Into The Rain With You

The rain had stopped by the time we reached the school gates, but the wet pavement gleamed like a mirror under the faint glow of the streetlights.

The air was still thick with the aftertaste of a storm, the kind that lingered in the atmosphere long after the clouds had parted. It was the same feeling I had walking beside Haruka—like there was something heavy, something that had yet to settle, but also a sense of quiet anticipation.

"I'm glad you're not avoiding me anymore," Haruka said, her voice light and teasing, but I could hear the underlying sincerity. "I mean, I wasn't going to force you to talk, but it's nice to see you not bottling everything up for once."

I glanced at her, half-smiling. I hadn't realized how much I'd been holding back until I let it go. It wasn't just the talk about Chino, or the storm inside me. It was the simple fact that I had allowed myself to be seen again. After months, maybe even years, of hiding behind my walls, I had finally taken a step forward. And it felt... different.

"I guess I needed a reason to stop pretending," I said, my voice quieter than usual.

Haruka smiled softly, her expression turning gentle. She didn't push me any further; instead, she just walked beside me, her pace matching mine, like she was giving me the space I needed.

The silence that hung between us was no longer uncomfortable. It was... comfortable. The kind of silence you only share with someone you trust.

——~

School passed in a blur of lessons, half-hearted conversations, and the constant pressure of the rain that threatened to return at any moment. But all through the day, my thoughts kept circling back to Haruka, to the moment we shared the night before, and to how I felt like I was standing on the edge of something I didn't fully understand yet.

And there was something else—something that wouldn't leave me alone.

Chino.

It wasn't just that he had returned. It wasn't just that he'd reappeared in my life after so many years of absence. It was that he had become the thread that tied so much of my past together, a past I had tried to keep buried for so long.

The unresolved history between us, the words left unsaid, the pain I hadn't dealt with.

I couldn't deny it any longer. It wasn't just about Chino coming back. It was about the way I had been unable to move past him—how his presence, even now, pulled at my heart in ways I didn't know how to process.

After school, I met up with Kaito, who was unusually quiet as we walked out of the building. The usual banter wasn't there, and I could tell something was off.

"What's up with you today?" I asked, glancing over at him.

He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he shoved his hands into his pockets and stared ahead. For a moment, I thought he might brush it off, but then he spoke, his voice lower than usual.

"It's Chino," Kaito muttered. "It's... I don't know, man. The way he's been hanging around lately, it's like he's trying to pick up where he left off, like nothing ever changed. And I'm not sure if I'm okay with that."

I raised an eyebrow, surprised by the seriousness in Kaito's tone. "What do you mean? He's just talking to people, like always. He's not doing anything wrong."

Kaito shot me a look, his lips curling into a frown. "It's not about what he's doing, Kai. It's about how he makes you feel. You're acting like everything's fine, but I see it, man. You've been on edge ever since he came back."

I couldn't deny it. It was true. Every time Chino spoke to me, every time I caught his eyes across the room, there was this weight that I couldn't shake. But I hadn't wanted to face it—whatever it was that lingered in the air between us.

"I'm fine," I said, a little too quickly. "I'm just trying to figure things out."

Kaito didn't seem convinced, but he didn't push it. "Just... don't ignore how you're feeling, man. It's not just Chino, it's everything—Haruka, your past, the way you've been shutting people out. Don't wait too long to deal with it. It'll catch up with you."

I didn't have a response to that, so I just nodded, my mind already drifting back to Haruka and the conversation we had the night before.

I got home that evening, feeling strangely heavy, like the weight of the day had accumulated on my shoulders. I threw my bag on the couch and walked to a empty dark hallway.

"I'm home!" I yelled, in the echoes of the hall, unaware as to why I was doing something stupid like this.

—-~

The next day at school, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was coming—something that had been building up for weeks, months even, but that I had been too afraid to face.

And then it happened.

It was just before the lunch bell when Chino appeared out of nowhere, sliding into the seat beside me in the cafeteria like he had every right to be there. I didn't even have time to prepare myself for it. One moment, I was sitting quietly with Kaito and Haruka, and the next, Chino was right there, his familiar, easy smile sending an unsettling ripple through my chest.

"Hey," he said, the word casual, like he had just walked into a conversation he was already part of. "How've you been, Kai?"

The question hung in the air between us. Haruka and Kaito exchanged looks, neither of them saying anything, as if they were both waiting for me to answer.

I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry. I wanted to say something—anything—but the words wouldn't come. Instead, I just nodded, trying to play it off. "I've been fine. Just busy."

"Yeah?" Chino raised an eyebrow, his expression unreadable. "That's good. I know things have been... weird between us. But I didn't want things to be left unsaid, you know? I figured I should at least try."

I met his gaze, my heart pounding in my chest. Every part of me wanted to walk away, wanted to avoid the conversation, but something inside me told me I couldn't run from it anymore.

"Why now?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. "Why are you suddenly acting like nothing changed?"

Chino's smile faded, and for the first time, I saw something flicker in his eyes. It was a sadness, something unspoken. "Because I don't want to leave things unresolved between us, Kai. And I don't want to leave you hanging either."

The weight of his words pressed down on me. I didn't know what he wanted from me, but I wasn't sure I could give it to him—not when my heart was already tangled up in so many other places.

"I don't know what you want from me," I muttered, my frustration rising again. "I've got my own stuff to figure out."

Chino nodded, as if he understood more than I had given him credit for. He didn't push. Instead, he simply looked at me, as if waiting for me to say something more, something that would finally unlock whatever we had left unsaid between us.

But before I could speak again, Haruka reached over and gently touched my hand, her fingers warm against mine. I looked at her, and she smiled softly, as if telling me it was okay. And for the first time, I realized that the storm inside me didn't have to tear everything apart. Maybe I didn't have to keep doubting myself so so much.