It was raining that day.
Not the soft, poetic kind of rain that comes with melancholy romance, but the kind that soaks your clothes in thirty seconds and turns sidewalks into slip-and-slides. Umbrellas flipped inside-out. Shoes squelched. The air smelled like wet pavement and fast food grease.
Yuki didn't care.
He sat alone under the half-broken shelter of a bus stop, knees pulled close to his chest, his flimsy hoodie doing a poor job of protecting his delicate frame.
His white, short hair was damp and clinging to his cheeks, his phone screen was cracked, and his mood was worse than the weather.
It was supposed to be his first day at the new school.
He had been excited. Anxious, but excited. A new city, a fresh start. A chance to just be himself. Or maybe be someone else. He hadn't decided yet.
And then it all fell apart. Wrong bus. Wrong stop. Wrong direction. No umbrella. No one to call. And worst of all—he was hungry.
"Great," Yuki muttered, voice soft and a little hoarse from the cold. "First day in a new city and I already hate it."
A sudden splash interrupted his pity party.
A truck had just drove through a huge puddle, sending a wave of water toward the shelter. Yuki flinched, expecting to get even wetter, but instead, a large figure blocked the wave like a wall of muscle and black fabric.
"You okay, kiddo?"
The voice was deep. Calm. But there was something warm in it, like it didn't belong to the storm around them.
Yuki looked up—and blinked.
"I'm not gonna bite," the guy said with a little smirk. "You look like a lost kitten."
Yuki blinked again. "…I'm not a kiddo."
"You're not?" he teased, crouching down a bit so they were eye-level. "Could've fooled me."
Yuki stared at him. "Do you… always flirt with soaked strangers?"
"Only the pretty ones."
Yuki felt his face go red instantly. "I-I—You shouldn't say things like that to people you just met!"
The stranger laughed. "Alright, alright. Sorry. Let me rephrase." He stuck out his hand. "I'm Shin."
Yuki hesitated before gently taking it. His hand looked so tiny compared to Shin's. "…Yuki."
"Nice to meet you, Yuki." Shin stood up and held the umbrella wider. "Come on. I'll walk you somewhere dry."
"You don't even know where I'm going."
"Nope," Shin said casually, "but I'm not leaving someone who looks like they'll dissolve in the rain."
Yuki puffed his cheeks. "I won't dissolve."
"I dunno. You look like you're made of sugar."
Yuki groaned. "You're awful."
"You're cute when you're mad."
"Stop saying things like that!"
Shin chuckled again, but didn't stop. They walked slowly under the shared umbrella. Yuki tried to keep his scowl, but after a few blocks, it softened. Shin was… annoying. But warm. Calm. The kind of guy who made the world seem a little less chaotic.
By the time they reached a nearby café, Yuki's hoodie had mostly dried, and his fingers were warming around a cup of hot chocolate.
"You from around here?" Shin asked, leaning back in his place.
"Just moved," Yuki replied softly. "School starts tomorrow… assuming I don't get sick and die first."
Shin grinned. "I go to Sakura High. You?"
Yuki blinked. "That's… where I'm supposed to go."
"Well, would you look at that," Shin said, sipping his coffee. "Guess you're stuck with me now."
Yuki stared. "Are you always like this?"
Shin tilted his head. "Like what?"
"Cocky. Flirty. Acting like you own the world."
Shin's smile faded a little. "No. Just around people I like."
That shut Yuki up.
The café buzzed around them—coffee machines hissing, customers chatting, rain still tapping on the windows—but all Yuki could hear was the gentle thud of his heart.
That was the beginning.
—
Yuki stood in front of the tall black gates of Sakura High.
Day one.
He clutched his bag a little tighter. His heart thudded in his chest like it wanted to escape. It wasn't just nerves, okay. It was mostly nerves, but it was also something else.
Shin.
That idiot from yesterday. That ridiculous, smug, charming, tall idiot who had walked him through the rain like some kind of dramatic shojo manga lead, then casually bought him hot chocolate and acted like he hadn't just rearranged the entire emotional architecture of Yuki's heart.
