Akari's POV:
The first time I heard about the rumor, I was halfway through a set of interval sprints on the track—focusing on driving my knees high and landing on the balls of my feet, as Coach Saito had drilled into me. My lungs burned, and my legs felt like lead each time I pushed off the ground, but I liked it that way. Pushing against discomfort was what made me feel alive. It also helped me ignore everything else.
But then my phone buzzed in my pocket, vibrating against my hip like an unwelcome tick. I slowed to a jog, glanced at the screen between breaths, and for an instant, felt my heart skip a beat when I saw the group chat title: **"1-A Real Talk."** My pulse quickened. That was the chat where Ren and I—well, where all of Class 1-A—had been joking and sending memes. It wasn't private per se, but it felt more… personal than a mass social media feed. And I wasn't used to seeing Ren's name pop up so early in the morning (it was 6:45 AM, and we usually trained at 6:00).
I slowed to a walk as the rest of the track club sprinted onto the field for their cooldown. Their footsteps pounded softly, a rhythmic reminder that practice didn't stop for me just because my heartbeat had doubled. I tapped the chat, brows knitting as the message loaded:
> **\[Daichi]:** Guys, did you see? Ren and Tanaka ARE DATING. I SHIP IT.
My stomach twisted into a knot so tight I could taste it—like swallowing a handful of gravel. I scrolled up to see what else had been said:
> **\[Rio]:** OMG I saw them walking home together yesterday. Cute! 😍
> **\[Nagi]:** Nope. Not cute. Disturbing.
> **\[Kaito]:** As far as I know, they're just friends.
> **\[Ren]:** This is false. Please stop.
> **\[Rio]:** Stop ruining my fun, Mister "I'm Too Cool for Romance."
I felt the flush rise in my cheeks as the track club members drifted away. My teammates tossed bottles, shook out their legs, and high-fived each other. I tried to focus on their warm-up routines, but every time the group chat notification popped up—three new messages already—I felt like my insides were flip-flopping.
*Not dating. Not dating. Not dating,* I repeated in my head like a mantra.
But my legs wouldn't move fast enough; my thoughts were stuck on that single text. Ren's response had been terse, almost annoyed, but I couldn't tell if he was being annoyed at the rumor itself or at me for not stopping it. Did he think I was letting it get out of control? But I had only seen the messages—before practice. I hadn't really done much to refute them. Mostly because I was in shock.
I grabbed my water bottle, unscrewed the cap with clumsy fingers, and took a long drink. The cool liquid slid down my throat, and my breathing slowed. Then I felt it: a prickling at the back of my mind. Something was wrong, and I couldn't just run it away.
---
**Later that morning**, as I sat in homeroom trying to pretend that everything was normal, my eyes kept flicking to the clock. *Only five more minutes until passing period,* I told myself, but I already knew I wouldn't make it that far without clarifying something. Without confronting Ren.
I took a deep breath and slipped out of the classroom as soon as the bell rang. I rounded the corner toward the lockers, spotting Ren's navy-blue satchel leaning against the wall. He was there, leaning with his back to the lockers, one foot propped up, checking his phone like nothing was wrong. Same old Ren, right? Except he didn't look… annoyed. He looked more… concerned.
I tapped his shoulder lightly. He turned, and I saw the flicker of surprise in his eyes—just for a second.
"Hey," I said, voice low.
"Akari," he replied. "Morning."
I swallowed. "Um… can we talk?"
He offered a small nod and stepped away from the lockers. I led him to an empty aisle between the rows, the buzzing of student chatter forming a muffled background hum.
"What's up?" he asked, eyes warm but guarded.
I took a breath. "The rumor. About us."
His brow furrowed. "Yeah?"
"I… saw the chat," I said, gesturing vaguely with my phone. His eyes followed, and when he glanced at the screen, I saw that his name was still in an all-caps text:
> **\[Daichi]:** GUYS, DID YOU SEE? REN AND TANAKA ARE DATING. I SHIP IT.
He looked up, jaw tightening. "I texted—I posted—in the group telling them it wasn't true." He lifted his phone to show me his sent message:
> **\[Ren]:** This is false. Please stop.
"But… it's still everywhere," I said, flicking my thumbs over my own device. "Someone in 1-D said they saw us walking home together. And now everyone's convinced."
Ren rubbed the back of his neck. "People like a good story."
I bit my lip. "Ren, we are *not* dating. You know that, right?"
He met my eyes, and for a moment, I felt like I could see his thoughts tearing at his expression, like he was processing something and trying to decide how much to let show. Finally, he said, "I know."
