Later that evening, when the class finally gathered around a cluster of desks to share the snacks they'd bought from other stalls, the air was light with laughter and chatter. Plates of takoyaki, crepes, and skewers were passed around, hands reaching across the table, voices overlapping as everyone retold their favorite moments of the festival.
Eli sat among them, smiling and laughing, letting himself sink into the warmth of it all. For a little while, the tension in his chest eased. His friends teased him mercilessly about nearly tripping during one of his scenes, their laughter loud and good-natured.
"And that bow at the end!" someone said between bites of cotton candy. "You looked like you were about to topple over."
Eli covered his face with his hands, groaning dramatically. "Can we not? Please?"
The group roared with laughter.
Of course, it didn't take long before Kai's name came up.
"Still," one classmate grinned, elbowing him, "you and Kai were way too convincing. Like, seriously. If I didn't know better—"
"Yeah," another chimed in, "you sure you're not keeping secrets from us?"
"Stop!" Eli laughed, waving them off. "It was just acting, okay?"
But his voice cracked on the last word, betraying him. The table erupted again, some of his friends wagging their eyebrows at him, others howling like they'd uncovered the year's biggest scandal.
Eli forced himself to laugh louder, cheeks burning, hiding behind his drink as if that would shield him from the teasing. The warmth of the group wrapped around him like a blanket, safe and noisy, pulling him into the comfort of belonging.
And yet…
Every now and then, his gaze betrayed him.
It would wander toward Kai.
Kai, sitting just a few seats away, not joining in the teasing but not stopping it either. Kai, who laughed at someone's silly story, the sound low and unguarded, his eyes crinkling in a way that made Eli's stomach flip. Kai, whose quiet presence somehow filled the space without needing to say much at all.
It tugged at Eli in a way he wasn't ready to name.
He dropped his gaze quickly, staring at his hands folded tight in his lap. His fingers clenched until his knuckles whitened. No. Don't overthink this. It's just friendship. Just the high of the festival. Just the play messing with your head.
He repeated the words in his mind like a shield, forcing the unease down.
When someone nudged him again, teasing him about how red his ears were, Eli laughed louder than before. He leaned into the noise, into the safety of banter, throwing jokes back until everyone was too busy laughing to notice his nerves.
He chose—just for now—to drown the rising tide inside him under the chaos of voices, under the sweetness of crepes melting on his tongue, under the warmth of friends who expected nothing more than laughter in return.
But when the noise softened, when his laughter faded into a breath, the thought returned, stubborn and quiet.
Why does my heart only race like this… when it's him?