Cassie sat on the school steps beside Tyson, watching the morning preparations unfold. Volunteers were setting up food exhibition stalls on the ground, banners were being hung, and the stage for the evening concert was beginning to take shape. Everything was coming together smoothly—except for one glaring issue.

It was past 7:30 a.m., and Hillary Tachibana, the Amity Club's president and the mastermind behind today's fundraiser, was still missing.

She saw Tyson check his phone again. No messages. No missed calls. She shook her head.

Cassie wasn't usually this impatient, but this was Hillary they were talking about. The multi-talented, perfectionist 'good girl' of their school—the same person who had spent the last week drilling into everyone's heads that they had to be at the venue on time. And now, on the actual day of the fundraiser, she was late? Cassie couldn't digest the hypocrisy.

They flipped through their anchoring script together, but Tyson wasn't as focused as usual. His knee bounced slightly. Every time a volunteer approached with a question, he answered quickly before glancing toward the school gate.

Since they were the event hosts, everyone turned to them when something went wrong. They knew a great deal about the organizing part, but not as much as Hillary. Thankfully, Luke seemed to have the rest covered. They had managed to keep things running for now, but Cassie wasn't sure how much longer they could hold out. Hillary needed to arrive.

She didn't comment on it, but she noticed—Tyson wasn't just waiting. He was worried.

"Still nothing?" she asked, glancing at his phone.

Tyson shook his head. "Nope. And she's not picking up either."

Cassie frowned, letting the script fall into her lap. "That's not normal."

"Tell me about it," Tyson muttered, crossing his arms half-heartedly.

"Well, looks like someone's late," a voice drawled.

Tyson's mood soured instantly. Cassie turned to see Laura dropping onto the step beside her, a smirk playing on her lips.

Tyson had never liked Laura, but ever since she and her friends had publicly dragged Hillary's name through the mud two days ago, he wasn't even bothering to hide it. He had intervened back then, starting an all-out fight with Robb and the rest of her group.

If Laura noticed his hostility, she ignored it. Cassie, not wanting to stir up another fight, kept her tone neutral. "Yeah, she's not picking up her calls."

Laura's smirk widened. "So responsible of her," she mocked.

Cassie shot her a sharp look but didn't take the bait. She didn't want another confrontation today of all days. Tyson, clearly thinking along the same lines, answered tersely. "She probably got held up because of the snow last night."

Laura scoffed. "What? The roads weren't even that bad."

Tyson exhaled sharply, looking like he really didn't want to be here, much less talking to her. "No, it's because she has cold urticaria."

Cassie frowned. "Cold what now?"

Laura raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Is that supposed to mean something?"

Tyson hesitated for a second, as if debating whether to say more, but then sighed. He finally looked at them. "Cold urticaria. It's a rare allergy. If her skin gets exposed to something too cold—like snow—she becomes extremely sensitive. She could get rashes, swelling, and in extreme cases, breathing issues."

Cassie's eyes widened slightly. That sounded serious. How had she never known about this?

Beside her, Laura had gone very still.

"She has that?" Laura asked, her voice unusually tight.

Cassie glanced at her, raising an eyebrow. Why the sudden change in tone? Laura never cared about Hillary—except when it came to taunting her. Especially after she got removed from the Amity Club.

"Yeah," Tyson said, glancing at the main gate again. "It's pretty manageable since it hardly snows in Japan. We only get snow like this once every two or three years. But last night's snowstorm was sudden—something about a cyclone near the Pacific Coast. If she was out too long, she probably had a reaction and had to deal with it before coming."

Cassie processed the information slowly. That was a serious condition for someone who spent so much time in water.

Now that she thought about it, Hillary had kept a thick coat on until the very moment she had to dive during yesterday's swim tests. Cassie had assumed she was just feeling under the weather, but now it all made sense. Good thing most swimming pools had inbuilt water-heating systems—otherwise, things could have been very different for Hillary.

Beside her, Laura had gone completely silent. Then, suddenly, she stood up. "I—uh, just remembered something I need to do," she muttered weakly before walking off.

Cassie frowned at her sudden skittishness but didn't dwell on it. Laura had her odd moments.

Instead, she turned to Tyson. "How do you know that?" she asked, curiosity piqued. She doubted Hillary had made this common knowledge.

