Y/N's POV
The next few days felt strange.
Like the world was the same, but I wasn't.
I kept telling myself I was done with him.
Done with his smiles.
Done with his confusing glances.
Done with the way he made my heart sprint without even trying.
But the universe had other plans.
Because the moment I entered class, I saw him.
Riki.
Head on the desk. Earphones in.
He looked tired… or maybe he just didn't want anyone to see whatever he was feeling.
And yet the moment I walked in, his eyes opened.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Straight to me.
Like his heartbeat recognized mine before he did.
I looked away.
I wasn't going to fall again.
Not after everything.
But then—
"Y/N," Jay whispered.
"He's staring. So. Much."
I pretended not to hear.
But my chest heard.
My heart heard.
My stupid hope heard.
---
Riki's POV
I wasn't supposed to look at her first.
But I did.
Every time.
Even today.
She walked in quietly, as usual, but something was different.
Her face was pale.
Her eyes were tired.
She wasn't okay.
I knew that much.
I wanted to ask her why.
I wanted to walk up to her and say her name like I did in her dreams.
But I couldn't.
Because even feelings scare me more than fights.
So I did what I always do —
I stared.
And hoped she'd understand the words I didn't know how to speak.
---
Y/N's POV
During attendance, he sat diagonally behind me.
I kept writing random lines in my notebook to act busy, but every few seconds, I felt it—
That stare.
Like he was memorizing me.
Like he was trying to figure out why I had cried the day before.
It was suffocating.
It was comforting.
It was both.
When the teacher called his name, he didn't respond.
"Riki!" she said again.
He didn't blink.
He was looking at me.
Max nudged him.
He snapped out of it.
Everyone laughed.
My heart didn't.
My heart whispered,
"Why do you look at me like that?"
---
Benchmate's POV (brief)
"Why does he keep staring at you?" she whispered.
I almost dropped my pen.
I didn't answer.
Because I didn't know the answer myself.
---
Riki's POV
I didn't mean to ignore the teacher.
I just… forgot she existed.
Because she was sitting right in front of me.
The girl who cried.
The girl with soft eyes.
The girl who made me lose track of my own breathing.
Max elbowed me after class.
"Dude, what is going on with you?"
I didn't know what to say.
Because even I didn't know.
---
Y/N's POV
Break time came.
Everyone rushed outside.
I stayed behind to fix my pen.
Then I heard voices outside the door.
Max. Riki.
"Bro, you can't keep staring like that. People will find out."
"I don't care," Riki said.
I froze.
Max sighed.
"Then tell her."
Silence.
A long, loaded silence.
Then Riki said quietly,
"I don't know how."
My heart dropped.
Not in sadness.
But in disbelief.
In fear.
In hope.
I left before they noticed me.
I didn't look back.
But that one sentence followed me all day.
---
Riki's POV (later)
During physics, the teacher made me sit behind her again.
I swear she was nervous.
Her fingers shook every time she turned a page.
She didn't know I noticed everything.
Every blink.
Every tiny flinch.
Every time she tucked her hair behind her ear.
And when she finally turned back—
Our eyes met.
Her eyes widened.
Mine softened.
Because in that moment, it hit me:
I didn't want perfect.
I didn't want someone loud or bold or dramatic.
I wanted her.
Quiet.
Soft.
Messy.
Real.
Her.
---
Y/N's POV (Closing)
He didn't say a word to me that day.
But sometimes silence says more than confessions ever could.
And his silence kept whispering:
"I feel something too."
---