The plan was simple: Kai would shower, I’d vanish. Nobody would notice.

That plan lasted about ten seconds.

“Alright, you’re coming with me,” he says, freshly changed and still toweling his hair dry. He grabs my wrist like I’m luggage.

“…Where?” I ask warily.

“My place.”

I dig my heels in. “No.”

“Yes.” He grins, tugging me down the hallway anyway. “Don’t worry. My dog loves new people.”

Dog? I’m halfway to the gates before I realize I’ve stopped struggling. Something about the word cracked my armor. By the time I snap out of it, we’re already outside, Kai humming cheerfully like this is normal.

The neighborhood he leads me to is the kind I’ve only seen on TV. Wide streets, clean hedges, houses so big they look like they should have names instead of numbers. When we stop in front of one, I shove my hands in my hoodie pocket, suddenly hyper-aware of the scuffs on my sneakers.

“Here we are,” Kai announces, pushing the gate open. “Home sweet ridiculously oversized home.”

Inside, the air smells like polished wood and lemon cleaner. There’s a chandelier in the entryway. An actual chandelier. I freeze under it like it’s going to judge me.

Kai kicks his shoes off carelessly and gestures for me to do the same. “Relax. No one’s gonna bite.”

“Except the dog,” I mutter.

Right on cue, a blur of fur barrels around the corner. It’s not a dog—it’s a small bear. Or maybe just a very fluffy golden retriever. The thing nearly tackles me, tail whipping like a helicopter.

“See?” Kai says proudly. “He loves you already.”

I crouch down automatically, fingers sinking into the dog’s fur. Warm, soft, alive. My chest twists, and I swallow hard. I can’t remember the last time anything greeted me like this.

“Come on,” Kai says, already bounding up the stairs. “My room’s this way.”

I hesitate in the hall, glancing at the pristine family portraits on the wall—Kai smiling with parents who look like they belong in magazines. Then I follow him up, each step heavier than it should be.

His room is exactly what I expected and nothing like it at the same time. Posters on the walls, a neat desk stacked with manga, a bed big enough to sleep four of me. And in the corner: a gaming setup with twin monitors and an ergonomic chair that looks like a throne.

He flops onto the bed like he owns gravity. “Make yourself at home.”

I hover by the door. “This isn’t my home.”

“It can be for today,” he says, rolling over to grin at me. “Come on, sit. You’re not gonna break anything.”

I finally sink onto the edge of his rug, pulling my knees up. The dog pads in and drops beside me with a huff, like it’s decided I’m furniture now.

Kai props himself up on his elbows, watching me. “You look like you’ve never been in a friend’s room before.”

“…I haven’t.” The words slip out before I can catch them.

For once, he doesn’t laugh. His smile softens, and something quiet flickers in his red eyes. Then, just as quickly, he grabs a manga volume from his desk and tosses it at me.

“Then this is historic. First manga in my room. Read.”

I glance down at the cover. Blue Exorcist. My lips twitch despite myself. “…Fine.”

Kai grins like he just won a championship game. He rolls back onto the bed, hands behind his head, humming some dumb tune while I crack open the book.

The chandelier downstairs fades. The pristine walls disappear. I don’t feel like I’m on the outside of everything.

Just a gamer, a dog, and an annoyingly persistent basketball player who decided I wasn’t invisible.