Chapter 15: A Ghost From The Past

I sat on the edge of the school rooftop, the cool evening breeze tugging at the loose strands of my hair. The sun was setting, casting long shadows across the courtyard, and the orange hues of the sky clashed with the heavy storm clouds that still hung on the horizon, threatening another round of rain. I should have been in the classroom, studying, preparing for the upcoming tests, but my mind was too scattered for that. The weight of the last few days was pulling at me.

Chino had reappeared.

It wasn't a dramatic moment, at least not in the way that I had expected. He hadn't stormed back into my life with any fanfare. There was no grand gesture, no emotional confession. He just... showed up. And it was like the years apart had never really existed. He slid back into my circle with such ease that I found myself struggling to keep up.

It was strange. Seeing him again felt like waking up from a long dream—one I hadn't realized I'd been living. But now that he was here, I couldn't ignore the unease that swirled inside me. It wasn't just about the past. It was about the present, too. Chino's return had shifted the dynamics, changed something I wasn't sure I was ready for.

I let out a sigh, running my hand through my hair, trying to push away the thought that had been gnawing at me all day. Chino had come back, but with him came a reminder of all the things I had buried deep within myself. Things I wasn't sure I was ready to face again.

——~

The next morning, I found myself avoiding Chino. It wasn't intentional, but I couldn't shake the feeling that having him back in my life somehow complicated everything. I hadn't realized just how much his absence had created a sort of... balance. My friends and I had settled into a routine, our group becoming something I could rely on, even if I still felt like I was on the outside looking in sometimes.

But now with Chino back in the picture, that balance was disrupted. He was the kind of person who could command attention with just a glance, a half-smile, and suddenly, the dynamics shifted. And I wasn't sure how to feel about that.

By lunchtime, I found myself sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, surrounded by the familiar faces of Haruka and Kaito. But the conversation felt distant, my attention elsewhere. I kept catching glimpses of Chino across the room, laughing easily with the other students, as if he had never been gone. It wasn't just that he was popular; it was that he exuded an energy that drew people in. It was the same energy that had pulled me in all those years ago, and now it felt... off. Like the magnet had switched polarity, and I wasn't sure if I still wanted to be drawn to him.

"Kai, you're zoning out again," Kaito said, his voice breaking through my spiraling thoughts. He nudged me with his elbow, and I turned to meet his eyes.

"Sorry," I muttered, blinking a few times. "Just tired."

"You're always tired," Kaito said with a grin, but there was a note of concern behind it. "Something on your mind? You've been kind of off lately."

I hesitated for a moment, unsure if I wanted to explain. But the way Kaito was looking at me—genuine, unblinking—made me feel like I could at least tell him part of it.

"It's just... Chino," I said, unsure how to put it into words. "He's back, and I don't know how to deal with it."

Kaito raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised. "Chino? What do you mean, 'deal with it'? He's your friend, right?"

"Yeah, but..." I paused, trying to find the right way to explain it. "I don't know.

Things were fine when he wasn't around, you know? But now that he's back,

everything feels... different. It's like he's pulling everyone's attention, and I'm just standing here, trying to figure out where I fit in."

Haruka, who had been quietly eating her lunch beside us, glanced up from her phone and chimed in. "You're not exactly the center of attention type, Kai," she said softly. "But I get what you mean. Chino's got this... thing about him. He doesn't even try, and people just gravitate toward him."

I nodded, grateful for Haruka's understanding, but it didn't make things any clearer. The truth was, I wasn't sure where I stood with Chino anymore. It wasn't that I disliked him—far from it—but there was an undercurrent of something unresolved between us, something that I didn't know how to face.

Later that afternoon, I found myself walking down the hallway to my next class, lost in thought. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going when I collided with someone, knocking their books to the floor with a loud clatter.

"Ah, sorry!" I said quickly, bending down to help them gather the scattered papers and books.

When I looked up, I saw Chino standing there, his usual easy smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"It's fine," he said with a chuckle, bending down to help me. "I wasn't watching where I was going either."

For a moment, we both knelt on the floor, collecting the fallen books, but the awkwardness between us was palpable. There was a silence that hung between us, a silence that hadn't been there before. Chino didn't seem uncomfortable, but I could feel the tension in the air, like a string stretched too tight, waiting to snap.

"Uh, thanks," I muttered, standing up and handing him the last of his books.

Chino glanced at me, his eyes assessing, but he didn't say anything for a moment. "You've been avoiding me," he said casually, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

I stiffened, surprised by how blunt he was being. "What?"

"You've been avoiding me," Chino repeated, his voice lighter this time, though there was a hint of something else beneath it—something softer, more vulnerable. "And I get it. I wasn't exactly... easy to be around back then."

I frowned. "It's not that. I just—" I stopped myself, not sure what I was trying to say. The truth was, I didn't know why I had been avoiding him. Part of me wanted to pretend like nothing had changed, but I couldn't ignore the fact that something had shifted. There was an unspoken history between us now, a gap I wasn't sure how to bridge.

Chino's gaze softened, and he sighed. "You don't have to say it, Kai. I know I left. And I know that probably messed things up for you. But I'm here now, and if you want to talk about it, I'm listening. No pressure."

I swallowed, the words tangled in my throat. Chino's presence was always like this—unpredictable, but somehow still steady, as if everything could be fixed just by his being there. But I wasn't sure if that was the truth. I wasn't sure if everything could be fixed.

"I don't know what to do with all this," I admitted, my voice quieter than I intended. "I don't know if I can just pick up where we left off. It's not that easy."

"I don't expect it to be," Chino said with a small smile. "But I'm not going anywhere. So, whenever you're ready to talk, I'll be here."

I nodded, though the knot in my stomach didn't loosen. Maybe it wasn't easy. But maybe, just maybe, it could be worth figuring out.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. I found myself distracted in class, unable to focus on anything, my thoughts constantly drifting back to the conversation with Chino. By the time the school bell rang, signaling the end of the day, I felt exhausted, mentally drained.

As I walked out of the school gates, I spotted Kaito and Haruka waiting by the corner, the two of them already deep in conversation. Kaito's gaze flickered toward me as I approached, and he raised an eyebrow.

"You look like you're about to implode," he said, his tone light but with a touch of concern.

"I'm fine," I replied, though I knew it wasn't true. The weight of everything felt like it was pressing down on me, and I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep pretending I had everything under control.

"Sure you are," Haruka added, her voice dry but affectionate. "You look like you just saw a ghost or something."

I didn't respond, instead opting to just shove my hands into my pockets and keep walking, lost in my thoughts. Chino's reappearance was only the tip of the iceberg, and I had no idea how much deeper everything was going to get.