cutting herself off, she lets out a deep breath and closed her eyes. “Do you know what this means, Hisao?”

“It’s us...on the rooftop, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” She said, though my answer didn’t seem to appease her. “I wanted to paint us being together, but I don’t know why. I know the answer but not knowing why the answer exists, like knowing what phones are but not how they’re made.”

“Don’t leave me, Hisao.” She pleaded. “I like it when I know you’re around, even if I can’t see you or hear you. If you go back home, I won’t be able to do that. It’ll be like waiting for something that you know will come back, but you still wonder if it’ll ever come back and I…”

Rin stared at me, her expression practically begging me not to go. For a split second, I wanted to say that I won’t, but I know better than to lie. “Rin...do you want to go with me?” I asked, finally uttering out the question that I’ve been meaning to ask for so long

She blinked for a few seconds. “What?”

“Do you want to go with me?” I repeated, looking at her with all the seriousness I can muster. “My parents allowed me to invite someone over, so you can stay over at my house. We can be together over Winter Break, and I can show you a bit of my past.”

Once again, Rin blinked a few times and seemed to be stuck in place, staying absolutely still. Her eyes waver just a little, and her mouth moves as if it were deciding whether to frown or smile.

“Rin…” I started to say, but she cuts me off with a sudden kiss to my lips. It was over just as soon as it started, but it caught me off guard nonetheless.

“I want to be with you.” She said, nodding her head slightly. “I’ll go.”

“Are you sure?” I said, feeling my chest getting tighter. This is exactly what I wanted, yet why do I feel so uncertain?

“I’m not sure.” Rin admitted. “I’m not sure I want to know more about your past, or meet your parents, or even if I want to go. But I’m sure I want to be with you, so I’ll go. Because you’ll be there, Hisao.”

I could only nod in gratitude. It was obvious that this decision isn’t easy for her, but for her to go for my sake was something I can’t help but feel thankful for. “Thank you, Rin…”

“I also want to kiss you again. You said I can do it as many times as I want…”

She gave me those pleading eyes of hers again, and I can’t offer up a shred of resistance to it. I press my face forwards, and she kissed me more eagerly this time. We kiss for what seemed to be an eternity, savoring every second of it.

We eventually parted, both of us gasping for breath. Rin closed her eyes and whispered out. “I want to be closer to you. Take off my clothes, please…”

Without so much as a thought, my hands went to unbutton her shirt one by one. Rin was silent as I undid all of it, taking it off her and leaving her in her blue bra. As I wrapped my arms around her to reach her back, I’m reminded of a rainy day from long ago. How different were we from back then? Have we changed at all these past few weeks?

It probably didn’t matter. Just as Rin pleaded that she doesn’t want to see me go, the thought of her leaving me would probably devastate me. We’ve made no promises, exchanged no vows, and yet it felt like we’ve become too intertwined in each other’s lives to consider backing away.

The thought of that scares me more than it does comfort me, oddly enough; the idea of something as simple as walking away being so horrifying.

I finally managed to unhook the back of her bra, letting it fall down. Rin finally opened her eyes to look at me, a melancholy look on her face. “You’re thinking again. Thinking about things.”

“One of us has to.” I responded, trying to play it off as a joke.

Rin rested her head against my chest a little, letting out a sigh. “I think about things too, but there’s always some things I don’t want to think about. Like eating breakfast but hating cereal. I don’t want to have cereal for breakfast.”

I can’t help but laugh a little at that analogy. Leave it to Rin to talk about breakfast in a situation like this.

“You’re not done taking off my clothes.” She mentioned, sounding almost impatient.

“Working on it.” I replied as my hands reach down to her pants, pulling it down. Rin thankfully helps me out by moving her body so that I can remove it completely, as well as her panties.

My hands instinctively reached down to unbutton my own shirt, but Rin stopped me. “Don’t.”

“Rin…?”

“Don’t take off your shirt.” She said, her face inching forward again.

