He had returned for her.
Even if he could only be a shadow by her side, that would be enough. No matter where, no matter what, as long as he was with her, he felt content…
And so, no matter what it took, he had to become someone who could help her.
That way, he wouldn’t be forgotten.
Just like how she remembered *that* person…
He wouldn’t be forgotten.
—
“Um…”
A girl’s voice, faintly trembling, sounded from behind.
Holding a basketball in one hand, Avira Nassy turned around in mild confusion to see a girl standing behind her.
Suddenly, the surrounding chatter seemed to pause for a moment.
Then came a wave of surprised exclamations, rising like a tide.
“Wait, am I seeing things? That’s Noelle, isn’t it?”
“Hasn’t she been skipping school lately? Why is she here at the gym all of a sudden?”
“What else could it be? The fox’s tail is finally showing!”
Hearing the whispered speculations, Noelle bit her lip, looking somewhat flustered.
She had applied light makeup today, enhancing her delicate, sweet appearance. Yet the faint pallor of her cheeks betrayed her unease.
“Do you need something?”
Avira Nassy’s languid voice broke the tension. The sound only made Noelle clutch the string of the bag she was holding even tighter.
“Um…”
Her gaze instinctively lifted toward Avira Nassy, only to collide with the misty depth of her eyes.
Noelle’s face instantly flushed a deep red, and she suddenly didn’t know where to look.
Her heartbeat quickened uncontrollably.
*Is she sick…?*
Avira Nassy blinked in confusion. “Um… if you’re not feeling well, maybe you should head to the infirmary instead…”
“…”
Noelle froze, her face still flushed. She stammered, her voice trembling, “N-no… it’s not that… It’s because last time, when you walked me home, your jacket… I washed it and brought it back to return it to you…”
She handed the bag to Avira Nassy, her fingers trembling slightly as she did.
“Noelle blushing? Am I hallucinating?”
“The real question is—when did Nimca Leon walk her home?”
“First it was Leon, then Orson, and now it’s Nimca Leon? Ugh, I hate her!”
The whispers and gossip, both positive and negative, buzzed endlessly around them. But Noelle could no longer hear any of it.
All she could hear was the pounding of her own heartbeat, so loud and intense it drowned out everything else.
“Jacket…?”
Avira Nassy tilted her head quizzically, her confusion only deepening.
*Why does she have my jacket?*
*And when did I ever walk someone home? I barely have enough time to sleep…*
“Yo, Little Noelle.”
Orson casually slung an arm over Avira Nassy’s shoulder, his smile carrying a hint of mischief. “Your face is *way* too red.”
“R-red… t-too red…?”
Noelle’s face turned even redder, a far cry from the cool, aloof princess-like image she usually carried.
“Oh my…”
Orson’s amused gaze lingered on Noelle’s flustered reaction, his eyes glinting with a playful, devilish gleam. “Don’t tell me, Little Noelle, have you fallen for Avira?”
Noelle froze in place, her expression blank for a fleeting second.
Then, in the next moment, her face turned so crimson it looked like steam might start rising from it.
*L-like…?*
Does she like Avira Nassy?
Why?
Was it because of that day?
The day she was inadvertently drawn into the conflict between the karate club and the archery club, the day this boy appeared in the gym for the first time…
*”In this world… nothing exists without reason…”*
On that day, he had seemed almost as if he had wings, slamming the basketball into the hoop with an effortless grace that shattered every preconceived limit in everyone’s minds.
Or was it another day?
*”If you’re unhappy, then fight back. Keeping your thoughts bottled up inside… will only make you sick.”*
With one glance, he had seen through her façade, piercing the mask she had worn for so long.
He told her…
*”If there’s something you want to say, just say it. There’s no need to keep it buried in your heart.”*
Or perhaps it was on yet another day…
*”A halo isn’t a burden—it’s a shortcut, isn’t it? Instead of starting from zero like those who struggle endlessly and still fall short, why not use that shortcut to climb to greater heights?”*
*”Even if no one believes in Eastwest now… I’ll trample Sandfield underfoot and stand at the very top.”*
It was her—this boy—who effortlessly destroyed the tangled web of doubts and uncertainties that had haunted her.
Perhaps from the very first time they met, Noelle had been utterly shaken by him.
From that moment on, her gaze had unconsciously gravitated toward him.
Every time Avira Nassy scored a basket, Noelle felt inexplicably happy. Unable to cheer for her openly, she could only clutch at the edges of her clothes, suppressing the excitement bubbling in her chest.
Every time she played in a match, Noelle found herself more nervous than she ever had been during her own auditions.
When Avira Nassy spoke to her, it made her heart soar. When she protected her, when she held her hand, Noelle often wondered if it was all just a dream…
But when they were truly together, she found herself unable to say anything at all.
*So…*
Is this emotion what they call *liking* someone?
