The sun brightly lit the path of a silent road.
Mei walked gently, her steps in rhythm as she hung her bag in front of her, holding it with both hands. She counted every step she had taken from the school.
"574...575...57—"
Suddenly, a breeze hit her from the side, blowing her long black hair through the wind as her ponytail waggled strangely.
"...six," she mumbled, halting her count, slightly annoyed.
She turned her head, narrowing her eyes at the traitorous wind as if it had ruined a sacred ritual.
Mei sighed and adjusted her grip on the bag, starting to walk again, though her rhythm was now off.
Behind her, someone coughed.
She froze.
That voice was too familiar. Annoyingly familiar.
"Yo," came the casual voice again. "You're walking really slow. Are you some old lady or what?"
Riku, her ex who she had broken up not too long ago, she stared at Him for a second, then two, and even longer like she was trying to read his mind.
Then, she finnally spoke.
"And why are you behind me? Shouldn't you be ahead of me if you are that fast?"
Riku paused for a second. The question made so much sense that he didn't knew what to come up with.
"...I took a detour," he mumbled.
"Through where? Narnia?"
"Tch. Just trying to be nice, walking you home and all." He clicked his tongue and looked away like he was the one offended.
Mei raised an eyebrow. "Did I ask for that?"
"No, but it's the thought that counts."
"Then stop thinking."
Riku sighed dramatically, throwing his head back. "Ugh. You're still just as cold."
"And you're still just as annoying."
The silence between them stretched for a few seconds as they walked—side by side now, unintentionally matching steps.
"...So," Riku said suddenly, glancing at her. "You still doing that thing where you count your steps?"
She blinked. "How do you know that?"
"You used to tell me every day. 'Today I walked 823 steps, which is weird because my one step is about 0.3 metre, and the distance between my house and the school is 250 metres, when i used math, I walked ten steps less!.'"
Mei looked away. "I don't remember that."
"Liar. You always got pouty when I didn't listen."
Her pace slowed just a bit. "I don't pout."
"Ok, fine.". He agreed, actually agreed.
Her eyes widened as she halted her steps, forgetting the count which she had remembered just now. The words that she just heard were too much unimaginable that she thought she misheard.
"What is it? Why are you staring at me like i said something i shouldn't say"
"Can you read minds"
"Wish i could".
"Same" her thoughts diverted as she got a new intresting topic.
Her usual cold demeanour was broken in by the curiosity of a cat.
"Wouldn't it be super cool?" She asked, already liking whereever this conversation was going.
"Wouldn't it be super cool?" she asked, already liking wherever this conversation was going.
Riku glanced at her, surprised. Her eyes actually had some light in them now.
"It'd be terrifying," he said bluntly. "Imagine hearing everyone's thoughts all the time. I'd go crazy in a week."
"That's because your mind's already half broken," she muttered.
"I heard that."
"You were meant to."
Riku smirked, then shrugged. "Still, you wouldn't want to read mine."
"Why?" she asked, a little too fast.
He shoved his hands in his pockets, looking forward. "Because I think about weird stuff sometimes."
Mei tilted her head. "Like what?"
"Like…" he paused, rubbing the back of his neck. "Like if cats think humans are just hairless, oversized servants. Or if pigeons are actually government drones."
She blinked. "That's not weird. That's just stupid."
"...or i might think of lewd things" he smirked as he glanced at her, trying to creep her out.
Mei didn't even flinch.
Instead, she gave him a slow, blank stare—the kind that drained all the energy from the conversation.
"Wow," she said flatly. "You're still twelve."
Riku scratched his cheek, not expecting the deadpan response. "Was worth a shot."
"No, it wasn't," she replied instantly. "Your brain should come with a warning label."
"'Caution: contents may be eaten by a cat'?" he offered.
She pouted. "mean."
Until—
"Mei!?"
A girl's voice rang out across the street.
Both of them turned.
"Oh god," Mei muttered under her breath.
Across the road, waving dramatically with her bag swinging wildly, was Hana—Mei's best friend and official #1 gossip goblin of Class 2-B.
She spotted Riku.
She froze.
Then slowly raised her eyebrows like she'd just witnessed a scandal unfold in real-time.
"Text incoming in 3… 2…" Mei whispered.
Her phone buzzed.
She checked the message.
> Hana: WHY ARE YOU WITH YOUR EX????
Hana: BLINK TWICE IF YOU ARE BEING THREATENED
Hana: SHOULD I CALL THE POLICE??