Tyson shrugged. "Hillary and I went to the same primary school." His voice was tight, like he had more to say but was holding back.

Cassie pursed her lips. Of course. But something about all of this didn't sit right.

Ever since last night—when she had seen the Blade Breakers and Hillary at the stalls—she had felt like something wasn't adding up.

Hillary blended in too easily. The rest of the boys treated her like she was one of them.

Sure, Tyson made friends easily, so him being comfortable around Hillary wasn't surprising. But Kai?

Laura had actually been right about something—Hillary was one of the very few people Kai talked to outside of his usual circle. Yes, they were chemistry lab partners, but Kai didn't talk to his other lab partners the way he talked to Hillary.

And then there was the bracelet.

She was almost certain Kai had given Hillary the second one.

She knew she was missing something. Something important.

But before she could dwell on it, a familiar voice called out.

"Sorry I'm late!" Hillary called out, jogging toward them. The moment she crossed the gates, she was in girl boss mode— snapping at three volunteers to get back to work and guiding a stall-keeper on where to place additional wares. By the time she reached them, her face was flushed.

She'd bundled up nicely for the weather—a plain cream bodycon dress ending just above her knees, knee-high boots, and a full-length black coat. Cream gloves covered her hands, and a matching scarf was wrapped snugly around her neck. Her hair was tied up in a high bun, strands of dark brown escaping at the edges.

The only pop of color was a red, diamond-shaped pendant resting against her chest. It stood out starkly against the neutral palette, drawing attention to her. And, Cassie admitted begrudgingly, it suited her. The colors made her eyes more striking than usual.

If not for Tyson telling her earlier about Hillary's intolerance for snow, she would have assumed she was just dressing chic for the weather. She really did look good.

Cassie's eyes flicked past her, catching sight of Kai approaching a few paces behind. And just like that, her mood soured. Had Hillary and Kai come together?

Tyson, however, didn't seem to care. "You're late!" he called, skipping any pretense of a greeting. Relief tinged his voice despite his sharp tone.

"Yeah... Sorry about that. Very hypocritical of me, I know." Hillary smiled sheepishly, avoiding their eyes. Cassie was at least glad she had the decency to acknowledge it.

She was already a little breathless from her short jog from the entrance. "You wouldn't even pick up your phone." Tyson stepped forward, taking her bag without hesitation. Cassie had to admit—that was thoughtful of him. The bag did look heavy.

Hillary let him take it, looking grateful. "It kind of broke," she admitted, voice quieter than usual. She fidgeted, shifting slightly in place.

Cassie narrowed her eyes. Was it just her, or was Hillary fidgeting more than usual?

Tyson, for once, didn't buy it either. "Did you have one of your allergic episodes?" he demanded bluntly.

Hillary flinched. For a moment, she looked like she'd deny it. Then her shoulders slumped forward.

"Yeah... I was just entering the house when I slipped on the ice yesterday." She winced slightly, as if remembering it.

"Are you hurt? Did you take your medicine?" Tyson's concern sharpened, eyes scanning her face.

Hillary gave him a small, tired smile. "Yeah, I did. But by the time I got in though, the rashes had already started. It took a while for things to settle. And even longer just to get out of bed. I came as fast as I could."

Cassie didn't comment—just nodded in acknowledgment. It wasn't her place to pry.

Tyson wasn't done though. "Where were your parents?" he asked as he wrapped an arm around Hillary's shoulders, guiding her inside. The cold wind had picked up again, and Cassie caught Hillary pulling her coat tighter around herself, slightly leaning into Tyson's warmth.

Cassie hesitated. Damn. She'd never seen Hillary this sick before.

She would have followed them, but then Kai stepped beside her.

Something about him felt different today—off—but she couldn't quite pin it down.

"Walk with me," he said casually. "Ray asked me to help him set up his stall."

Cassie blinked. Was that why he was here so early? He wasn't even one of the volunteers. She knew how much he cared about the Blade Breakers, but still... something didn't add up.

She glanced back at Tyson and Hillary, who were disappearing inside.

Kai's lips twitched slightly. "Don't worry about them," he said, reading her mind. "It'll take a while before they notice you're gone. You'll probably be back by then."

