Broke

He remembers the day her heart broke.

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He found her beneath a tree on the school grounds, listlessly twirling a fallen leaf between her fingers as the sun sank beneath the horizon, dying rays setting the sky aflame.

He sat down beside her, waiting in silence as the cold stars came out, one by one.

Finally, she cast down the leaf and stood, smiling down at him with a tear-streaked face.

"Thank you, Ishida-kun."

"Are you alright? I mean, he had no right to tell you like that—"

"Please, just don't…" She turned away. "I-I think I've always known."