I came to school bright and early the next day to only realize that Ray already beat me to the council room. He usually comes first, so this wasn't as shocking.

"Good morning, Ray," I greeted, sitting across him. I opened my water bottle and took a sip before closing it.

"Good morning," he replied. After that, we just waited for more people.

Five minutes later, (y/n) walked in.

"Hi, (y/n)," I said, getting her attention. "Sorry for not giving you a ride yesterday."

She waved in response. "It's fine." She then sat next to me.

"Oh, how'd you get back, then?" I asked curiously. I expected her to explain that she went alone or called her parents, but she shrugged.

"I walked her home," Ray answered, startling me. I looked at (y/n), who started reading, then back at Ray, who turned a book page.

"Wait, huh?!" I responded, surprised. I watched as Ray fold the corner of his page and put his novel away.

"(y/n) forgot her umbrella and probably didn't check the forecast either." He explained. "So I volunteered to walk her home. Simple."

"I see," I answered. Something didn't make sense. (y/n) wouldn't let some random guy she met a week ago share an umbrella with her unless something happened right before.

I glanced at (y/n). Her face showed no expression as she scanned her book. So it was true that she agreed to his proposition.

"Wait, you seem to be forgetting something," I questioned Ray. "Now, I knew (y/n) since birth, and she's not the type of person to accept something like that at first impression."

I heard (y/n) close her book as well. "He insulted me about Romeo and Juliet beforehand," she added.

"Hey, that was a compliment!" Ray fired back, gesturing toward her.

"It didn't sound like one!" (y/n) answered.

They were now standing up and arguing over what happened yesterday. The two completely ignored me. I tried catching bits and pieces of what they were saying.

"You said to take it whether it was an insult or a compliment," she stated.

"Oh, so now you're memorizing our conversations?" Ray replied.

"It happened literally yesterday," she clarified. "The freaking day before."

"Like that matters," he answered. "All I'm saying is that you need to stop making assumptions of what people are trying to imply. Keyword: imply."

"All I'm saying is that you need to stop messing around with other people and stop being such a tease," she said back.

"(y/n), I wasn't even teasing you," he replied, looking exasperated. "Where'd you even get that idea?"

"When you called me a hopeless romantic," (y/n) answered as well. I still remained in my seat, wondering if I should intervene before someone dies or should just stay still.

"That's just stating the obvious!" he said. "You probably even cry over fictional characters because you're standards are way too high for even a mountain climber to reach."

"So I take it that yesterday was not a good day," I said quietly. I can't believe they're fighting over one of Shakespeare's greatest works.

"Says the one who gives me their number on a slip of paper!" she answered. "You probably got that move from a shoujo manga."

His number?! Just what happened after I left the council room the day before?!

"And maybe I did," he replied. "But you're one to talk when you swoon over eloquent poem-writing guys when you probably can't even write one yourself."

"You really want to challenge me?" she answered. "Fine."

"Roses and red,

violets are blue,

How can I say that

I hate you."

He was about to say something back but the student council doors bust open. Emma and Norman walked by.

"Did we miss anything?" Norman said. I shook my head.

"Well, you kinda did, but you don't wanna know," I answered vaguely. Just thinking of explaining this whole morning was giving me a headache.

We all walked out to our classes. (y/n) was in the same home room as me, so I tried asking her about the whole argument.

"I don't wanna talk about it," she stated. I chose not to push in any further and we went to our first class in silence.

(y/n) and I walked to our lockers before heading our for lunch. After opening her locker, we noticed a folded piece of blue post-it note.

Her face showed surprise and frustration as she gazed upon the closed piece of paper. I'm so lost with what's going on with (y/n) and Ray. I watched as she carefully opened the slip. Her eyes quickly scanned what it said.

"Can I see?" I asked. She nodded and gave the note to me.

It read,

Your eyes don't twinkle

Your expression stays the same

But your smiles are real

-Ray

A haiku. One of the oldest forms of poems. Created during the period of ancient Japan, they are used to describe one particular moment. Five syllables, seven syllables, five syllables.

From the note, it seems as Ray described the rare moments when (y/n) genuinely smiles. How her eyes and mouth are naturally empty most of the time, but when she grins, her face transforms.

And on the bottom right corner, it said, "I'm sorry."

"Here," I said, giving back the paper. (y/n) took it back and used it as a book mark.

Later during literature class, I noticed (y/n) jotting something down on one of her special pieces of calligraphy paper. The ones she saves for people that mean something to her.