It was now about forty-two minutes into the third period. Luna and Yu were still studying away, while Mei had asked to go to the washroom after she finished helping one of the students.
Since I didn't have anything to do, I was mindlessly reading a novel about a girl who got reincarnated as a villainess in some sort of game. Just as the villainess was about to kill her sister—who was the real villainess—a notification popped up at the top of my screen.
Just when I was about to get to the good part…
I lifted my eyes to the notification. It was a message from Mei that read:
My eyes narrowed, and I read it again, then another time. No matter how many times I did, the words didn't change.
I couldn't help but find it weird. We'd met up in private before, but only at our usual spot. Doing it outside that spot for the first time felt almost… wrong. And yet, this heat from this morning that I'd pushed down flared in my chest once more, erasing the unease.
I want to see you…
My thumbs moved on their own and typed out my response.
The moment the message was sent, I quietly pushed myself off my chair. I didn't seem to do a good enough job as Luna lifted her head from her notebook, confused.
"I'm going to the washroom," I said flatly. "I'll be back in a bit."
"Kay~ Take care," she replied, giving me a small wave.
As I reached the door, I glanced at the teacher from the corner of my eye. Usually, only one student was allowed out at a time—regardless of whether they were a boy or a girl.
The teacher had his head buried in his laptop, so he didn't notice me. The one risk was him hearing me open the door, but Mei seemed to have prepared for that—she had left the door open for me on her way out. I couldn't help but feel a flicker of admiration for her, but that lasted for only a moment.
Once I slipped out of class, my steps quickened as I moved down the halls and up the stairs.
There stood the door leading to the rooftop, sealed shut. I didn't waste a second as I reached out and twisted the doorknob. Except—it didn't budge.
What?
I pulled out my phone and sent Mei a follow-up text.
A few seconds after it was sent, a soft click echoed in the space around me, followed by the door creaking as it opened.
There was no one behind it as it did, it was almost as though it opened by magic, but I didn't pay it any mind as I stepped through the door and entered the rooftop.
I was met with a cool, humid breeze, accompanied by a few drops of rain that pattered against my clothes.
I lifted my eyes to the sky. Only a couple of hours had passed, and yet, the clouds had gone to an even darker, heavier grey. It shouldn't have been anything serious—they were just clouds. And yet, I couldn't stop staring, as if they slowly permeated my head.
But before they could, a cheery voice pulled me back.
"How long are you going to be staring at the clouds for?" Then came the sound of groaning metal as the door was pushed closed.
My body immediately relaxed upon hearing the voice. But deep down—it felt like something was scraping against me, trying to claw its way out.
I turned around.
Under the influence of the deep grey sky, only two things still retained their colour. One of them was the magenta underdye in Mei's hair, while the other was her deep purple eyes streaked with pink.
My foot inched forward, but I held the rest of myself in place.
"So, why did you call me out here? I didn't know little Miss Perfect over here was capable of cutting class," I teased in an unserious tone.
Mei let out a small giggle. "Oh, c'mon—don't say that! I'm just like everyone else."
She started slowly approaching me, her soft steps sending waves into the ground and settling into my chest, causing my heart to pound.
When she was only inches away, she stopped and rested her head against my chest.
"I needed a break, too," she said softly, her voice almost a whisper.
The moment I heard her say that, everything stopped. That is, everything except the heat that dwelled in the depths of my being.
My arms slowly rose on their own until they wrapped around her and pulled her into a hug.
"I bet that must've been sooo hard for you," I said, keeping a hint of sarcasm.
"Oh, shut up," she replied, her arms looping loosely around me. "That's not funny at all."
I chuckled. "Sure. My bad."
The two of us started swaying around the rooftop in an almost dance-like fashion until my back hit the fence, causing the chain link to rattle.
We both froze, but my eyes shot to the door. I waited, but nothing happened.
I let out a small breath of relief.
"Geez, what are you going to do if we get caught? I don't know about you, but my sister would never let me live it down." Even as I said that, I didn't let go of her.
Mei shook her head. "You don't have to worry about that."