Before she could respond, he pulled her close and pressed a soft kiss against her forehead.

Cassie stiffened.

The last time she'd seen him, he'd kissed her in front of all his friends—confident, teasing, almost smug. But now? There was something heavier in the way he held her.

She liked Kai, no doubt about that, but whatever this was... this wasn't like him. He must have noticed her surprise because he smirked, looking slightly normal. "What, I can't be happy to see my girl first thing in the morning?"

Cassie flustered slightly, all her doubts momentarily forgotten at the phrase 'my girl'. She shook her head, falling in step beside him.

But the giddy feeling didn't last.

"So, how was practice yesterday?" he asked, tugging at his collar.

Cassie frowned slightly. Kai didn't do small talk. So why now?

Her mind flashed back to last evening—to the frustration, the near tears when she realized that Hillary had once again beaten her by a slim margin. That she had only a fortnight left to make a comeback.

Did Kai know about that? Had someone told him?

Her mind jumped to Laura first, but she dismissed it immediately. Laura could barely stand Kai.

Then... Hillary? Is that what they'd been talking about when they walked in together?

Kai was still waiting for an answer, watching her expectantly.

"It was good," she said, shrugging, suddenly unsure where this was going.

Kai nodded. "What do you usually do in swim practice?" His tone was too casual.

Cassie answered quickly this time. "We warm up, then do whatever the coach has planned. Laps, dives, acrobatics, that kind of thing."

Then, just to test his interest, she added, "But we didn't do any of that yesterday. It was a testing day. Our coach likes to track our speed, endurance, technique, all that."

She trailed off, watching him carefully.

Sure enough, she had his attention.

His eyes sharpened, the casual front slipping just enough for her to catch something underneath. Calculating.

He was fishing for information.

She wasn't sure why he didn't just ask her directly—or why he needed to know in the first place—but she played along.

"Oh?" Kai said neutrally. "How'd it go?"

Cassie shrugged. "Same as usual. Some did better, some didn't. This test was important, though. It's the last one before the national championship."

Kai nodded like it was just small talk. But Cassie knew better.

Sure enough, he wasn't done.

"What about Hillary?" he asked, too offhandedly.

Cassie's eyes narrowed slightly.

There it was.

Kai's first slip.

What kind of boyfriend asks about their girlfriend's rival first?

Resentment bubbled up inside her. Of all the things he could have asked about, it had to be Hillary. The wound of yesterday's defeat was still fresh.

Still, she swallowed her bitterness. "She was very good," she said carefully, keeping her tone neutral. She didn't want to sound too jealous. "Outpaced us all. Beat me by a small margin. A drastic improvement since last month. Why?"

Kai let out a thoughtful hum, adjusting his gloves absently.

"Just curious," he finally said.

Cassie didn't buy it. Not one bit.

She studied him from the corner of her eye. "Does this have anything to do with why you came in with her this morning?"

Kai's steps didn't falter, but she saw the slight tension in his jaw.

Bull's eye.

"You're overthinking things," he said smoothly . Too smoothly.

Cassie sighed. She'd pushed too far, too soon. As expected, Kai pulled back. He wasn't denying anything, but he wasn't giving anything away either.

She pressed her lips into a thin line . Fine. She wouldn't push.

Instead, she straightened. "I hope you got what you came for," she said tightly, turning away.

Her fingers brushed past his, but she didn't stop.

It hurt that he didn't call after her either.

Tears of frustration threatened to spill, but she wiped them away. It wasn't like she expected Kai to not interact with any girls... But him choosing Hillary of all people, especially when he hardly talked to anyone, without giving her much of an explanation, especially when there clearly was one... it was simply infuriating.

Despite not being Amity Club's President, the club was still very dear to her. And as much as she wanted to hate Hillary, she knew she would need help today. She wanted to see the fundraiser succeed just as much as her. 

Hence, she couldn't dwelve on anything else today. She had bigger things to focus on—a concert to anchor, a fundraiser to help organize.

She didn't have time for an emotional crisis.

*****

Words: 2273

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A/N: How was the chapter?

Honestly, I don't have much to say. The people waiting for tyhil moments, there you go, you got a glimpse. Don't be disheartened though, you'll get much more in the next chapter!!! 

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Happy reading!