The path to school stretched for centuries.

Possibly due to the fact that my mind travelled with the clouds across the autumn sky, my senses were detached from the students scampering through the streets and the stunning red, orange, and yellow leaves adorning the trees and roads.

The commotion by the shoe lockers was unparalleled. As I exchanged my shoes, I paid attention to the squeals and giggles. Girls lined the walls, peeking out into the hallway and twittering in exaggerated awe. Had Nori arrived early? He habitually strolled into class at the bell to avoid the commotion that was sure to follow. They'd been apart from him for a month; this thrill about seeing him again was understandable.

At least, I was convinced of that until I passed by and spotted my best friend. I brightened straightaway.

"Miko—"

"I barely recognized you!"

I stilled in my tracks. Precisely because it wasn't Nori she was conversing with. In fact, Nori was nowhere to be found. Across from her, with an arm swung over his shoulder, stood an individual I wasn't familiar with. Regardless, the piercing stares, the frenzied enthusiasm—without a doubt, it was aimed at him.

"What happened to your glasses? Did they break?"

"I'm... wearing contacts."

"And your hair? Because of the summer heat?"

"That was part of it. But, um..."

"Miko, Miko." I poked her back, whispering, "Who're you talking to?"

"Who?" She swivelled, eyebrows taut, as if it were a stupid question.

When he stared at me with those deep-seated blue eyes, I fell in reverse. His glabrous, pallid complexion. Snow white hair dangling by his ears and nape. Soft, pink lips twisted into a minuscule smile. His lithe stature, and thin uniform.

A swirl of heat scorched my skin, and my pulse spiked.

If the term 'pretty boy' had a physical manifestation, it'd be him, guaranteed.

But who...

His features softened considerably. "Good morning, Kotorin."

That nickname...

No way.

No flippin' way.

"Haya...te?" It didn't feel real, yet, just like that, the realization settled in afresh. "You're... Hayate, right?"

"Um"—He sheepishly scratched the back of his neck—"do I look that different?"

Different didn't come close to encapsulating it!

His previously long hair had been chopped and styled expertly. He'd discarded his large spectacles, leaving his large eyes in clear sight. He straightened his posture also, and in replace of his reserved, bashful demeanour, was an expressive version. Not to mention a crowd this huge surrounded us yet he effortlessly stood his ground instead of dashing off to hide as he normally did.

Everything—all of it—was a Hayate I didn't recognize.

I hadn't seen him in nearly a month, and in that time frame...

"Did she say 'Hayate'? As in, Hayate Inoue—the one in our class?"

Whispers paraded around us.

"The geek Hayate? He's been that attractive this entire time?"

"Wait, I thought he was a girl?"

Hayate's shoulders slumped. "I've been a boy this whole time..."

The fact did little to mitigate the gossip surrounding us. Before I received the opportunity to come to terms with it all, girls who identified themselves as his classmates swarmed him. Asking about summer homework or casual conversation topics like why he cut his hair and to exchange contact information. I was carried off by the chaos and lost Miko in the process. Fumbling for my balance, I collided against a neighbouring individual and knocked them to the ground alongside me.

"Sorry!" Ignoring the ache in my hip that erupted, I leaped to my knees. "I didn't mean to— Okito!?"

I reeled back, clasping my hands over my mouth. However, he'd heard my squeak loud and clear. Cradling his chin—which my head had rammed against—he coolly glanced upward.

"We haven't seen each other in a while and you're already revving to fight?"

"It was an accident!"

He hung his head, mop of dark hair casting sullen shadows over his eyes. "You want to punch me till I'm black and blue that badly, huh?"

"I do not!"

I petulantly hoisted myself to my feet. This was bad. If I stayed here any longer...

In accordance with my thoughts, I swirled around, tail tucked between my thighs.

"Oww."

My feet rooted themselves to the ground. I tried lifting my calves the best I could, but they didn't budge. Stupid legs. Run—

"Ouch."

Okito, despite his proclamations, remained stony-faced.

I balled my fists.

"You're lying!"

"Whoa. The world is spinning. And my ankle." He clutched both his head and foot. "Your headbutt was fatal. There's no way I can get to class alone."

There was no reason to comply with his barefaced lie. Being in his company was the last thing I wanted. Not while I was grappling to make sense of my feelings.

Nevertheless, the guilt ebbed at me. With the screeching mob long gone and too far to catch up to, I caved and outstretched my hand.

"It wasn't intentional, all right?"

"For now?"

"Forever!"

He emitted a smothered snort. I flung him a black look, to which he covered it with a cough and theatrically fussed his sites of injury. I assisted him upright to the best of my ability, which sadly didn't amount to much with my lack of upper body strength. Regardless, once standing, Okito swung an arm around my shoulder and leaned into me for support. In a stroke of bad luck, we trekked this hall alone.

Where did everybody go? Now I just had my thoughts to busy myself with. And my thoughts were totally not focusing on the sensation of his built upper body on mine and his sharp jawline and our otherwise misleading, breath-snatching closeness.

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

Stop, foolish heart!

This was Okito. My rival.

Who's in love with you, my conscience fired.

That wasn't assured!

"Now, then..." Okito's sigh jolted me from my spiralling senses. His arm fastened on my neck. Not too tight to constrict my airways but enough to block any chance of escape. "Why have you been ignoring me?"

I just about screamed.

Squirming violently, I wrestled for freedom. "I've absolutely no idea what you're talking about...! Must be your imagination...! More importantly, I called it! You did fib about your injury—"

"If you weren't so desperate to run off, I wouldn't have to."

