Fate. A predetermined supernatural power. The will of the universe. Fate is order. It writes, and rewrites, gives and takes. It spins vibrant red strings that flow into the world and connect people who are destined to meet, to love, to share a story...
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There's someone. Someone I can feel.
His name is Ren Ichijou, and today, he's angry again. I know this because, as he draws near, I feel something hot flare up inside me, prickling in my chest for a few seconds before it settles there, a constant weight. It's rather unpleasant.
It's like my body involuntarily grows warm when he's close; the air thick with his presence. I can almost feel the ghost of his heartbeat right over my own, a faint but steady thrum. If someone says something to hurt him, I feel it in my chest, like a punch to the heart. When Ren is near, I know. When Ren is angry, I know. When he's sad, I know. When he's nervous, I know. Even when he's hungry, I know.
Logically speaking, this shouldn't be possible. Having your body be almost physically sensitive to the feelings of one particular individual and being acutely aware of his unpredictable mood swings—none of this makes any kind of sense. But I've abandoned logic when it comes to Ren. He breaks past my defences and floods my mind with sensations of...him. And this, whatever it is, is getting troublesome.
I look up just in time to see him storm into the classroom, throwing open the door with more force than clearly necessary. I sigh through my teeth. He really needs to find quieter ways to release all that pent-up frustration.
He abruptly stops and, without warning, jerks his head in my direction. My heart rate spikes. I fail to compose myself until I realise that his glare is not for me but for the girl who just approached me. I forgot about her. It's easy to lose sight of the present when Ren is feeling intensely; his emotions are like a second presence wreaking havoc in my body.
But he's never so much as looked at me before, which is why I know that this emotion channel thing we have going on is completely one-sided. I get hit with all his mental rampages while he doesn't even know who I am. This has been going on for a year, and at first I thought I might just be extraordinarily perceptive of people's feelings, before it became painfully clear that it's just him I'm so aware of.
Just Ren.
Of course, I have questions. Questions no one around me has answers for. Questions I had to lock up in the back of my mind so I could focus on finding alternatives instead.
Putting distance between us is effective. The farther he is, the weaker the signal, the lesser the pull. The farther he is, the better. Ren's mindset affects my daily life more than I'd like to admit.
Lifting my focus off him helps too, so I do just that and blink up at the girl who's glaring right back at him, her face screwed in an expression of utter distaste. Something must have happened between them. I quickly remind myself that this has nothing to do with me.
