The track field was empty when Luca arrived.
Morning fog hung low over the red lanes, the air cool enough to sting his lungs with every breath. The school hadn't fully woken up yet — no shouting, no whistles, no crowds. Just silence.
That was probably why Hana chose this time.
She stood near the fence, stretching slowly, her hoodie zipped up despite the mild weather. Her hair was tied back, curls bouncing slightly as she moved. She didn't notice Luca at first.
He stopped a few steps away. "You always come this early?"
Hana flinched slightly, then relaxed when she saw it was him. "Sometimes."
She shrugged. "It's easier when nobody's watching."
Luca nodded. He understood that feeling more than he wanted to admit.
They walked onto the track together. No pressure. No expectations.
"I'm not here to push you," Luca said. "Marc would've brought a stopwatch. I didn't."
That earned a small smile. "Good. I hate timers."
They stood at the starting line, staring down the empty stretch of track.
Hana inhaled, then exhaled slowly. "I used to love this," she said quietly.
"When I ran, everything else disappeared. No noise. No expectations. Just… forward."
Luca didn't interrupt.
"But after the injury," she continued, "every step felt like it was waiting to fail. Like my body was a stranger."
She shifted her weight uneasily.
Luca spoke gently. "Then don't run yet."
She looked at him. "What?"
"Just walk," he said. "No finish line. No pace. Just move."
Hana hesitated — then nodded.
They started walking side by side.
The fog thinned as the sun climbed higher. Each step was careful, deliberate. Hana's shoulders were tense at first, but gradually they loosened.
"I don't need you to be strong," Luca said after a while.
"I just need you to be honest with yourself."
She laughed softly. "You always say stuff like that?"
"Only when I'm nervous."
That made her laugh for real.
After one lap, Hana stopped. She bent forward, hands on her knees, breathing hard — not from exhaustion, but from emotion.
"I thought coming back would hurt more," she admitted. "But this feels… okay."
Luca smiled. "That's how you know it's real."
She straightened and looked at him. "Why are you helping me?"
The question landed heavier than she intended.
Luca thought about the loops. The resets. The countless versions of this morning that never happened.
"Because you matter," he said simply.
Hana's eyes softened. "You're weird."
"Yeah," he agreed. "I get that a lot."
They sat on the bleachers afterward, sharing a bottle of water. No rush to leave.
From a distance, Aria watched from the school walkway.
She didn't interrupt. She never did when moments felt… important.
Something stirred inside her chest — not jealousy, not sadness. Just a strange familiarity. Like she'd seen this moment before in another life.
She pressed a hand to her notebook.
A single sentence had appeared on the page without her remembering writing it:
Some bonds aren't written into the story. They're earned.
Aria frowned.
She didn't know why the words mattered.
Only that they did.
And somewhere deep beneath the calm surface of the world, something unseen was paying attention.