The morning light crept softly through my window.

For a moment, I just lay there, staring at the ceiling — my thoughts still tangled in the memories of last night.

Her smile. The way her hand fit into mine.

Even the faint scent of her perfume seemed to linger on my sleeve.

I couldn’t help but smile.

Maybe… this is what happiness feels like.

But I was feeling something else too.

---

When I reached school, the air felt strangely alive.

Groups of students whispered and giggled near the lockers, phones flashing, glances darting toward one person — Tsukiko.

“Did you hear? She was on a date yesterday!”

“No way! With who?”

“Someone from our class, I think…”

I froze. A strange mix of pride and fear hit my chest all at once.

I wanted to smile — but the thought of everyone knowing made my stomach twist.

Tsukiko, on the other hand, looked calm.

Her friends teased her nonstop, but she only laughed softly, eyes shining with the same quiet warmth I remembered from last night.

She looked happy. And that should’ve been enough.

But deep down, something inside me began to ache.

---

When the lunch bell rang, I slipped away to the rooftop for some air.

The city wind brushed against my face — cool, quiet, familiar. The memories of last night started flashing in my mind.

Even last night when we were having so much fun, passing through the quiet streets together and laughing together, I felt a strange fear — the fear that maybe I was not good enough for her. The fear that maybe she is the moon I am only imagining walking beside me but in reality I can never hold her down forever.

I thought I was alone lost in my mind until a voice called out behind me.

“Haruto.”

It was Aya, Tsukiko’s best friend.

She walked up slowly, her tone light but her eyes serious.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” I said, unsure where this was going.

“Are you and Tsukiko… dating?”

The question hit harder than I expected.

I stayed silent, unsure how to answer.

Aya crossed her arms, studying my expression.

“You know,” she said quietly, “the class president asked her out last month. And so did three other guys — all popular, good-looking, top of the class. But she refused every one of them.”

I blinked. “She did?”

Aya nodded.

“She’s always been the type to know what she wants. That’s why… I just wanted to hear it from you.”

---

My haunting thoughts came back again.

What was I even thinking?

Tsukiko was beautiful, kind, admired by everyone.

And me? Just another face in the crowd.

Could I really stand beside someone like her without dragging her down?

Would people laugh behind her back — saying she settled for someone like me?

I looked at Aya, trying to hide the conflict twisting in my chest.

Before I could speak, Aya asked again — gently this time.

“So… are you two together?”

---

Neither of us noticed the door behind us slide open quietly.

Tsukiko had come up to share lunch break with me again like always. But when she saw us together she got surprised.

She hesitated — then, hearing her name and the question about us, she hid behind the door frame, her heart racing.

She held her breath, waiting for my answer. 

I forced a small, painful smile. Finally accepting the reality between us, I spoke the bitter truth—or maybe, the sweetest lie.

“No,” I said. “You got it wrong. We’re just friends.”

---

The rooftop fell silent.

Even the wind seemed to stop just like my heart.

Aya nodded softly. “I see… Sorry for asking.”

She smiled faintly and left, her footsteps fading into the distance.

But Tsukiko didn’t move, hiding behind the door.

Her hands trembled as she stood hidden behind the door, clenching the lunchbox too tightly to hurt.

Her eyes shimmered, but she refused to cry. The smile she always used to carry faded.

“Just friends…?” 

She whispered, barely audible looking down to the floor.

At the same time, staring down at the empty rooftop,

I whispered the same words to myself — voice cracking.

A gust of wind passed between us, carrying the sound away —

leaving behind only silence… and the first fracture in something beautiful.

---