It had been a few days since the incident, as Riku had started calling it in his mind. The kiss. Or, more accurately, Noah and his talk in the classroom.
At first, the awkwardness between them had been impossible to ignore. Every conversation had felt strained. But somehow, they had both managed to brush past it, to shove everything unsaid into the background and pretend that everything was fine.
And it was fine. Mostly.
Except, every once in a while, when Noah would smile at him in that easy, carefree way, Riku would feel a pang of regret. He regretted the way he’d shut Noah down so quickly, how he'd dismissed the kiss like it meant nothing. Now, too much time had passed. They’d moved on. Or at least, Noah seemed to have.
So there was no point in revisiting it. That ship had sailed.
But sometimes, when Riku lay awake at night, he found himself wondering what would have happened if he hadn’t brushed Noah off. What if he had let that conversation happen? What if he had let himself admit that maybe, just maybe, the kiss wasn’t a mistake at all?
Riku shook those thoughts away as he walked down the school hallway. There was no use in thinking about it now. Whatever tension had lingered between them had smoothed over. Mostly. They were back to normal, the usual banter, the teasing. It was safer that way.
"Riku!" Noah’s voice pulled him from his thoughts.
Riku looked up to see Noah jogging toward him, a grin plastered on his face. Next to him, however, was someone new. A girl Riku didn’t recognize, walking in step with Noah, close enough that their arms brushed together.
"Hey!" Noah called out, stopping right in front of him. "I want you to meet someone." He turned to the girl beside him, his hand resting casually on her shoulder. "This is Grace! She just transferred here, but we’ve been friends for years. Well, our mom's have been friends, that's how we became friends in the first place."
Riku blinked, the small smile he’d been wearing faltering for just a moment. Friends for years? But he's known Noah for so long, how come she never got mentioned?
"Grace, this is my best friend, Riku," Noah continued, not noticing Riku’s slight hesitation.
Grace smiled warmly, her eyes flicking between the two of them. "Yeah, I know who he is Noah. It's nice to meet you, Riku. Noah’s told me a lot about you."
He noticed Noah nudge her with his foot out of the corner of his eye, but he paid it no mind.
"Has he now?" Riku managed, his voice cool, masking the odd pang that shot through him. He forced a smile, nodding politely at her. "Nice to meet you too."
Noah had never mentioned Grace before. Not once. And now here she was, casually showing up like she’d always been part of his life. They seemed close.
He glanced at Noah, who was grinning like an idiot, clearly excited to have Grace around. They were standing a little too close, Noah’s hand still resting on her shoulder like it belonged there. The sight made something twist uncomfortably in Riku’s chest, though he would never admit it, not to Noah, and definitely not to himself.
Noah, oblivious as always, kept talking. "Grace's mom just got a job offer closer to here, and guess what? It means she’s in our grade now. It’s gonna be sooo awesome."
"Yeah, awesome," Riku repeated, though his tone lacked the enthusiasm Noah’s had. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but something about the way Noah was acting around Grace unsettled him. It was probably nothing. Maybe he was just overthinking it, letting the weird tension from the past few days mess with his head.
