The final bell rang, echoing down the hallways like a sigh of release.
Students poured out of classrooms, their laughter and chatter filling the air.
Paulo stayed behind for a minute, waiting until the noise thinned out, he always did.
Crowds made it hard to breathe.
When he finally stepped outside, the late afternoon sun was low and orange, staining the wet pavement gold.
The air smelled faintly of rain and pencil shavings.
"Hey! You are late," Kazumi said as she was waiting by the gate again, waving with that easy smile that made everything in Paulo's chest ache.
"You didn't have to wait for me," Paulo commented
Kazumi then pouted again saying, "I wanted to. Come on, let us walk together again."
So, they did.
The street was quiet except for the distant hum of cars and the whisper of cicadas beginning their evening song.
Their footsteps echoed side by side, sometimes in rhythm, sometimes not.
For a long stretch, neither spoke.
The silence was gentle, not the heavy kind Paulo was used to.
But it carried something under it, like both of them were standing on the edge of something unsaid.
Kazumi smirked while saying, "You're smiling more lately."
Paulo looked at her as he said, "Am I?"
Kazumi nodded, "Yeah. It suits you."
He looked down, his face warming.
Paulo then whispered, "That's your fault."
Kazumi laughs, "My fault? What did I do?"
Paulo then answered with, "You… talk to me. You make things feel less—" He stopped, searching for the right word. "—less heavy."
Kazumi tilted her head, curious but kind, "You really think that?"
He nodded slowly.
The sky was glowing pink now; clouds bruised with gold and violet.
The world looked softer than usual, a rare mercy.
His heartbeat was loud enough to drown out the cicadas.
He could feel the words pressing at his throat, the ones he had been swallowing for weeks.
They reached the small bridge that crossed the stream near the park.
The water below shimmered like broken glass in the sunset. Paulo stopped walking.
"Paulo?" Kazumi asked
He turned toward her, his hands trembling at his sides, "Kazumi… I need to tell you something."
Her smile faded slightly, replaced by quiet curiosity, "What is it?"
He exhaled shakily, "I… I like you."
The words came out fragile, like they might fall apart before reaching her, "I have liked you for a while. You are the only one who makes this place feel real. The only one who makes me feel like I still matter."
Kazumi blinked, her mouth opening, then closing again.
The air felt heavier. The sound of the stream grew louder in the silence between them, "Paulo… I—"
Paulo cut her off saying, "You do not have to say anything. I just… I needed you to know. Before I lose the courage."
She stared at him, her expression torn between surprise and something softer, something she could not quite name, "I didn't know you felt that way."
Paulo quietly, "I did not know how to show it. I am… not good at things like this."
Kazumi whispered, "Paulo…"
She stepped closer, her voice gentle but unsure, "You are really sweet. I just— I do not know what to say yet. You caught me off guard."
He nodded, forcing a small smile, though his chest ached, "That is okay. I just wanted to be honest. I am tired of hiding everything."
She looked at him for a long moment, then smiled, not the teasing one, but something softer, more human, "You are brave, you know that? I will… think about it, okay? Let me think."
Paulo nodded, "Yeah. Take your time."
The two of them stood on the bridge, the wind brushing between them.
For the first time in a long while, Paulo did not feel invisible.
Even if she did not say she loved him back.
Not yet but she heard him.
That was enough for now.
They walked the rest of the way in peace and quiet.
The sky deepening into violet.
Kazumi hummed softly beside him, and Paulo let himself breathe.
For once, the silence was not empty.
It was full.
Full of everything that might still be possible.
***
The streetlights were flickering on by the time Kazumi reached her house.
The sun had already slipped behind the rooftops, leaving streaks of orange fading into a violet sky.
Her shoes made soft squeaks on the wet pavement as she walked up the narrow path to the door.
Inside, the house was warm, the faint smell of her mother's cooking drifting from the kitchen, the muffled sound of a TV somewhere in the living room.
It was all familiar, comfortable.
But her heart was not.
She slipped off her shoes.
Kazumi mumbled a quick, "I'm home," to her mom before she decided to go up the stairs and went straight to her room.
When the door clicked shut behind her, she let out a long breath she had not realized she had been holding.
She dropped her bag onto the floor and sat on her bed, staring at the wall.
The quiet was almost too much.
Kazumi thinking, "He really said it… He actually said he liked me."
She pressed her palms to her face, groaning softly into them.
Kazumi whispering, "Ugh, what do I even do?"
She was not angry.
She was not weirded out.
But she was overwhelmed.
Paulo, quiet, fragile, always sitting at the back of the class, had just handed her something raw and real.
And she had not known how to catch it without breaking it.
Kazumi grabbed her phone and scrolled through the notifications.
The group chat was still buzzing:
Ozawa texted, "Yo Takeo you are seeing this meme or what."
Takeo replied, "Boring. This chat's dead without drama."
Ozawa texted back, "Then make some drama, bro,"
Kazumi then texted, "You two are idiots."
She typed it fast, like she always did, Trying to keep things normal.
But her thoughts were miles away.
Her eyes drifted to the private messages list.
She hesitated, her thumb hovering over Paulo's name.
Kazumi texted Paulo, "Hey. Did you manage to get home safe ?"
She watched the typing dots appear, disappear, then come back.
Paulo replied saying, "Yeah. Thanks for walking with me again."
Kazumi smiled and texted, "Of course."
Paulo texted her, "…About earlier. Sorry if I made things weird."
Kazumi got soft and replied with, "You didn't. I just… wasn't expecting it, that's all."
Paulo texted her, "Okay."
There was a long pause, no more typing dots.
Kazumi stared at the screen, biting her lip.
Kazumi thinking, "He's too careful. Always apologizing for feeling things. Always waiting for permission to exist.
She wanted to tell him not to apologize.
She wanted to say she liked being around him too, that he was kind, and real, and that something about him made her want to protect him.
But she did not.
Instead, she just typed, "Good night, Paulo. Get some rest, okay?"
Paulo then replied with, "You too."
She set her phone down beside her pillow and stared up at the ceiling.
The shadows on the plaster looked like slow-moving clouds.
Kazumi thinking, "He's been through so much… and I didn't even know.
He smiles like it costs him something.
And I keep teasing him like he is okay. Her chest tightened.
Kazumi whispering, "Paulo… what did they do to you before you came here?"
She turned on her side, hugging her pillow, listening to the soft hum of the night outside.
Somewhere in her heart, something had shifted, quietly, but undeniably.
She was not sure if it was love yet.
But she did know one thing:
Tomorrow, she would not tease him.
Tomorrow, she would try to understand.
And as she closed her eyes, her phone screen dimmed beside her, the faint glow of Paulo's name the last light in the room.