"But," I blurted, "what if people think we are? Like—what if they *want* us to be? Does that… does that mean—"
He cut me off by reaching out and gently grasping my wrist. His fingers were warm. "Stop. You're overthinking."
I glanced down at our hands and felt my heart skip. Quickly, I yanked my wrist free. "Sorry. I—" I backed away suddenly, my cheeks flushing. "I just… I don't want rumors about us complicating things."
He gave me a look—equal parts relief and something else I couldn't quite decipher. "Trust me, I don't either."
But those three words—*I don't either*—hovered between us, loaded. Like he wanted me to know he knew how complicated it could get. Or that maybe it already was.
I didn't know what to say, so I turned and walked off. He caught up and fell into step beside me as we headed to class, but we didn't speak again until the bell rang.
---
**Lunchtime** felt surreal. I debated whether to face the rumor head-on by following Ren—maybe we'd make some grand, emphatic "We're not dating" declaration in front of everyone. But the thought of a scene in the cafeteria made my stomach twist into knots.
Instead, I grabbed my lunch from the girls' locker room—half-eaten rice ball, carrot sticks in a plastic bag, a small thermos of miso soup—and headed back outside to the courtyard. I found Rio and Nagi by their usual bench, Samara (one of the track seniors) already sitting there. She gave me a casual nod, but her eyes flickered to my face with genuine concern.
"Akari!" Rio called the moment she saw me. Her voice was light, too light, and her tone carried that hint of mischief that could both soothe and snarl. "You made it. So—tell me—are you and Ren finally taking the plunge?"
I set my bento down on the bench, folded my knees, and sat between Samara and Rio. "What are you talking about?"
Rio tapped her fingers against her cheek. "You don't know? The legend grows. By last count, someone from 1-B said he saw you and Ren having a 'deep conversation' near the lockers. Someone in 1-C said they saw you two buying ice cream together after practice."
I blinked. "No one told *me.*"
Nagi, leaning back with his hood pulled up, snorted. "Maybe you're not worthy of the grapevine."
I shot him a glare. "Gee, thanks."
Samara peeked from behind Rio, voice soft. "Honestly, I think he might have mentioned it to you, but you probably ignored it. You know, with all the training."
I crossed my arms, trying to seem unbothered. "I did. I kind of—in my head—I thought it was just Circulating High School Gossip, Volume 1: The Ren & Akari Story."
Rio leaned forward and lowered her voice as if revealing state secrets. "Well, it's circulating all right. The rumor is that you two were seen holding hands under the bleachers yesterday."
My mouth dropped open. "Holding… hands?"
Samara looked at Rio sideways. "You're making that up."
Rio shrugged. "Maybe. But someone said it."
My cheeks heated to a near-geyser-level temperature. "That didn't happen."
Rio's grin widened. "But what if it did?" She winked, as if that wink held the power to rewrite reality.
I took a steadying breath. "It did *not* happen, and you know it. I think you guys are just messing with me."
Rio leaned back, crossing her arms theatrically. "Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not." Then she dropped the serious face and laughed. "But come on, Akari, tell me you haven't thought about it."
I truly, genuinely hadn't thought about it. At least not in that way. Sure, Ren was my friend—my best friend. We spent every day together, walked home together, teased each other like… like normal friends. But imagining us as a… thing? The idea was bizarre. Uncomfortable. Strange. I shook my head. "I have zero romantic feelings for Ren."
Rio raised both eyebrows. "Zero?"
I emphasized the zero. "Zero."
Nagi rolled his eyes. "So you say."
"It's true," I said firmly.
Rio didn't argue. She just sat back and observed me with those bright eyes that always seemed to see more than I let on. After a moment, she asked, "So, what are *you* going to do about the rumor?"
I huffed. "What do you mean? I'm going to train, like always."
"Sure," Samara said, nibbling on her sandwich. "That's one way."
I shifted uncomfortably. Everyone was waiting for me to say something. Maybe I was supposed to stage a huge denouncement—something like "Ren is just a friend, and anybody who says otherwise is a lunatic." But that felt silly. Also, I wasn't a streamer or a reality star. I was just… myself.
I chose honesty. "I'm not going to chase down every rumor. I'm going to keep running, keep doing what I've been doing. If people want gossip, they'll gossip. But it changes nothing."
They gave me a look that could be described as "impressed" or maybe "exasperated." Hard to tell.
Rio finally said, "Alright, athlete queen. I get it. Just don't beat up any press photographers if they show up at practice."
I chuckled. "I'll try my best."