She slowly lifted her face from my chest and stared into my eyes. She wore the same perfect, cheery smile she gave everyone else. But in the depths of that smile… lay nothing at all. That lack of anything drew me in—or maybe I was the one drawing her.
Her lips slowly parted.
"I made sure to lock the door… so no one can bother us."
That was all I needed to hear. The moment I heard those words, all reason—or sense of anything, really—escaped me. It was almost as though I had been reeled into a trance.
Neither of us moved—we just stared into each other.
That is, until I moved, leaning in. She followed and rose on her tiptoes.
Then—the world went white as this soft, warm sensation spread along my lips and ate through my mind.
***
"So, we are going to your family's restaurant? I didn't know you owned one of those," Mei said.
We leaned against the fence as we stood, our fingers intertwined with one another's.
She had her head resting against my shoulder, while mine was against the wet fence. It wasn't comfortable, but I didn't say anything about it.
"Yeah," I replied casually. "My Dad works there Monday to Saturday—8:30 in the morning to 6:00 or 7:00 at night, depending on how busy it is."
Mei let out a small 'ohhh' of understanding.
"Is that so? Then what does your Mom do?"
"She's a stay-at-home Mom. So she usually just makes dinner and cleans the house—stuff like that."
Mei covered her mouth as she began to giggle.
There was nothing to be offended about, but even so, my eyes couldn't help but narrow as I stared at her.
"...Am I missing something? What's so funny?"
"Oh, it's nothing," she said, composing herself. "It's just—your family sounds a lot like mine. My Dad is the one who works, and my Mom stays home. But enough about that."
Mei cleared her throat, returning the topic of the conversation to me.
"What type of restaurant is it?"
I paused, recalling the menu.
"I think it has a little bit of everything. Some Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Thai here and there. I'd say the thing he makes best is the Chinese food, though, like the egg rolls."
"Whoa." Mei gasped, seemingly impressed. "I didn't know your Dad was so talented! I guess it runs in the family."
For some reason, hearing Mei—or anyone really—complimenting my Dad made my skin crawl. I could even swear that I could make out his obnoxious, childish giggle somewhere far off in the distance.
"I don't know about that," I said, the words tumbling out before I could really think about them. "All the recipes we use, my Mom made and perfected—he's just reading off a page. Whenever he cooks without it, his food is borderline inedible."
The instant those words left my mouth, a small nip of guilt caught me deep in my chest. There was nothing to be guilty for; it wasn't like he could hear it, but the feeling still didn't go away.
Sorry, Old Man. But I can't have people thinking you're actually cool. You deserve it, though, so you'll forgive me.
I thought Mei would condemn me for it, but nothing came.
Instead, in my peripheral vision, I caught Mei blinking at me a few times. At first, I assumed she was disappointed in me—until her smile slowly grew wider.
A few seconds passed between us as she continued to stare before she suddenly took a deep breath and pushed off the fence.
She took one step back, then two, then multiple—until our hands were barely touching.
"Well," she said, her voice quieter than usual. "I think it's about time I head back now. It's been almost ten minutes, after all."
I hesitated for a moment before giving her a small nod.
"K. Then I'll stay behind a little bit longer. It'll look weird if we go back together."
Mei nodded as well, then took a small step back, still looking my way.
My hand strained as I held on—and I knew hers did, too. But we didn't let go.
Our fingers slowly came apart.
Then, her middle finger dragged along mine until only the tips still touched.
And then—we were forced apart.
It felt like something inside me snapped, and a chilling, hollow emptiness began to spread through my chest.
Mei's smile dropped for just a moment before her lips quickly curled back up.
"Well then," she said, her voice cheery. "I'll see you in class, Hoshino!"
"Yeah, see you," I replied, like it was an afterthought.
Mei spun around and ran out of the roof, slamming the door shut behind her.
I stayed still, staring at the now-empty space in front of me.
The world had lost all its colour, swallowed in the depths of grey, becoming monochrome.
A raindrop fell from the sky and landed on my cheek, then streaked down.
I drew a sharp breath, one that escaped my lungs in a shudder.
I can't wait to see you again…