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  Monday morning came with soft gray light and the faint hum of the house waking up.

  Eri stirred before her arm.

  For a few quiet seconds, she just y there, half-wrapped in bnkets, tails loosely draped over her legs. Her ears twitched at distant sounds—pipes in the walls, a car door outside, Mira’s muffled footsteps down the hall.

  Then her arm went off.

  She reached out, fumbled for her phone, and silenced it quickly before it could chirp a second time.

  6:02 a.m.

  Her gaze lingered on her screen.

  Last night’s messages were still open.

  I really like you.I know.I really like you too.

  Her cheeks warmed instantly.

  She dropped the phone onto her pillow and pressed her face into her hands.

  “Focus,” she mumbled to herself.

  School.

  Routine.

  Act normal.

  She forced herself upright and padded to the bathroom. The mirror greeted her with messy hair and faintly pink cheeks. She brushed her teeth, trying not to repy the way his voice had sounded when he said her name.

  It didn’t work.

  Her ears twitched upward at the memory.

  After washing her face, she carefully brushed her hair around her ears, smoothing it so they sat naturally. She flexed her tails behind her once, stretching them, then adjusted the loose waistband of her pajama shorts so nothing pulled uncomfortably.

  Clothes took longer than usual.

  She changed twice.

  Then a third time.

  Finally settling on something simple—bck leggings, an oversized sweater that fell just low enough to accommodate her tails without drawing attention, and her usual sneakers.

  She packed her bag methodically, as if doing so would calm the flutter in her stomach.

  Downstairs, her mom was pouring coffee.

  “Morning,” her mom said warmly.

  “Morning.”

  “You look… happy.”

  Eri froze mid-step.

  “I do not.”

  Her mom only smiled.

  Mira appeared behind her with a knowing look.

  “You absolutely do.”

  Eri groaned. “You’re both imagining things.”

  She grabbed toast, avoided further commentary, and made a quick escape to the car.

  The school hallways were still mostly empty when she arrived.

  She preferred it that way.

  Less noise.

  Less staring.

  Her ears tilted slightly back as she slipped through the front doors.

  She spotted Alex almost immediately near their lockers.

  He looked up.

  They locked eyes.

  And both looked away at the exact same time.

  Then back again.

  He smiled.

  Her tails flicked once.

  “Morning,” he said, voice deliberately casual.

  “Morning.”

  There was a small pause.

  “How’d you sleep?” he asked.

  Her ears twitched.

  “Fine.”

  “You didn’t fall asleep mid-conversation this time.”

  She gasped quietly. “I did not fall asleep mid-conversation.”

  “You absolutely did.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him.

  “I was thinking.”

  “You stopped responding.”

  “I was composing a response.”

  “For seven minutes?”

  Her face burned.

  “Shut up.”

  He grinned.

  Math passed quickly.

  Eri forced herself to focus on equations while very intentionally not gncing at him every time he shifted in his seat.

  Spanish followed.

  Then business.

  Each css felt slightly different than usual—not because anything dramatic happened, but because there was something unsaid humming between them.

  Every time their hands brushed reaching for the same paper.

  Every time their knees bumped under the desk.

  It felt charged.

  By the time lunch arrived, Eri’s stomach was in knots with both hunger and anxiety.

  They found a quieter corner table near the back of the cafeteria.

  Not completely hidden.

  But far from the loudest groups.

  She sat first, carefully adjusting her tails so they didn’t knock into the chair behind her.

  Alex sat across from her, setting his tray down.

  Silence lingered for a moment.

  Then he leaned forward slightly.

  “So.”

  Her ears twitched.

  “So.”

  He lowered his voice.

  “You said something st night.”

  Her heart skipped.

  “I said a lot of things.”

  “You said I can’t just say I wanted to hear your voice because it ‘does things.’”

  Her face exploded in color.

  “I can’t believe you remembered that.”

  “Oh, I remembered.”

