Loops

The sky was bleeding pink and orange by the time they left the school gates. The heat of the day had mellowed into something soft, something that clung to their skin without suffocating. Mirei hadn't planned to walk with them - Gale, Caelis, Aren - but somehow, she was there. Somehow, they were all there, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Gale had slung his bag over one shoulder, hands stuffed into his pockets as he walked a little ahead of the rest. Caelis was in the middle of a story, something about almost falling asleep in science and dreaming that the skeleton model was chasing him. Aren rolled her eyes, but the corners of her mouth twitched, holding back a smile.

And Mirei - Mirei was there, too, half a step behind but close enough to feel like part of the orbit.

It shouldn't have felt so easy. After years of silence, of stolen glances and unsent messages, there shouldn't have been room for this - the messy, effortless rhythm of walking home together, stopping at vending machines to argue over drinks, laughing at things that weren't funny just because they were together.

But it was easy. Too easy.

They ended up at a park, the kind meant for little kids, all peeling paint and creaky swings. Caelis immediately climbed the jungle gym like it was a personal challenge, nearly slipping twice because his shoes were untied. Gale shoved him off the platform (gently, mostly) and took his place, sprawling across the top like a king on a throne.

Aren claimed a swing, her hands wrapped loosely around the chains, her feet dragging against the dirt. Mirei sat on the bench just beside her, watching them - the way Gale's laugh echoed in the empty park, the way Aren's eyes softened when she thought no one was looking.

She felt it then, sharp and sudden - a want so strong it nearly swallowed her whole. She wanted this. Wanted it to last. Wanted to exist in this imperfect, stolen moment forever.

But she knew better.

These things didn't last. Not for her. Not for anyone, really. People drifted, seasons changed, threads frayed and broke. She could already feel the edges of this moment slipping between her fingers, no matter how tightly she tried to hold on.

"Hey," Gale called down from his perch. "Are you just gonna sit there like some tragic anime protagonist?"

Mirei's face went hot, but Caelis laughed loud enough to cover it. "You are kind of brooding," he said, grinning.

"Shut up," she muttered, but her smile gave her away.

"Come up here," Gale said, like it was the easiest thing in the world. Like they hadn't spent years pretending not to see each other.

Mirei hesitated. Her hands curled into her sleeves. The ground felt safer, steadier. But Aren nudged her knee with her foot, just barely, the tiniest push forward, as she swang back and forth. It might've been an accident, she might've wanted to nudge her harder. But the look on her face said nothing.

So Mirei climbed - awkward and too slow, her heart pounding in her throat the whole way up. Gale didn't move, just watched her with that lopsided grin, like nothing was strange about her being there. Like she belonged.

And for the first time in forever, maybe she did.

They stayed there until the sky turned navy, until the streetlights flickered on and the air cooled against their skin. They laughed until their stomachs hurt, until Caelis nearly fell off the jungle gym again, until Mirei forgot to be afraid.

She knew it wouldn't last. It never did.

But for now - for now, they were here. Together. In this fragile loop of afterschool laughter and warm air and half-buried memories.

And for once, Mirei let herself want it.

Even if it slipped away tomorrow, at least she'd held it for tonight.