Chapter 3: Slipping Away

I started to avoid Yui and Hikigaya-kun.

They were watching me. I could feel it—their worried glances, the hesitation in their voices when they spoke to me. They had noticed something was wrong.

But I couldn't let them know.

If they knew, they would ask questions I wasn't ready to answer.

They would try to fix something that couldn't be fixed.

And worst of all, they would look at me differently.

Like I was broken.

I didn't want that.

So I smiled. I forced myself to talk to Yui more, to reassure her that nothing was wrong. I pretended I didn't notice when Hikigaya-kun stared at me like he was trying to solve a puzzle.

I could do this. I had to do this.

But the voice inside me was growing louder.

And sometimes, when I looked in the mirror, I wasn't sure if it was my reflection looking back.

Or someone else entirely.

I woke up somewhere I didn't recognize.

The sun was setting, casting long shadows across the empty park bench I was sitting on. The chill of the autumn air bit at my skin.

I didn't remember coming here.

I didn't remember leaving school.

I checked my phone. The time read 6:42 PM.

Missed calls from my sister. Texts from Yui. A single unread message from Hikigaya-kun.

Hikigaya-kun: Where are you?

My fingers felt stiff as I hovered over the keyboard. I should answer. I should tell them something—anything.

But my mind was blank.

Where had I been?

Had I been alone?

I gripped my phone tightly, forcing myself to take a deep breath.

Panic wouldn't solve anything.

I could just lie.

Me: I lost track of time. Heading home now.

It wasn't entirely untrue.

I stood up, wrapping my coat tighter around me. My legs felt unsteady, like I had been running for hours. My head ached.

And then I heard it.

"I took care of it for you."

I inhaled sharply, turning around—half-expecting someone to be standing behind me.

There was no one.

Just the rustling of the wind through the empty park.

I swallowed, my throat dry.

"You don't have to worry so much, Yukino. I'm here to help."

The voice wasn't external. It was inside my mind.

I pressed my hands against my temples. "This isn't real," I whispered. "This isn't real."

"You were struggling, so I stepped in. I made sure you weren't alone."

My breathing turned shallow.

No. No, no, no.

This wasn't happening. This wasn't real.

I gritted my teeth, shaking my head furiously. "You're not me."

Silence.

Then, in the faintest, almost amused whisper—

"Aren't I?"

Author's Note:
I really jinxed myself with that last author's note. Immediately got bombarded with the covid + assignments combo. I will probably upload 3 chapters this week to compensate for last week's missed upload. I've been reading the reviews and I'm trying to write longer chapters but like I said in the first chapter, this is the first story I've ever written. With that said, thanks for reading please leave a review if you feel like it.