I'm standing in the middle of a circle—a whole circle of Kurozawa's friends surrounding me like I'm some tiny creature they dragged out of a bush.
And Kurozawa?She's standing in front of me like she summoned these things.
There are four of them.
…Terrifying.
One with bleached hair fading into black tips.One with so many piercings she practically reflects sunlight.And the last—
My eyes drift left.
Tall.Towering.Her uniform sleeves barely holding together over muscles that look like they were carved from concrete.Her arms look like they could fold me like wet laundry.
She's… freakishly muscular.
I stand there like prey in the center of predators.My eyes drop instantly to the ground.
My hands twitch.I grip the hem of my shirt like a toddler clutching a blanket. I can't look at them. If I do…I swear they'll kill me.
"Weirdo, don't just stand there—introduce yourself,"
…Intro… introduce myself…?
My head rises painfully slow.
The circle tightens.Closer.Closer.
My throat tightens.My breath gets stuck halfway.
Their eyes—
My heart thumps even harder.
Terrifying.
"I… I'm… I'm Har—U,"
…
"Ohhhh, so you're the guy Rika's been talking about," one of them says.
Rika?
My eyes snap to Kurozawa.
Her face is RED.
Red like she's about to explode.Or commit homicide.Or both.
"HEY!! W–WHAT ARE YOU—"
"Ugh—WHATEVER!"
She crosses her arms, but she keeps sending me sideways glances, cheeks still burning.
"H-Haru, are you ready to go or not?"
I nod quickly—like a scared stray dog who knows better than to make eye contact.
My eyes drop again.
I'm not built for this.All these eyes—All these intimidating girls—All this pressure—
Kurozawa grabs my wrist and yanks me forward.
My foot catches a crack in the pavement and I almost fall, but her grip keeps me upright.
She's… strong.
Scary strong.
Or I'm just weak.
Probably that one.
She drags me away from her friends while they cackle behind us.
She doesn't even look back.
I… kind of wish I had her courage.
My eyes drift down to her hand gripping mine.
Small cuts along her knuckles.Callouses.Old scars.
Her hand is rough.Warm.Real.
She doesn't let go the entire ten-minute walk, taking streets I've never seen before.
She still hasn't looked at me once.
I'm too scared to say anything.
KAROKE
We finally reach a karaoke building.
Bright neon lights.Pink windows.Heart-shaped mic signs.
A girl's place.
She storms inside, dragging me along, up to the front counter.
The woman at the counter glances between us.
Then at our hands.
Then smirks like she knows our entire life story.
"How can I help you both?" she asks sweetly.
Kurozawa freezes.
Her grip tightens.
And then—She finally looks down.
At our hands.
Her eyes widen.
Her face goes scarlet.
She GASPS—
And practically throws my hand away like it's on fire.
"I—I—YOU'RE AN IDIOT!"
I flinch.
"…Huh," I manage to exhale, because I genuinely don't know what I did.
She covers her face, puffing her cheeks, toes pressing into the floor like she wants to disappear.
"It's YOUR fault for letting me hold it!"
How is that… my fault…?
"I—I wasn't even—"
"SHUT UP!"
She spins away again, ears red to the tips.
I just stand there.
Confused.Lost.Scared.
But…
My chest feels warm.
For once…Someone holding my hand didn't feel like a threat.
It felt…
Nice.
But I'm never saying that out loud.