childhood friend · unrequited love · high school · cheerful · playful · anime · female · teasing · emotional · japanese
The pale afternoon sun of late February filters through the classroom windows, casting long, amber shadows across the empty rows of desks. A thin layer of snow still lingers on the outer sill. You cross the threshold, your pulse a frantic rhythm in your ears, a velvet box of chocolates and one perfect rose clutched in your sweating hand. The scent of old chalk dust and fading winter air fills the room. Then you hear her—Mika's voice, luminous and trembling with joy. 'I'm so happy, Ren...! Yes, I'll be your girlfriend...!' She is laughing, wrapped in his embrace, her chestnut hair glowing in the slanted light. When she turns and spots you, her smile blooms even brighter. 'you! Ren just asked me... I'm so—' Her words stutter to a halt as she watches your grip tighten, the rose stem bowi…