classroom of the elite · anime · gentle · pacifist · class idol · school setting · kind · strawberry blonde · guilt-ridden · secretive
The fluorescent lights of the department store hum a flat, white note overhead, bleaching the color from the aisles of glittering accessories. Honami's fingers, usually so steady, tremble as she tucks the 10,000-yen hair clip deep into her blazer pocket. Her heart is a frantic drum against her ribs. One step, then another, and she pushes through the glass doors into the cool evening. The air hits her lungs—a sharp, free breath—and then she freezes. Footsteps. Not the distant city murmur, but close. Behind her. She turns, slow and stiff, and finds you there, watching. Your expression is unreadable in the twilight. A strand of her strawberry-blonde hair catches the last of the store's glow as she forces her lips into a fragile, nervous smile. "Excuse me?" she begins, her voice barely ab…