Light filtered through your eyelashes as your eyes fluttered open. However, the sight you saw when you glanced around was not what you were expecting.

Rin was kneeling with your head resting on his thighs as he fanned you with his hands, some of the other students crowding around you.

"Oh, good," Rin sighed in relief, "you're awake."

You were confused and scrambled away from Rin faster than anyone had ever run from him before. "Wh-what?"

Your voice was trembling almost as much as you were, eyebrows pinched together on your forehead as you tried to understand what was going on.

"You fainted," Yukio explained, reading your expressions like a book.

That's when you remembered a bit of what happened.

You had begun to feel dizzy as you stared down at the test, sweat beading on your forehead as you swallowed the lump in your throat. Then everything went black and you hit the floor.

There was a small bump on the back of your head, which you rubbed as if it would soothe the ache in your skull from the floor.

You had done it again, hadn't you? You made a fool out of yourself, and it was painfully clear when the girl with purple hair started laughing at you.

"Hey, Polka-brows! Leave her alone!" Rin defended you, and you could've sworn you felt your heart skip a beat. You shook your head to force the thought out of your mind.

No, you definitely didn't like Rin, not after how he laughed at you! You couldn't like him! That'd be admitting defeat, and you weren't ready to face that!

"I'm fine," you murmured, turning your gaze down to your feet shyly. You weren't good with people - and you never really were.

Rin pressed a hand to your forehead and you retreated from his touch despite finding it strangely calming. His hand was cold against your warming skin.

"You're burning up!" He was shocked.

Had your anxiety made you sick? Probably. Did you want the whole world to know? Definitely not.

"Rin, take her to the infirmary," Yukio suggested, and Rin stood up.

Rin pulled you to your feet, against all your resting, and walked you right out of the classroom.

"You should take better care of yourself," he scolded as the door closed behind you, and you nodded almost sheepishly.

"Yeah...sorry..."

"Well, I mean, there's no reason to apologize!" He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, but his back was all you could see.

You wanted to see his face. You wanted to know if he was blushing, or if he was smiling at how easygoing you were - surprisingly - being.

Yet somehow, you couldn't help but notice that his shoulders were a lot more broad than you first thought they were.

You hit your forehead with your palm. How could you be so stupid?! You weren't supposed to think things like that about the enemy!

But maybe part of you didn't want to be enemies.

Rin practically dragged you behind him down the hallway as you stumbled your way after him.

"P-please, wait!" You called, and he slowed his pace, turning back to look at you.

"What's wrong?" He questioned, despite his careless tone.

"Y-you're going to fast..." you withdrew your hand from his and played with your fingers shyly.

"Oh, sorry," he bit his lip and you glanced up at him.

You started walking to the infirmary at your own, slower pace, and he followed, crossing his arms behind his head.

"Are you scared?" He asked you suddenly, and it took you by surprise.

"Of what?" Your voice was quiet as you replied with a question of your own.

"Of me," he corrected, "are you scared of me?"

You turned to him and shook your head, "no, I'm not scared of you."

"Then what are you so frightened by?"

You looked down at your feet, mumbling your answer, "everything."

"Huh?" He tilted his head ever-so-slightly to the side in confusion.

"Everything scares me." You didn't know why you were telling him this. Maybe he was just easy to talk to? "People, machines, animals, everything. But I think I'm afraid of myself the most."

"Why would you be scared of yourself?" He let his arms drop to his sides as he took on a more serious stance.

"Because I don't know what I'm capable of, or what I might do if I end up alone, again," you wanted to stop talking, to stop answering his questions, but he made you feel relaxed unlike anyone else, and you weren't sure why.

"What do you mean, 'again'?" He walked up to face you.

"There was a fire. My home was burned to ash before help came, and my parents never made it out. They're dead, and I'm all alone."

"You have friends, and a good life! You don't know what loneliness feels like!"

His raised voice louder than you expected and it startled you. You recoiled from him slowly, apprehension flooding over you.

"Y-you don't know anything!" You screamed at him, eyes squeezed shut as you fought back tears that threatened to overflow.

Without giving him the chance to respond, you ran. You dashed down the long corridor, listening to the drumming of your feet on the wooden floor, the pounding of your heart in your chest.

'Why was he such an idiot?! He has friends and family, so he shouldn't be talking!'

You felt hot tears roll down your cheeks and you harshly wiped them away. When you came to the end of the hallway, you fell to your knees out of exhaustion, shaking.

Your panting was hard as you tried to catch your breath. You pulled your knees to your chest and buried your face in them, hair spilling around your head, hiding you.

"...He shouldn't be talking..." you mumbled mostly to yourself.

You fell silent and that's when you heard it; the echoes of footsteps walking down the corridor, and you froze.

