"Shintaro?" You mumbled as you lay tangled in his arms. "Hmm?" He hummed in question atop of your head. "Do you remember when and where we met?" "Oh..." "I vaguely remember... I think. Do you?" "Do I remember? Hmmm... oh yeah..." You snuggled in closer to him under the bedsheets as the street light faintly lit the objects in the room. He rubbed your shoulder and kissed your forehead silently.

***

You were walking through the corridors of the school, carrying a bouquet of white flowers... You were walking very slowly, your focus on the white petals. There were others with the same white flowers walking down the hall, their faces looked just as suppressed as yours. Some were on the verge of tears, others just silent. It was deathly quiet though.

You approached a classroom, the doors open to anyone. Inside were other children huddled around a shrine, dedicated to the late Ayano Tateyama. She was a close friend of yours. Emphasise the word was. She committed suicide by jumping off the school's roof. Friends, classmates, teachers, and perhaps even family layer out their tributes to the deceased.

You sat down your phone on a nearby desk, and then offered up your flowers to the photograph of a smiling girl you used to know.

One boy caught your eye though, he didn't have anything to offer, but what you saw him wearing was you swore Ayanos red scarf. His face was emotionless, he didn't seem phased by this at all. His face didn't read happy, sad, or neutral. It was just, a face.

The light drained into the classroom, the air felt still even though there was a breeze. The thin white cloth curtains swayed in the breeze. You realised it was getting late and you should leave. You walked back out of the classroom.

As you were walking down the hall, you remembered that you had left your phone in the classroom, and so you turned back to go and get it.

On your way back, you watched your footsteps carefully, all your thoughts were on Ayano... you couldn't believe she was gone. As you kept on walking, you ran into a taller figure. Your face met a red scarf. "Aya-!"

To your dismay, it was non other than the boy that caught your eye earlier. "-No." he finished your sentence for you. "Sorry," he said, his voice muffled by the scarf. "I wasn't watching where I was going." "Neither." "Is this your phone?" He asked as he held up your phone. You blushed with embarrassment. "Uh yes...thanks..." you took it from him quietly.

"Are you Ayano's brother?" You asked cluelessly. "What? No!" "Sorry! It's just- you had her scarf and I thought you-" "she was my best friend, my only friend really..." "oh...I'm sorry..."

"My name is Y/n! We can be friends!" You said brightly as you held out your hand to him for a hand shake. At first he hesitated, but then complied. "Shintaro..." he said as he shook your hand. "I hope we can get to be better friends! That's what Ayano would have wanted, I'm sure." You smiled. "Ah, yeah..."

***

Shintaro had long stopped rubbing your arm. He had gone all quiet. Shintaro doesn't like talking about Ayano, or times when she was around...

"I'm sorry..." you said as you crept up his chest and planted a small kiss on his cheek. He snaked his hand around behind your back and brought you closer. "No, I'm sorry..." and he bought you into a kiss. His lips met yours in a slow soft motion. It only lasted a few seconds though...

"Come on now, let's get back to sleep..." he whispered as he gently rubbed your head.