𝐄𝐲𝐞𝐬 | 𝐦𝐢𝐲𝐚𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐚 𝐢𝐳𝐮𝐦𝐢 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝟎𝟖

The classroom buzzed with anticipation as our art teacher cleared her throat. "Alright, everyone," she announced, her voice cutting through the chatter. "For our next project, you'll be working in pairs to create an artwork based on something you both enjoy."

My eyes instinctively found Izumi's across the room. He met my gaze and smiled, causing a flutter in my chest. As our classmates scrambled to find partners, Izumi made his way over to my desk.

"Want to work together?" he asked, his voice tinged with hope.

I nodded, trying to keep my excitement in check. "Of course." As we discussed potential themes for our project, the rest of the school day seemed to fly by. Before I knew it, we were walking side by side towards my house, the afternoon sun warming our backs.

"So, what do you think we should do for the project?" Izumi asked, adjusting his bag strap.I pondered for a moment. "Well, we both like music. Maybe we could do something based different album covers we like?"

His eyes lit up. "That's a great idea! We could create a collage or a mixed media piece representing different album covers we love."

We continued brainstorming as we reached my house. After greeting my parents and grabbing some snacks, we headed up to my room. I felt a twinge of nervousness as I opened the door – Izumi had never been in my room before.

"Sorry for the mess," I mumbled, hastily kicking a stray sock under my bed.

Izumi chuckled. "Are you kidding? This is way better than my room."

We settled on the floor, spreading out our art supplies and a stack of books for inspiration. As we sketched out ideas, I couldn't help but notice how close we were sitting. Our knees occasionally brushed against each other, sending little sparks through my body.

"What about this?" Izumi leaned over, showing me a rough sketch. His face was so close I could see the different shades of blue in his eyes, just like an ocean.

"It's perfect," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

We worked in comfortable silence for a while, the only sounds the scratching of pencils and the rustle of paper. Occasionally, one of us would share an idea or ask for an opinion, and our conversations flowed easily from art to books to life in general.As the afternoon wore on, I found myself stealing glances at Izumi. The way his brow furrowed in concentration, the slight smile that played on his lips when he was pleased with something he'd drawn – I was noticing things I'd never paid attention to before.

"Hey, can you pass me the blue pencil?" Izumi asked, reaching out.

As I handed it to him, our fingers brushed. We both paused, the contact lingering a moment longer than necessary. I looked up to find Izumi staring at me, his expression unreadable.

"Thanks," he said softly, not moving his hand away.

The atmosphere in the room seemed to shift, becoming charged with an energy I couldn't quite name. We were still so close, our hands touching, eyes locked.

Izumi cleared his throat. "You know, I've been meaning to tell you something."

My heart began to race. "What is it?"

He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again, seemingly at a loss for words. Instead, he slowly moved his hand, intertwining his fingers with mine. I felt like I could hardly breathe. We were so close now, I could feel the warmth of his breath. My eyes flickered to his lips, then back to his eyes. He seemed to be leaning in, ever so slightly...

A loud knock on the door made us jump apart.

"Dinner's ready!" my mom's voice called from the other side. We both let out nervous laughs, the moment broken. Izumi ran a hand through his hair, his cheeks flushed. 

"I guess I should probably head home," he said, sounding reluctant. I nodded, trying to ignore the disappointment settling in my stomach. 

"Yeah, it's getting late."

We packed up our supplies in silence, the air between us thick with unspoken words. As I walked Izumi to the door, I couldn't help but wonder what might have happened if we hadn't been interrupted.

"So, um, same time tomorrow to work on the project?" Izumi asked, lingering in the doorway.

"Sounds good," I replied, offering him a smile.

He hesitated for a moment, then quickly leaned in and gave me a hug. It was brief, but it left me feeling warm all over.

"See you tomorrow," he said, his voice soft.

As I watched him walk away, I couldn't stop smiling. Whatever was happening between us, it felt like the beginning of something wonderful. And as for our almost-kiss? Well, there was always tomorrow.

I closed the door, leaning against it with a sigh. The art project suddenly seemed like the least interesting thing in my life. All I could think about was Izumi, his smile, his touch, and the promise of what tomorrow might bring.

With my heart full and my mind racing, I headed back inside, already counting down the hours until I would see him again.