  She dropped her gaze to her sandwich.

  “Forget it.”

  “No,” he said quickly. “I’m curious.”

  She peeked up at him through her shes.

  “You’re evil.”

  “Probably.”

  She hesitated, then leaned forward slightly, mirroring him.

  “It makes my brain short-circuit,” she whispered.

  He blinked.

  “…Short-circuit?”

  “Yes.”

  “How?”

  She made a frustrated little noise.

  “Like— like I can’t think. And I get warm. And my ears do weird things.”

  His eyes flicked upward toward said ears.

  Right on cue, they twitched.

  “Oh,” he said quietly.

  “Oh?”

  He rubbed the back of his neck.

  “You saying you were internally combusting did something simir.”

  She froze.

  “…What?”

  “I couldn’t think for a solid minute after that.”

  Her mouth fell open.

  “You couldn’t?”

  “No.”

  She stared at him, stunned.

  Then—

  A slow, pleased smile spread across her face.

  “Good.”

  He ughed softly.

  “You’re impossible.”

  “And you’re dramatic.”

  They were both smiling now, that quiet, flustered kind that felt too big to contain.

  And then—

  “Hey.”

  They both turned.

  Becca stood beside their table, tray banced on one hand.

  Eri’s ears stiffened automatically.

  Becca gnced briefly at Eri’s ears, then focused on Alex.

  “Random question,” she said. “Do you know where Ethan is?”

  The name hit like a dropped weight.

  Eri went completely still.

  Her tails froze behind her chair.

  Alex’s brain scrambled.

  “Uh—”

  Becca tilted her head. “He just vanished. No goodbye, no nothing. It’s weird.”

  Alex swallowed.

  “Yeah, um. He transferred.”

  The word came out too quickly.

  “Transferred?” she repeated.

  “Yeah. Family stuff.”

  “What kind of family stuff?”

  He blinked.

  “Private family stuff.”

  That sounded defensive.

  Becca frowned slightly.

  “That’s sudden.”

  “Yeah.”

  She shifted her weight.

  “You’ve been hanging out with her a lot,” she added casually, nodding toward Eri.

  Alex stiffened.

  “Yeah?”

  “Just saying.”

  Silence stretched.

  Eri forced herself to keep her eyes down.

  Her ears felt too visible.

  Becca finally shrugged.

  “Whatever. If you talk to him, tell him bye.”

  “Sure,” Alex said quickly.

  She walked off.

  The moment she disappeared into the crowd—

  Eri exhaled shakily.

  Her tails loosened.

  “That was awful,” she murmured.

  “Yeah,” he admitted.

  “She doesn’t believe you.”

  “Probably not.”

  A small knot formed in her chest.

  “Do you think people are suspicious?”

  He met her eyes.

  “Maybe.”

  She looked down at her hands.

  “I don’t want to make things harder for you.”

  He frowned immediately.

  “You’re not.”

  She didn’t look convinced.

  He leaned forward slightly.

  “I’d rather answer awkward questions than pretend you don’t exist.”

  Her ears softened.

  Lunch ended not long after.

  And the rest of the school day passed steadily.

  When the final bell rang, the building erupted into noise.

  She waited, as always, until the majority of students filtered out.

  Alex lingered beside her.

  They walked out together once the hallway thinned.

  The afternoon air was cooler than the morning.

  She adjusted her bag strap.

  “Do you regret it?” she asked suddenly.

  He blinked. “Regret what?”

  “Last night.”

  His answer came instantly.

  “No.”

  She looked up at him.

  He smiled.

  “Do you?”

  Her tails swayed gently.

  “No,” she said softly.

  They reached the parking lot.

  The weight of Becca’s question still lingered somewhere in the background—but it felt smaller now.

  Manageable.

  Because whatever complications were coming—

  And they weren’t facing them alone.

  AnnouncementSince yesterdays chapter was 100 ima take a break for today sorry