Alvaro only talked with Kuro for a short moment before the atmosphere grew slightly awkward. He was already about to walk away, but for some reason, Kuro kept staring at him as if waiting for an answer. After hesitating for a bit, weighing his options, Alvaro finally said the name.
"Kaori."
Kuro's expression dropped just a little—cold, but quickly hidden. Only one short word left his lips.
"Oh."
Alvaro expected him to get angry or at least complain, but he didn't. Within seconds, Kuro's face returned to normal. He even smiled lightly.
"Let's go back to class?" he asked casually, as if nothing had happened.
"Yeah, let's go."
They walked side by side in the busy hallway filled with students returning from break. Despite the noise of footsteps and chatter, the silence between them felt strangely loud.
Then, without warning, Kuro suddenly grabbed Alvaro's hand.
Alvaro stiffened and looked at him quickly. The grip wasn't tight—but it was definitely unexpected. "Eh—?"
His old instincts as a guy kicked in. I'm not used to this. When a girl gets her hand held, do they act shy? Like those K-dramas Grandma watches? …Alright, let's try it.
Alvaro decided to act cute on purpose.
"Aah… your hand is so warm…" he said in a soft, sweet tone.
Kuro turned slightly and smiled. "Heh? Really?"
"Yup."
"A-aha… I'm getting shy…" Kuro muttered, voice lowered.
Alvaro raised his voice on purpose. "Hmm? What was that? N-nothing~" he chirped, adding puppy eyes.
Kuro stared for a few seconds. "…You're kind of cute," he murmured with a small smile.
Wtf, that worked THAT easily? Alvaro screamed internally.
A few steps later, they reached their classroom. Kuro took his seat while Alvaro fixed his slightly messy hair. Not long after, Luna walked in with a sweet smile but sharp eyes.
"Valerie, can we talk?"
Alvaro answered lazily, "Just say it here."
Luna forced a polite smile. "It's something important."
"Lies," Alvaro murmured under his breath.
Luna huffed, annoyed. "Follow me."
Alvaro stood up with the energy of someone who would rather be sleeping.
---
In the hallway.
Luna immediately spoke without hesitation. "Can you stop getting close to Kuro?"
"Oh?" Alvaro raised a brow. "So you like him? I thought you were just acting sweet."
Luna's face tightened. "Yeah. So stop being a pick-me. If you continue, I'll ruin you."
Alvaro let out a small mocking laugh. "Wow, scary. No wonder Kuro's scared of you. That's probably why you two aren't dating."
SLAP!
The strike was quick and sharp. Luna's hand trembled afterward.
"Enough! You're so annoying!"
Alvaro smirked. "And you're childish. Someone gives you a tiny truth and your first reaction is violence. Pathetic."
"You—!"
"I'm done with drama," Alvaro said, turning around and walking back inside.
---
Back in the classroom.
The moment Alvaro sat down, Kuro turned to him. "She hit you?"
"Mm-hmm. Not hard," Alvaro replied casually.
"She's childish as hell," Kuro muttered, clearly irritated.
"You think so?"
"Yeah." He glanced at Alvaro's cheek. "Does it hurt?"
"Nope."
Alvaro chuckled. "Weak slap."
---
At the back corner of the class.
Alshie and Wildom had been watching the whole thing like it was a soap opera.
"Ooh, drama's starting," Alshie said with a mischievous grin.
"Valerie's not into Kuro anyway," Wildom replied lazily, resting his chin on his hand.
"Huh? How are you so sure?"
"I just know."
Alshie giggled and reached out to ruffle his hair. "Why don't you ever smile?"
"No reason to smile."
"You hate physical touch, but I still love you~"
"Tch," Wildom clicked his tongue, though he didn't push her hand away.
---
Back to Alvaro and Kuro—again in silence—until Kuro spoke first.
"Wanna eat lunch together later?"
"That would be cute, but I already have plans with someone," Alvaro said casually.
"With who?" Kuro asked a little too fast.
"With someone," Alvaro repeated on purpose.
Kuro paused. "…Right."
---
Class begins.
"Good morning, everyone," Miss Jenna greeted.
"Morning, miss," the class replied.
Her eyes landed on Alvaro. "New student?"
"Yes, miss."
"Name?"
"Valerie."
"Alright. Call me Miss yella."
The lesson continued. She wrote formulas on the board and eventually assigned page 78.
Everyone started working. Alvaro stared at the problems for a long time before giving up.
"Hey, do you understand this?" he whispered to Kuro.
"Yeah."
"Explain it to me."
Kuro leaned closer, their shoulders almost touching, and read problem number 6.
x² – 5x + 6 > 0
He explained patiently, step by step. Alvaro tried his best to follow.
"Ohh, I get it."
"Good. Continue."
They worked for a while. When Alvaro finished, he got up to submit his work.
Just as he passed behind Luna, she tugged his hair—quick and small, but enough to shock him.
Alvaro immediately turned around, face blank.
Without hesitation, he grabbed her hair back—harder. Luna flinched, her eyes watering.
"Oops… shit…" Alvaro whispered, trying not to laugh. He quickly covered part of Luna's face so no one could see her expression.
Miss Jenna noticed. "What happened to her?"
Alvaro smiled sweetly. "Oh, she was laughing until she cried, Miss."
"Oh, I see."
Luna rushed out to the restroom.
Everyone else was busy with their assignments, so no one noticed what actually happened.
Alvaro returned to his seat completely calm.
Kuro glanced at him. "…You okay?"
"Yeah. It was kinda fun," Alvaro said.
Kuro sighed. "…Your life is loud."
"Pretty much."
And class continued like nothing happened—while Alvaro tried not to laugh remembering Luna's face.