Yuki had barely slept last night. Every time he closed his eyes, all he could hear was:
*Only the pretty ones.*
*Just around people I like.*
Yuki groaned into his sleeve.
"Why are tall guys always the worst…"
*And... I am guy too. Why do I feel this?* He thought.
He took a deep breath, smacked his cheeks lightly to psych himself up, and walked through the gates, like a solder merching. He was determined not to make a fool of himself.
That lasted about twelve seconds.
"Oi! Kiddo!"
Yuki froze. That voice. That stupid, deep, warm voice.
He turned slowly. Shin was leaning against a tree just inside the gate, uniform loose, tie crooked, one hand casually tucked in his pocket and the other lazily waving like he'd been waiting there forever.
"How'd you know I'd be here?" Yuki asked, trying to keep his voice even.
Shin grinned. "Didn't. Just had a feeling. Plus, you looked like you might explode if you had to walk in alone."
"I was fine!"
"You were muttering to yourself and hitting your face."
Yuki puffed his cheeks and looked away. "You're so annoying…"
"Thanks. You look cute in the uniform, by the way."
"I swear, if you keep saying stuff like that!"
"What? I'm being honest."
"You're being a dog."
Shin leaned closer, eyes twinkling. "Woof."
Yuki tried to fight the smile tugging at his lips and failed. "You're so dumb…"
Shin just chuckled and reached out to gently ruffle Yuki's hair. It was soft from being freshly dried and brushed. Yuki flinched—then leaned into it before he could stop himself.
"Come on," Shin said. "I'll show you around before class starts."
They walked together through the campus, Yuki pretending not to notice how close Shin walked beside him. It wasn't just a friendly "new kid" tour.
Shin pointed out all the important spots, cafeteria, nurse's office, science building, but he also gave commentary that only someone as cocky as him could pull off.
"That bench? That's the Crybaby Corner. Anyone who fails a test ends up there."
Yuki blinked. "You've been there?"
"Once. Math midterm. Tragic story."
"You failed?"
"I got a 30. Close enough."
Yuki snorted. "Wow. So dumb and bad at math."
"And yet I still manage to impress cute boys in the rain."
"Shut up."
When they reached the main building, a group of girls passed them, giggling behind their hands. One of them waved at Shin, who just nodded back casually.
Yuki glanced at him. "You're… popular, huh?"
Shin raised an eyebrow. "Jealous?"
Yuki looked away. "…No."
Shin leaned down just enough to whisper, "Don't worry, kiddo. I'm not the type to get distracted."
Yuki's heart did a full somersault and crash-landed somewhere in his shoes.
They reached the classroom just as the bell rang. Shin held the door open with exaggerated politeness. "After you, princess."
"I'm going to punch you if you call me that."
"Only if you do it cutely."
Yuki glared at him, stomped into the room and froze.
Everyone turned to look at him. The new kid.
He swallowed.
"Is that a she or he?" Someone commented under their breath.
Shin walked in behind him and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "This is Yuki. He's with me."
The class rep raised an eyebrow. "You mean, in our class?"
"Sure. That too."
She sighed. "Take a seat."
Yuki looked around the room and found a desk beside Shin's. Of course, the conventional empty sit beside the protagonist.
He took it, feeling every pair of eyes in the room burning into him. But Shin leaned over and gave him a lazy grin.
"You'll be fine, kiddo."
Yuki rolled his eyes. "Don't call me that at school."
"Whatever you say, my love."
Yuki turned bright red and kicked his ankle under the desk.
Class began, but Shin passed him a note almost immediately. Yuki opened it with a cautious glance.
"You still owe me a drink for saving you yesterday."
Yuki scribbled back.
"I didn't ask you to save me."
Shin took one glance at the note, then leaned close and whispered in his ear, "You didn't have to. I'd do it again."
Yuki's brain short-circuited. He nearly dropped his pen.
And that was how their first day at school together began.
Not with fireworks. Not with declarations of love.
Just a bench, a teasing grin, and a very flustered Yuki trying not to fall even harder.
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END OF CHAPTER : 2 : HOW THEY MET?
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