♡‧₊˚ 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆

14

ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ'ꜱ ɴᴏᴛᴇ: thank you, everyone, for the support you've given this book! it makes me so happy knowing that many of you care for it. i also apologize for the short chapter.

(i hope it's up to par though).

💌🔪♡🩹🩸

ayato didn't know how much time had passed since he fled classroom 2-1 to hide in the boy's bathroom, but one glance at his phone told him that their cleaning period would soon be over and he should be getting back to class. he let out a small sigh at this. "okay..." is all he said at first, using one of his hands to push up from his knee to help him gain momentum to stand up, but— even then— his legs felt like jelly.

"ayato?" a voice called out from the entrance of the boy's bathroom. was that...y/n? no, it couldn't be. it must've been his imagination. pushing this idea to the side, ayato, weak, leaned against the stall's wall for support and stood there for he didn't know how long.

"ayato? are you in here?" the voice continued and it was only followed by the hesitant sound of shoes clicking against the cool ground, every sound prompting the dark-haired boy's heart to plunge further in his chest, anxious. he wanted nothing more than to hide from the world, can't this person realize this? even if it was y/n, ayato couldn't stand to face her. not like this.

at this point, he didn't mind getting a detention from the guidance counselor herself for leaving the cleaning period without permission. "...yeah," he finally replied, his voice low. "yeah, i'm in here," he repeated himself, not bothering to notice how the person inched forward into the space and picked up the cleaning supplies that ayato disregarded onto the ground when he rushed in here.

it only caught his attention when they didn't stop there. instead, the student continued to stroll around the bathroom before finally stopping directly in front of the stall that ayato was hiding out in. when he realized this, his dark eyes studied what he saw: dark brown shoes and tights. it was indeed a female.

shit.

his mind was frantic. what should he do? it was too late to pretend to be someone else and there was not one person he could name in his entire class who truly cared enough for him to check on him. both aggravated and scared, he asked, "who is it?" the sound of his uneven breaths echoing against the cold walls.

"it's...me?" she replied. ayato dramatically rolled his eyes, as if that would help narrow things down. "i, uh, sorry," the student laughed when realizing this. "it's y/n l/n. we're in the same class, remember?" she tried to jog ayato's memory, but there was no need—he could never forget someone like her. "can you please let me in?"

"i don't need anyone, leave me alone," ayato grumbled, unwilling to let his vulnerability be seen.

but y/n, persistent and caring, wasn't about to back down. "ayato, i know something's wrong. just let me in. please...? you can talk to me..."

after a moment's hesitation, ayato sighed, defeated. he slowly gets up from the seat and unlocks the door, allowing y/n to open it to slowly reveal ayato. her eyes softened as she saw him huddled there. "are you okay?"

ayato nodded, unable to meet her gaze. y/n extended a hand, "let's get back to class together. you don't have to face it alone." she smiled. "i hope my friends and I didn't scare you away...if i had known, i would've told them to quiet down." she admitted.

reluctantly, ayato entwined his large hand around y/n's soft one, finding solace in her unwavering support. his heart felt like it was jumping off the walls at her touch. was this real? he felt like he was in another one of his dreams. "thank you..." he whispered. he's always thought y/n was an angel at heart, but never in a million years did ayato ever think she'd do something like this.

she never fails to surprise him.

together, they stepped out of the bathroom. "it's not a problem. i will always be here for you." she promised.

this comment made ayato take her word and run with it. 'always here for me, huh?...' he thought, looking up at the ceiling as they inched closer to classroom 2-1. a small, almost imperceptible smile made its way onto his soft features as his gaze settled on the back of y/n's head. despite not having a clue about it, she's always been there for him.

there is no one else in this school who could compare to her. not one. ayato is willing to die by that fact because he knows how truthful it is. he has searched far and wide for a girl like her, but had no luck, until that day when they ran into each other...

he has to do something. and quick.