Was it Rin?

You didn't know, but part of you - the part you literally wanted to slap yourself for - hoped it was him.

Maybe you wanted to hear an apology, or perhaps, deep down, you just liked seeing his stupid face.

You laughed softly at the thought and shook your head. "There's no way I like him."

"Like who?"

A strangely familiar voice snapped you out of your thoughts, drawing your gaze up to their face.

Your stomach churned at the sight of Rin kneeling in front of you. Had he heard you? Did he know?

You felt sick, like something was crawling up your throat and when you opened your mouth, you were relieved it was just words.

"You!" You blurted the answer before you had time to think, and your cheeks flushed multiple shades of red in embarrassment.

"Me?" He seemed confused and you mentally thanked the gods for him being so dense.

"N-no! I mean, you just—," you kept cutting yourself off out of nervousness, "you just scared me, is all! Yeah! That's it!" You nodded to reassure yourself of your own lie. But now that you think about it, it wasn't completely a lie.

"I did? Oh, sorry."

'How does he apologize so easily?!' You wonder, but start to question why he wasn't apologizing for his previous outburst.

"Also, um..." he rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "I'm sorry for, uh, yelling at you earlier...I just..."

You shook your head to tell him he didn't need to justify his actions. "We all have been through bad things in our lives, I should've been more careful...I'm sorry..."

He laughed. "You know, you're actually a really cool person!"

You were confused and opened your mouth to speak, but couldn't find the right words.

"I thought you were really a wimp when I met you, but I think you're really cute, now!" He almost announced it without realizing what he said, and you didn't know if you should be flattered or offended.

"Uh...thanks?" You tried, and he smiled.

"It's nothing!" He stood up and held his hand out to you.

You hesitated before taking it, letting him pull you to your feet. He tugged on your arm a bit too hard as you got up, and you stumbled, falling into him.

He chuckled and you felt the vibrations of his voice through his chest, followed by the slow and steady, patterned beating of his heart.

It was oddly soothing, as it provided you with a sense of comfort and protection.

When you didn't move away, he wrapped his arms around you to hug your smaller form to his.

His actions startled you and your eyes flew open in shock, your head resting on his chest as your hands lay just below your head.

You couldn't help but notice how muscular he was, and you didn't expect it when you first saw him.

You started to wonder what the rest of him looked like, and your face heated up.

"Are you alright?" He asked you after a moment, pulling back to see if you weren't feeling well.

"I'm fine," you turned your head away so he wouldn't notice how red your face was.

He laughed and the sound was almost melodic. You didn't want to admit that you liked the way it sounded.

"You're bright red! I can practically feel your embarrassment from here!" He teased, and you crossed your arms over your chest.

It was almost as though you were pouting when you looked at him, tears desperately clinging to the corners of your eyes, cheeks flushed bright red, and he stared at you, taking in every detail.

"Rin?" You spoke to break the uncomfortable silence hanging in the air between the both of you, and he was brought out of his trance.

"Huh? Oh, sorry," he mumbled and cupped your cheeks in his hands, thumbs brushing away your tears.

You felt your anxiety bubble away, your heart beating louder in your chest than it ever had. Everywhere his hands touched you seemed hot on your face, and you gazed up into his eyes as he did the same to you.

His eyes were beautiful, you thought, as their gentle, yet deep blue color seemed to see right through you to the core of your very being. You burned the way he looked at you into the back of your skull, memorizing every feature.

You felt him brush a strand of your hair behind your ear, and everything seemed to happen in slow motion after that.

He practically loomed over you as he let one of his hands tangle in your hair, guiding your head closer to his. He held you to him by his other arm, which was wrapped around your waist.

He leaned in, letting his eyes fall closed and you met him in the middle.

His actions didn't register with you for a moment until the fact that he was kissing you finally clicked.

You didn't know how to react. Should you kiss back? Should you push him away?

You pushed your thoughts from your mind (or at least you tried to), and let your body take over, wrapping your arms around the back of his neck, pulling him closer.

You could feel the pounding of his heart on your chest relax, along with the rest of him, and everything felt more natural.

Your mind was spinning from lack of oxygen, and you didn't know if what you were doing was the right thing, but the heat you felt radiating off him warmed you.

You wanted to pull back to breathe, but his lips were softer than you imagined, and it was driving you crazy.

Your cheeks flushed out of embarrassment and not getting enough air.

You didn't know why it was so satisfying, like you had been longing for this more than you could take.

When he stepped back, the hold he had on you slipping away, he looked anywhere but at you.

"I-I'm sorry!" He blurted, and then he was gone, slipping from your grasp as he ran down the long hallway, and you stood there in the dark all alone.

It's happening, again, isn't it?