Unraveled Ties-Chapter 49: A Lingering Feeling

The weekend ended, and Monday morning arrived faster than Reiji expected.

As he walked through the school gates, his thoughts kept drifting back to *her*.

Sena.

That small moment—their hands fitting together so naturally, neither of them saying anything about it—stayed with him.

*Why did it feel like that?*

It wasn’t supposed to feel like anything. It was just practice.

But no matter how much he tried to convince himself, the memory of her hand in his wouldn’t leave his mind.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair as he entered the school building.

—

Classes went on as usual, and the morning passed in a blur. He barely paid attention, answering when called but never fully focused.

"Hey, you good?"

Kaito’s voice snapped Reiji out of his thoughts. He looked up to see his friend leaning toward him from the next seat.

"Yeah. Why?"

Kaito smirked. "Dunno. You’ve been spacing out all morning. Thinking about someone?"

Reiji felt a twinge of irritation. "No."

Kaito gave him a knowing look but didn’t push further. "Whatever you say, man."

Reiji sighed. *Was it that obvious?*

—

Lunchtime came, and Reiji grabbed his food before heading toward the usual spot where he and Sena sometimes met. He wasn’t sure why—maybe he just wanted to see if she’d be there.

But when he arrived, she wasn’t.

Instead, he saw *Aoi*.

She was sitting by herself, eating quietly.

Reiji hesitated. Normally, he wouldn’t go out of his way to approach her, but after what happened between them a few days ago, he felt... drawn to her.

Before he could overthink it, he walked over.

"Yo," he greeted casually.

Aoi looked up in surprise, her eyes widening slightly before softening. "Oh, Reiji. Hey."

There was a slight blush on her face—something she didn’t have before.

Reiji sat across from her. "Mind if I sit here?"

Aoi shook her head. "No, of course not."

They ate in silence for a while before Aoi suddenly spoke up.

"You’re... different today," she said, tilting her head slightly.

Reiji raised an eyebrow. "How?"

Aoi smiled, a little nervous. "I don’t know. You just seem... distracted."

He paused. Was he that obvious?

Before he could respond, Aoi hesitated, then spoke again.

"Reiji..." she started, twirling a strand of hair between her fingers. "About the other day..."

Reiji tensed slightly. He knew what she was talking about.

"When you... you know, held my hand," she continued, her cheeks turning slightly red. "That was... um... unexpected."

Reiji scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah. Sorry about that."

Aoi quickly shook her head. "No, no! I didn’t mind." She looked down at her hands, a small smile on her lips. "It was just... my first time holding a guy’s hand like that."

Reiji felt his heartbeat pick up slightly. The way she said that, the way her voice softened—it made something stir inside him.

He liked Aoi. He knew that. That much had always been clear.

But why was *Sena* still in his head?

Why was her touch lingering just as much as Aoi’s?

Aoi suddenly looked up at him again. "Reiji... do you like someone?"

The question caught him off guard.

His first instinct was to say *yes*, but then he hesitated.

Who was he thinking of right now?

Aoi?

Or Sena?

"...I don’t know," he admitted, his voice quieter than usual.

Aoi’s eyes widened slightly before she gave a small, understanding smile. "I see..."

Reiji quickly changed the subject. "What about you? You and Sena are dating, right? You must really like her."

Aoi’s expression softened as she nodded. "Yeah. I do."

There was no hesitation in her voice. No doubt.

Reiji felt something tighten in his chest, but he didn’t understand why.

Aoi smiled again. "But... I think you’ll figure it out soon enough."

Reiji stared at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

Aoi just giggled softly. "You’ll see."

—

After lunch, Reiji headed back to class, his mind still a mess.

His feelings for Aoi were there. He liked her. That much was true.

But then... *why did Sena keep appearing in his thoughts?*

And more importantly—

Why did holding her hand feel just as good as holding Aoi’s?