The second time Shizuku woke up to find Haru in her room, he was curled up under the open window with his bag as a pillow. Two weeks after the first incident, it was significantly cooler now. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was only 4:30 in the morning. This confirmed her suspicion that he wasn't here simply for a free breakfast and to walk with her to school. But still... he looked peaceful, and she tried her best not to disturb him as she tiptoed over to close the window. She considered throwing a spare blanket over him, but it wasn't that cold with the window closed, and he did have his blue sweatshirt after all.
When the alarm rang later that morning, Haru was already awake. He sat with his knees to his chest, still under the window. His distant gaze melted into a sheepish smile when Shizuku let out an exasperated sigh. The sigh was faked, but she didn't want him to know she'd already known he was here. She doubted he'd remember leaving the window open.
He remained seated as she gathered her things, just like the time before. Instead of heading out to the bathroom, she tentatively approached him. She reached a hand out towards his head and observed his reaction, expecting him to bat her wrist away. Instead, he just watched her hand. Gaining confidence, she ran her fingers through his dishevelled hair. His face softened at the touch so she carried on caressing him for a few more seconds before her strict schedule pulled her into the bathroom to get ready.
She figured she'd better offer him the bathroom too, since she knew he'd been there longer than he'd admit. She could deal with her father later. At least the two of them seemed to get along. Haru appeared significantly less depressed after he'd used the bathroom and had a quick wash. He sat at the table with his signature cheeky grin while Shizuku's father prepared another plate for him. Shizuku tactfully batted his questions away.
On their walk to school, Shizuku tried to approach his odd behaviour yet again.
"Haru, what's going on?" she asked, stopping and resting a hand on his arm.
Haru looked down at her hand and his face fell. Shizuku couldn't quite tell if his smile earlier had been genuine and this was his real expression, but that didn't really matter now. What mattered was the fact that he didn't outright deny that something was up.
He placed his hand over hers and wove their fingers together, "I don't want to talk about it."
She felt him tug and realised that he'd begun walking again, their hands still intertwined. She allowed the subject to rest. Not being all that practised in comfort and support, Shizuku wasn't really sure if she should have pushed it further. She knew that, as a friend, she was supposed to offer the support her companion needed. Did allowing him to spend the night in her room fulfil that role? She could only hope so, because he wasn't leaking out even the slightest hint.
The next day, he'd perked up considerably and Shizuku could hardly even remember how distant he'd looked yesterday morning. She considered speaking to Natsume, knowing she'd probably have a better grasp of how to deal with Haru's secrecy but... a part of her enjoyed waking up to him. And a part of her felt pleased that she was Haru's first choice in support in whatever was happening.
It was then that she decided to keep his secret.