The silence stretched on for what felt like an eternity before Lena realised she had to respond.

“Uh… I don’t not like you…” Lena murmured, her voice faltering as she broke eye contact. Her gaze dropped to her hand, now resting alone on the table, no longer held in Umire's soft, warm grip.

“You like me?” Umire asked again, something unknown laced in the question.

Lena didn’t know how to respond. A cold sweat clung to her skin, and her throat felt tight and rough, nervousness spreading over all her senses.“Yeah, I… I like you...” she managed to sputter out a response, still looking down at her hands.  She began digging at the skin around her thumb harshly with her nails.

Lena flinched as a chair screeched across the floor. When she looked up, Umire was leaning over her—close. Too close. Their faces were inches apart, noses nearly brushing. Her fluffy, silky hair spilled forward, brushing Lena’s hand with an unnervingly soft touch.  Lena felt almost as though she were being held in place by invisible vines, Umire’s gaze putting a strange enchantment on her, making her unable to look away.

“You like me the most… You only need me…” Umire murmured, her voice low and almost desperate, the words slipping out almost like a plea. The tone caught Lena off guard the words feeling like they were enchanting her.

Umire’s expression remained neutral, her voice steady, but something in the air felt different. Despite the calm exterior, Lena could feel the pressure of something fragile beneath it—as though Umire were teetering on the edge of something unexplainable.  As though she were about to let go of something and be consumed by something else.

Before she could process it, Lena felt her mouth moving without thinking. Her eyes were locked onto Umire’s, unable to break the contact. The gentle brush of Umire’s soft hair brushing her hand felt distant and light..  

“Yeah…” Lena whispered, her voice barely audible, the words slipping out in a way that felt out of her control. “I like you…”

At her response, something shifted in Umire—her cold mask cracked, replaced by a smile that warmed her face. A faint blush colored Umire’s cheeks as she pulled back, her hair slipping from Lena’s hand, leaving a sudden emptiness in its wake. The absence of that soft touch felt like a thread snapping, and with it, the strange spell Umire had cast over Lena unraveled. For a moment, Lena sat still, the pull of whatever was happening between them fading away.

Lena couldn’t help but watch, mesmerized by the way her hair flowed behind her, the movement oddly captivating.

“Okay, so let’s eat together from now on, okay? We’re besties; that’s what besties do!” Umire exclaimed, her voice warm.

Lena nodded dumbly in response, still caught off guard by the sudden enthusiasm.

“Oh, what do you have for lunch?” Umire asked, her eyes drifting to the lunch box that sat on Lena's desk.

“Oh… Uh, you can see.” Lena replied, opening her lunch box with a hesitant motion so Umire could see the contents. Inside, bear-shaped rice balls with little eyes stared up, their perfectly rounded forms resting beside scattered pieces of tender chicken. A small cake treat sat off to one side, dusted with powdered sugar, while bright, fresh fruit filled the rest of the space with a pop of color.

“Wow~”, Umire chimed, her eyes lighting up as she took the lunch. “It looks amazing, and those bear-shaped rice balls are too cute! Oh my god, and that cake looks so good! Did you make this yourself?” Her gaze remained fixed on the lunch box, a clear spark of genuine interest in her voice.

“Uh yeah…I like to cook and bake. I make my mom's lunches too.” Lena replied, a soft blush creeping across her cheeks at the compliment. She and her mom had a routine. Her mom handled breakfast since she was always up first, while Lena took charge of lunch and dinner.  Most nights, she’d pack both of their lunches before bed, leaving her mom’s on the table for her to grab in the morning.  Baking was one of the few things she enjoyed, and she liked experimenting with new recipes.  The cake that sat on the corner of her lunch box was one of them.

“I'm jealous I suck at cooking.  I'm not even gonna talk about my baking skills.  Whenever I try, they always end up flat and crumbly. If I’m lucky, they're edible.”, Umire groaned before looking up at Lena with a smile.  “Can I have some pretty please? I wanna taste your cooking!”

“Yeah, sure. Take what you want.” Lena replied automatically, pushing the entire tray toward Umire without thinking. But as soon as she did, the reality hit her—if Umire ate everything, she'd have nothing left. She'd only eaten half of her breakfast, and now she'd be hungry for the rest of the school day. She glanced at Umire, who was now staring down at the lunch box before lifting her eyes back to Lena.  

“Mmmm…” Umire murmured, her eyes flicking between the lunch box and Lena as she leaned back in her chair, balancing on the back two legs. Her gaze lingered for a moment before her eyes suddenly widened. With a loud clang, the chair slammed back onto all fours, and she quickly slid the lunch box toward Lena.

“Can you feed me?” Umire asked, her voice bright and eager, as she looked at Lena expectantly.

“Feed you?” Lena repeated, taken aback by the unexpected request.

“Yeah! I want to be fed by my bestie~”, Umire chimed, closing her eyes cheerfully as she smiled, enunciating the last word.  She seemed to do that to the word bestie a lot…Lena observed. “Won't you?”

“Uh…okay”, Lena agreed dumbly.  At the agreement, Umire opened her mouth expectantly looking at Lena.  Lena distantly observed that one of her canines was sharper than the rest of her teeth, looking like a fang. 

