I thought this earlier.

I will think of it again.

When is the sun going to set?

There are so many things I want to ask and so many things I want to tell.

But I cannot.

There are moments in life when time races at the speed of a cheetah, and you cannot catch up. Then there are instances when it drags along at a snail's pace, making you believe that death would more entertaining than life. Such is what I am feeling right now.

I'm so bored that I thought running outside in two degree Celsius weather in nothing but a T-shirt and shorts was a good idea. Very ill-prepared of me, I know. But in my defense: 1) I have a fire quirk to keep me warm; 2) I have an ice quirk to tolerate the cold; 3) my favorite excuse, diamond dust glitters best in the sunlight.

Of course, that is not to say that I did not put some planning beforehand. Initially, I wore a jacket until rivulets of sweat soaked it, and Midoriya, Bakugou, and Aizawa-sensei already know where I am. In fact, I only plan to run in the forest, which is on campus grounds.

By the time my ten-kilometer run is completed, the sun has begun to set.

Grateful, I lean against the railing of the gazebo, watching the ice crystals float and shimmer in the orange sky as an orange ball of fire dips behind the trees, casting angled rays.

Earlier, I was lamenting the stillness of time. But now, I would actually like time to freeze. The scene is picturesque. Perfect for a postcard. Wiping my hands with a small towel before retrieving my phone, I take a picture of the scenery.

I wish a certain someone were here, admiring this view with me. She would reach out her hand to touch one of the diamond dust particles. It would nimbly escape her with a drift of the wind. I would be leaning just as I am now, laughing at her childish yet adorable behavior. She would pout and look away, not before I would catch a glimpse of the blush coloring her cheeks. Then she would smile and laugh with me, too. We would become a pair of sillies giggling at something so redundant, but we would not care. Because this moment would be when time took pity on us and paused its course.

Would, would, would …

Such a simple word, but so profound. The nostalgia for something that could have been but is not there returns to me to the present.

I glance at my phone to check the time.

I should go back.

But a notification appears on my lock screen. It's from one of the news apps. I would ignore it, if only the surname did not catch my eye: Hanada. I open the notification.

The heading reads that Hanada-shi's eldest son and the daughter of another business magnate are engaged. Skimming through the article, I catch particular phrases, such as how this marriage was in talks for a while now and both the son and daughter had been seen in public together on numerous occasions. The rest of the article is speculation, about the kind of deal must have been brokered between the families and what the marriage means for both businesses from hereon out.

Nowhere within the article does Selene's name appear. I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

However, there is no way she was unaware of this. I get that she doesn't like talking about her adoptive family, and I have no right to pry into that, but still, a pinprick of disappointment nags at me. I believed that we were close enough to share these kinds of things with each other. After all, this news is about a wedding, not a scandal.

Did I assume too much from our friendship?

Am I reading too much into this?

Is there a reason she did not tell me?

More questions to ask her when she comes back.