The final bell had rung ages ago and the storm hadn't let up a single bit, hammering the roof like it wanted in. As I glanced at the windows and the grey rivulets the raindrops left on the glass, I thought about those shapes I saw earlier.
Tails?
Really?
Was I so tired that I'd begun seeing things?
Either way, by some miracle I'd made it through the day. It was just orientation though, which meant classes started in earnest tomorrow.
Sigh.
As soon as the last bell had rung, the other students ran off, (Lisha shooting me a glare sharp enough to sting) and the only other person left in the room was Yue, neatly organising her papers.
Realizing I still had her white umbrella, I held it out.
"T-Thank you for letting me borrow it," I muttered. "And for… stepping in earlier."
The rustling of papers paused as Yue took the umbrella. As she looked up at me, I tugged my half-dyed hair forward to hide the piercings on my ears. No need to look even weirder in front of the one person who hadn't openly hated me today.
"It wasn't necessary," I added with a small smile. "I'm used to it. Anyway, I… I should go."
Yue's fingers paused on the umbrella handle like something had offended her. "You shouldn't be used to it," Yue said. "Being treated like that. If that happens again, please tell me or a laoshi. Something like that happening on the first day is…"
She trailed off.
Her eyes met mine, and there was something in them that I didn't know how to read—it wasn't pity or simple concern. It was sharper, as if the idea of anyone hurting me was unacceptable.
Did me being bullied bother her that much? We literally just met, and I was just any other student in her class… or was it the fact that bullying was happening in her class and she was the class president?
It didn't matter.
"Really, it's fine. Excuse me." I stepped past her quickly.
It was better like this. If people remembered what happened two years ago and wanted to bully me again, fine. But Yue shouldn't become a target because of something I screwed up. Besides, everyone seemed to like her, and being targeted was hardly anything new.
"It's not fine—Yunhua!" Yue called after me. Something about the way she said my name made me shiver. She sounded… possessive. Like she had already decided I wasn't allowed to walk away from her because I'd be jumped by Lisha around the corner or something.
Back off…
"Hey!" I heard Yue scramble the papers in her binder, shoving them into her bag before she raced out the door after me.
The hallway swallowed her voice as I kept moving, autopilot guiding me past lockers I half remembered.
I stopped in front of a door labeled "Liu Laoshi — Senior Sciences."
Right.
…This room.
I should have gone home. But my hand was already pushing the door open with a clack.
There she was, sitting on a desk and looking out the window.
Guiying.
Her hair was still glossy midnight black, a little longer now, brushing the shoulders I used to fall asleep against. She laughed—god, that laugh—and for half a heartbeat I thought she'd turn, see me, and smile at me like before.
Then I noticed the guy beside her. Their hands were intertwined, and she stroked his with her thumb.
…
The world lurched sideways. My choker, hidden under my collar, seemed to cinch itself as tight as it could like it was trying to strangle me.
Something in my chest cracked open and spilled cold into my ribs. I swallowed, but even the air wouldn't go down. I hadn't said Guiying's name in months, but it rose to my throat now, stupid and desperate.
"Gui—"
The sound died before it became anything at all. She didn't even glance my way, just laughed and whispered to the guy next to her. He smiled and laughed back.
I turned and ran, sprinting as fast as I could.
What was I thinking? I got a glare from a teacher, but I didn't care. I needed to get out of here, away from everything—
"Yunhua—!"
Somewhere behind me, faint under the storm and the pounding of my feet, I thought I heard another voice break into a run too.
Yue…?
…Maybe it was the wind.