“...Alright.” I said after a while, my hands slowly moving down to my pants to unbuckle them. In a few seconds I took both it and my underwear off, leaving me with nothing but my shirt. Rin looked up and down my body, her eyes seemingly trying to analyze some mysterious aspect of me.

“The thing in your pants seem to be fine.” She notes, and it takes all my energy not to let out a laugh. Thankfully, Rin seems to have other ideas as she kissed me again, pressing her body eagerly against mine.

No more words needed to be said for the time being as my hands felt the smooth skin of her waist. Our lips parted only to meet each other again, our bodies clinging to one another like our lives depended on it.

“Hisao…” Rin whispered out, a slight breath coming out of her voice. “Lay down...”

I did as she asked and laid on the hard ground, looking up at her. Seeing her body, her green eyes overlooking me with the evening sky behind her, it feels captivating. Like something out of a dream. “You’re beautiful.” I said to her without thinking, letting my emotions fully take control.

She doesn’t respond as she positioned herself on top of me, giving me a questioning look. I nodded at her and she lowers herself, letting out a quiet moan as I feel her body shake a little. My hands reached up to hold her body, my eyes never breaking away from her face.

“Stop thinking…” Rin whispered as she started to move. My hands squeezed her hips, eliciting a quiet moan from her. I feel myself complying with her actions, letting my thoughts shut down to savor this moment between the two of us.

Rin started to move a little faster, closing her eyes and letting out a relaxed sigh. My hands moved up to her chest, squeezing it gently. She let out a moan at that, which only led me to squeeze it more.

We went on like this for a while, feeling the warmth of each other’s bodies. No words were said, just the sounds we made solidifying our enjoyment of the act. I wouldn’t call what we did passionate or even affectionate, but simply something to validate that we were here in this present moment with one another.

Eventually, my endurance ran out. Without warning, I feel my mind flashing for a second, letting out a rather loud moan before my body goes limp with exhaustion. Rin seemed to have experienced the same as well as she laid down on top of me, her breaths heavy and ragged.

Our silence persisted as we watched the sky turn from orange to purple. It was way past the time where we are allowed to be here, but both of us didn’t really felt like leaving just yet. I wrapped my arms around Rin, as if wanting to convince myself she’s really there.

“Hisao…” I heard her voice call out, soft and emotionless.

“Yes?” I responded, feeling myself getting drowsy. I feel as if we really needed to get out of here, but much like with a lot of things, I decided to push that urgency away.

“I like looking at the sky with you.” She mentioned as she rested her head just below mine. “We’re like two clouds floating in the sky together.”

I simply nodded to her as we continued gazing, enjoying this relaxing moment.

“We should probably go…” I suggested after a while, both to her and to myself. “Otherwise they’ll lock the doors and we’ll be stuck here until morning.”

Surprisingly, she agreed. After putting our clothes back on, we slowly made our way down the staircase. The school was very eerie with no one around and barely any light in it, but it wasn’t much of a hassle to find our way out of the building, which thankfully wasn’t locked.

As we walked down, I felt Rin pressing the side of her body against mine. “You know, you’re acting really clingy today.” I said to her. “Any particular reason why?”

“I don’t know.” Rin responded bluntly. “Wrap an arm around my shoulder, Hisao.”

I did as she said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as she pressed her body towards me further, resting her head on my shoulder. We didn’t say anything further until we eventually have to go our separate ways.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, ok?”

“Will I?” Rin asked, looking at me with a serious gaze. “Will I see you tomorrow?”

“I promise.” I face her as I said those words, meeting her eyes with an equal amount of seriousness.

That seemed to satisfy her, as she gave me a nod before silently walking off to the girls dorm. Once she’s out of sight, I slowly made my way back to my own dorm room.

As I enter my room my thoughts turned to Winter Break, which I’m now looking forward to more than ever.

And yet as I thought more and more about it, I couldn’t help but feel a slight sense of dread creeping up on me. I started to worry that the things that could go horribly wrong. That my parents wouldn’t accept Rin, that I wouldn’t be able to reconcile with my old friends.