Lena swallowed as she picked up one of her bear-shaped rice balls with the chopsticks she carried in her lunch box and brought it to Umire’s mouth. Her mind wandered as she held out the food for Umire and thought of how those were the only chopsticks she had packed.  She wasn’t sure if Umire would be disgusted by sharing chopsticks with her or not; maybe she should eat with her hands…but that would probably be even weirder.

Umire chomped down on the rice ball, taking the full thing in one mouthful and chewed cheerfully.  Lena lowered her hand as she watched Umire chew.  

“Wow…” Umire murmured after swallowing, trailing off. Lena looked towards her, worried.  Did she like it? What if she hated it… 

 “So good!” Umire exclaimed, her eyes lighting up.  “Can I try the cake too, please? Gosh, I wanna eat your food every day. You'd make a good wife.” Umire gasped, eyeing the small piece of cake that sat in the corner of her lunch box.

“Thanks…” Lena mumbled, the words slipping out as her face flushed with heat. She wasn’t used to this—being praised, being looked at like that.

She reached for the spoon and gently scooped a bite of the cake, her hands a little clumsy from the attention. Carefully, she brought it to Umire, who accepted it eagerly, a satisfied hum escaping her.

“Mm! It’s amazing!” Umire said with another genuine smile. “You’re seriously talented.”

Lena’s face continued to heathen as she looked down abashedly.  

“Gosh, good at cooking and pretty… You’re too perfect.” Umire smiled softly, her voice laced with a kind of sincerity that felt almost too real.

Lena froze. The words hit her somewhere deep and uncomfortable, a strange bitterness rising in her chest like a tide she didn’t understand. It wasn’t fully anger, just something raw and stinging.

“Why do you keep saying that?” she blurted out before she could stop herself, the question escaping her lips in a voice louder than she meant.

Umire paused, blinking at her. A flicker of confusion passed across her face.

“Saying what?” she asked, tilting her head slightly.

“That…That I'm pretty and beautiful and perfect. Why are you lying?” Lena let out, lowering her gaze and nagging at the skin at the corner of her thumb with her other hand. 

“Uh… I'm not lying,” Lena heard Umire say, just before a slender hand slid gently into view, resting over hers and stilling the nervous picking at her thumb before she could break skin.

“I mean, you're really pretty… especially your eyes.”

Lena’s gaze lifted. Umire’s face was close, her expression tender and impossibly sincere. A soft smile tugged at her lips—not teasing, not mocking. Just warm.

“I like you a lot,” Umire continued, voice light but steady. “You seem perfect to me.”

The words didn’t come loud. But they hit Lena like a slap, left her chest tight and aching.  A hot feeling built in the back of her throat as it tightened.   There was something about the way Umire looked at her–like she meant it, like she saw her. Lena knew that such a thing was impossible, especially from someone she had barely known a day.  Yet the thought made Lena feel like she was being pulled apart mercilessly and held together at the same time.  

It was warmth laced with a blade, kindness so disgustingly sincere it made her want to recoil. The sweetness in it was unbearable, and all of it was aimed directly at her and made her feel like crying somehow.

“What are you…” Lena started, but the words slipped away, tangled in her thoughts. She didn’t know what she was trying to ask. What was Umire doing? Why did she sound so sincere? Why was she looking at her like that–with warmth, as if she were perfect and lovely? Just because she called her a best friend? The thoughts crowded in, clashing and overlapping, until all Lena could do was stare blankly back at Umire’s ever-present smile.

“C’mon, eat your lunch. I don’t want to steal it all,” Umire said, finally releasing her hand and nudging the lunch box toward her. She rested her cheek in her palm, watching Lena with a lazy kind of interest, like this was all perfectly ordinary.

Lena picked up the chopsticks she’d used to feed Umire, her fingers hesitating around them. She stared down at them as if they could somehow give her answers.

“What are you waiting for? Eat,” Umire said again, her tone light.

Lena obeyed, if only because she didn’t know what else to do. She picked up a piece of food, brought it to her mouth, and took a bite, only to nearly choke when a soft laugh bubbled out of Umire.

“Haha, we had an indirect kiss just now~,” she teased, her voice lilting with amusement.

Lena froze, her face warming again. Why does she act like she likes me so much? The question looped in her head as she stared across the desk. Umire, who barely knew her, somehow made her feel like her entire existence was being noticed and appreciated—and it was overwhelming.

She watched as Umire pulled out a plastic-wrapped convenience store meal from her bag.

“I suck at cooking, so I’m stuck with this,” Umire laughed, setting the container on the desk.

They ate together, the time blurring as Umire occasionally nudged her for bites of Lena’s lunch, even insisting that Lena feed her again. Lena complied without thinking, caught in the strange rhythm they had fallen into.

Before she knew it, the lunch bell rang.

“Next time, let’s have a feast, okay?” Umire grinned, already standing. “Try baking stuff, and I’ll try too—we can compare!”

She headed back to her seat as the other students filtered into the classroom. Lena nodded after her, then paused.

Her lips were curved into a smile.

Not forced. Not awkward. Just… there.

As she looked at the empty lunch box, a quiet thought lingered in her chest.

Lunch has never gone by that fast before.

Maybe… she didn’t mind if it kept going that way.