"Because of class—"

"Because you're avoiding me." Stock-still, with no passersby to potentially rescue me, he enclosed his free arm around me, keeping me confined. "You never run from confrontation. That's how you stubbornly chased me down every day to make me eat your desserts. You've stopped doing so as often, but you never shied from antagonizing me every chance we crossed paths. Never deliberately have you ever bypassed me. Why now?"

Because I don't know how to face you anymore!

"It shouldn't matter," I said regardless. "I'll ignore you if I feel like it—"

"Please don't." His forehead nestled against my shoulder blade. "I'd rather anything else."

I frowned, clenching his forearm. "That's so selfish," I murmured. "Repeatedly putting on airs, standing in my way, then doting on me with honeyed words like this. I... don't want to ignore you either. In truth, all I've ever desired was..."

"Gouda, what do you think you're doing? Out in broad daylight. With our enemy, no less."

Footsteps clicked on the linoleum. Okito retreated to address the individual.

"The bell's about to ring," Ryoma added. "You'll jeopardize your perfect attendance record."

Okito slouched. Then, craned his neck.

"You were saying, Kotori?"

Cheeks flaming, I sprinted back the way we came. "Nothing! Bye!"

That's right. The desire I yearned to inform him of—I had to bury it in my chest until I officially upstaged him. Nothing would change until then. Nothing could.

Not only Okito. I had to properly face Chiaki and Koyuki, too.

I slunk into class the moment the bells pealed across campus. Gluing my attention to the tiles, far from Nori's and Koyuki's darting gazes, I timidly shuffled toward my desk.

But, as of right now, I had no clue how.

Come lunch, and after scarfing down my lunch and Pockys I'd brought along, I stowed away at the school greenhouse. The rows of flowerbeds were prettier than I remembered, blossoming beautifully under the gentle afternoon sun. Fragrances tickled my nostrils, relieving me of apprehension. I meandered inside, steering to an open space free from company. Least to my expectations, however, solitary I was not.

Crouched before a streamline of multicoloured tulips, knees huddled to his chest, was Hayate. He didn't hear me approach, and his utterances were too faint to catch. I instinctively squatted behind him.

"I don't get it. Appearances aside, I'm the same me. What's with this huge change in treatment then?"

"If only people were as simple to understand as plants."

"Exactly." As if I were some mystical voice in his head, he nodded. "I'm not invisible anymore, but what good is it if I'm not appealing to the one girl I want to show off to—"

He jerked back.

I grinned.

Eyeballs bulged, he keeled right over with a piercing shriek. His complexion flushed the brightest shade of crimson.

"H-how long—"

"I'm getting déjà vu," I giggled in lieu of a reply. "The last time we were here, I startled you just as grandly... and you ended up fainting..."

The guilt I experienced afterward was tremendous.

"I'm glad, though." I hugged my kneecaps, smile expanding. "You're still the Hayate I know and love after all."

Hayate's quivering lips shut.

"That aside," I drawled, gingerly touching his ear, absorbing every nook and cranny of his adorable face anew, "I'm not sure how I feel about having to share your cuteness only I was privy to. Nori would be bitter, you know. About having the spotlight stolen from him."

His skin flared with heat, but he didn't withdraw. His long eyelashes put mine to shame. "Hise... is incredible. Being able to stomach it. Th-the drilling stares. Unrelenting conversations. Being scrutinized for every flaw... Oh, no. Recalling it is going to make me sick."

I consolingly rubbed circles on his back. "If you dislike it, should I tell them off for you?"

"That's... okay," he said. "I should do it myself. I... can't rely on you for everything."

Scooting next to him, I flickered my focus to the nearby tulips. One bud stuck out like a sore thumb. Its adjacent companions had already bloomed into pretty pinks, yellows, whites and reds, yet it alone remained unchanged.

"You can't?" I said. "I'll gladly take care of you until we're old and wrinkly if time permits."

Hayate balled his fists and shook his head. "I'm tired of being unconfident," he said. "Of blaming others for my shortcomings when it's been me who's afraid to change. Seeking external validation when I haven't the slightest internally. If I want to stand as an equal with those remarkable people—be proud of who I am—I have to work hard to become someone who can have your back and support you as much as you've supported me."

"That's unnecessary, then. You've already given me a lot, Hayate. I cherish our friendship more than anything."

"Not a friend." His blush was fireball bright. "It's... because I want to be more than a friend I can't be satisfied with how things are. If I don't give it my all right now... if I lose you... I'll regret it for the rest of my life."

"What do you..."

"I love you, Kotorin." He concealed his face with the back of his hands, voice faint but resolute. "E-even after meeting my pitiful self, you tell me I'm amazing. You accept me for me, and never let me belittle myself. You have no idea how much I've admired you because of that. How much I've appreciated your kindness. But I could never tell you because of my insecurities. I've always felt inferior to Aki and Yuki—even Hise and Sakurauchi—and was almost willing to give you up. But, I can't. I want to be there for you too, Kotorin. Like you've been there for me."

"I..."

"I-I don't need a response now." He sheepishly twisted in my direction, albeit watery-eyed. "I'm nowhere near good enough f-for you yet. But, I'll work hard at myself. I'll do my best. And when that day finally arrives, I'll confess... again. Make a declaration of war against the others and won't give up until you fall for me. The strength that you've given me... will have its time to shine."

***

This gif basically encompasses Hayate's image change ^^