Into The Rain With You

After school, I walked home in a daze. My mind was fogged with thoughts I couldn't put into words. I kept thinking about the conversation with Kaito earlier that week. His words about "distractions" and "focusing on what matters" stuck with me. The more I thought about it, the more it felt like he was right. Everything I did—everything I said—was a distraction. A performance. A way to keep the real me hidden.

I was tired. So tired of pretending. But the hardest part was that I didn't even know what to stop pretending to be.

That night, I stayed up later than usual, lying in bed with my phone in hand, scrolling through pictures, through old messages, through reminders of the past. It was funny—how I could look at photos of myself smiling, laughing, posing with friends—and yet none of it felt real anymore.

Was I really happy? Was I really the person I was pretending to be?

I stared at the screen, feeling a strange ache in my chest. Why does it feel like I'm missing something?

Just as I was about to put my phone down, a new message lit up the screen.

It was from Haruka.