♪ ♪ ♪

You were by the lockers, rifling through your bag in frustration. 

"Where is it?" you muttered under your breath, pulling out everything but the one thing you needed: your spare shirt.

You could've sworn you packed it, but now it was gone. 

You checked again, feeling the panic set in. 

No spare shirt. Just the sweaty practice one you'd been wearing all day.

"What's got you all panicky?" Rin's voice cut through your thoughts, and you looked up to find him standing in the doorway, looking at you with crossed arms, already half-smirking.

He showed up to pick you up after volleyball practice, just like he always did. 

"My shirt's gone," you said, slightly exasperated. "I can't find it anywhere. It's like it just... vanished."

Rin looked at you with a mixture of amusement and something else, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. 

"You really need to stop losing stuff. You're like a walking disaster."

"Shut up," you grumbled, continuing your search through your bag. "I don't know what happened to it."

Rin sighed. "Well, you can't exactly walk home like that." 

"You'll get sick..."

He glanced at you, then quickly averted his gaze. "I'll lend you mine."

"What? No way," you said, blinking in surprise.

He didn't respond right away, instead pulling his own jersey over his head with an exaggerated sigh. 

"It's either this or you walk home in your sweaty practice shirt, and I'm not letting you do that. You'll catch a cold or something."

He tossed his jersey to you. 

"Just put it on," he muttered, his gaze still avoiding yours.

You looked at the jersey, then back at him. "Are you seriously giving me your shirt?"

Rin shrugged, his expression unreadable. 

"I'm not exactly doing it for you. It's just... you'd look even worse walking home in that sweaty mess. It's fine. Just wear it."

You slipped the jersey on, feeling the fabric hang a little too big on you, the scent of him faintly clinging to it. 

"Well, thanks, I guess."

Rin gave a short, dismissive nod. "Whatever. Just don't stretch it out too much." 

He turned toward the door. 

"Let's go. I'm not letting you walk home alone—because, you know, it's dangerous or whatever."

You smiled, amused by how stubborn he was. "You're a pain, you know that?"

"You love it," he said, shooting you a quick glance before heading out the door. 

"Yeah," you grinned. "I love it."

"Wha-" Rin malfunctioned, blushing slightly. "Jus- just hurry up. I'm not waiting all day."

<><><><><><><><><>

"Hey, Y/n... I've noticed how Itoshi acts around you. Are you sure he doesn't like you back?" your friend asked one day during lunch, eyeing you with a hint of curiosity.

You smiled at her, but there was a small, almost wistful sigh behind your words as you replied, 

"I know he cares about me, holds me in a special place in his heart... but... I don't think he'd ever like me like that."

Your gaze dropped to your food, your fingers tracing the edge of your plate absentmindedly. 

There was a quiet, lingering ache in your chest that you didn't want to acknowledge, the kind that came from the unspoken thoughts about Rin. 

Your friend's soft response, "If you say so." made the weight of it all settle deeper.

You let out a quiet breath, your mind wandering back to the guy you befriended all those years ago. 

That familiar, unspoken tension between you two—the moments that made you wonder if maybe, just maybe, you were more than just someone he cared for. 

But even as you thought about it, you knew. 

Rin wouldn't see you like that. 

He never had.

"This is fine... I'm content with what we are now."

<><><><><><><><><>

Later that night, during dinnertime, Rin found himself facing his brother Sae once again. 

The sight of him only made Rin sigh in resignation—it seemed pointless to waste any more energy being angry.

"Why are you even here?" Rin asked sharply, annoyance creeping into his voice as he grabbed a drink from the fridge. 

"Aren't you supposed to be busy or something?"

Sae raised an eyebrow, setting down the newspaper he'd been reading, and glanced up at Rin with a smirk. 

"They gave me a month off. Aren't you glad to see your precious older brother spending time with the family, Rin?"

Rin didn't even look up as he took a sip from the can. "Whatever, Sae."

Sae leaned back in his chair, his smirk widening. 

"What happened to 'big bro'? 'Sae-nii'? 'Coolest big brother ever'?"

Rin's eyes narrowed, irritation flickering in them. "Shut."

Sae maintained eye contact, clearly not fazed. "Alright, alright. But seriously, what's with you lately? You've been extra pissy since yesterday."

Rin froze, the words catching him off guard. 

His eyes darted away, unwilling to meet his brother's gaze. "It's... it's nothing. You wouldn't understand."

Sae's tone turned slightly more serious, though there was still a hint of teasing behind it. 

"No, tell me. I'm listening," Sae said, his voice softer now, a hint of sincerity beneath the usual teasing. 

For once, he wanted to be there for Rin—to make up for the years he'd spent neglecting him.

Rin hesitated, but eventually, he let out a long breath and started to speak. 

He told his brother everything—about you, about the friendship, the feelings he couldn't shake, and the confusion that had been gnawing at him for days.

Sae listened attentively, his eyes never leaving Rin as he absorbed every word. 

He nodded now and then, his usual sarcasm replaced by quiet focus. 

When Rin finally finished, there was a pause in the air, thick with the weight of unspoken thoughts.

Sae leaned back, breaking the silence with blunt words. "From what you've told me, you seem very whipped."

The words hit Rin like a punch to the gut. 

He wasn't sure whether to laugh or be frustrated, but Sae's observation stung more than he expected.

Sae continued, unfazed. 

"She seems like a nice girl, and she's been with you all these years..." His voice softened. 

"You've got something good there."

Rin clenched his jaw, feeling defensive. 

"But that's the problem. I don't want to mess up all these years of friendship we've built... I don't want to ruin it."

Sae leaned forward, his eyes narrowing with a seriousness Rin wasn't used to from him. "Do you like her, Rin?"

Rin paused, his mind racing. 

After a long silence, he finally nodded, his voice low. "More than I should."

Sae smiled, a rare moment of genuine pride in his expression. "Then go for it. Be a man."

He stood up, grabbing his empty plate and walking to the sink. 

"Well, unless you're fine with being just childhood friends with her forever."

With that, Sae left, his footsteps fading down the hallway, leaving Rin alone in the quiet of the kitchen. 

His mind was still spinning, but there was a new feeling rising within him—something he hadn't allowed himself to entertain before. Sae's words echoed in his head.

Rin stared at the empty space Sae had just occupied, the weight of his brother's advice sinking in. 

<><><><><><><><><>

You lay in your bed, the soft sheets tangled around you as you sighed for what felt like the hundredth time today. 

Your mind wouldn't stop running, replaying every interaction, every small moment with him.

"I can't believe I'm thinking about him again... What have you done to me, Rin?" you muttered under your breath, tossing and turning, trying to shake off the thoughts that had taken root in your mind. 

You had promised yourself that you'd dedicate this time to your studies, to your passions, to your goals. 

Love was something you'd put on hold, something you swore wouldn't get in the way of your plans for success.

But now, it felt like all of that was slipping through your fingers, like you were losing your focus in the whirlwind of thoughts about him.

'I guess fate has a way in life, huh?' 

You thought bitterly, unable to push the nagging feeling.

You had tried so hard to keep it together, but Rin had found a way to sneak into your thoughts, and now, it seemed there was no way to stop him.