It was night.
The moon shone beautifully over the white, snow-covered world. Everything was silent...
Sera lay in bed, cuddling her pillow, and sent a text to Rei.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
Rei replied almost instantly.
"Getting bored. I slept all day 'cause I had nothing to do, and now I'm not even sleepy. Even games feel kinda dull."
"Sounds rough," Sera texted back.
"Why don't you visit me tomorrow? It'll be fun, pretty please 🥺"
She smiled a little at the message.
"If you ask me like that, how can I say no? Though… I've never been to your house before."
"I'll send you the address. Just come over," he replied.
"Sure... I guess."
Rei, meanwhile, was bouncing around his room like an excited puppy, imagining how much fun tomorrow would be.
Back in her bed, Sera stared at the ceiling for a while, thinking about what the day might bring. Slowly, her eyes closed, and sleep gently pulled her under.
---
Morning arrived.
The moon had gone, and now the sun kept watch, shining warmly over the slowly melting snow.
Sera rubbed her eyes and made her way downstairs. Alya was already sitting at the dining table, swinging her legs and looking far too cheerful for this early in the morning.
"Sis, guess what?" Alya grinned.
"Haruta's visiting us tonight!"
"Why?" Sera blinked, confused.
"I texted him. Told him to come hang out," Alya said with a mischievous smile.
Sera paused, then smirked.
"Then maybe I should invite Rei over too. Mom's staying at Aunt's place, and Dad's out on a business trip… We've basically got the house to ourselves."
"Yayyy!" Alya squealed, throwing her arms in the air.
Sera laughed.
"But first, I'm going to visit Rei today. He asked me to come over, so I'll leave in about two hours. You, meanwhile, stay here and try acting like a proper human being—not a failed science experiment."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Alya waved her off with a snort.
About two hours later, Sera left for Rei's house.
The sun was shining gently, the snow starting to melt just a little under its warmth.
After walking for about 15 minutes, she stopped in front of a surprisingly large, mansion-like house.
She pulled out her phone and texted Rei:
"Rei… I think you sent me the wrong address."
"Uhh… no, that's the right one," he replied.
"But I'm standing in front of a huge house."
Suddenly, a voice called out from above.
"Here!" Rei shouted from the balcony, waving down at her.
"It's the correct house!"
Sera blinked in surprise and walked up to ring the doorbell.
A few seconds later, a girl opened the door—Rei's sister.
"Yeah?" she asked, looking curious.
"Hi…" Sera said a little shyly.
Before anything else, Rei came running down the stairs.
"Sis, let her in. She's here to visit me."
His sister raised an eyebrow.
"Is she your friend?"
"Yeah," he replied casually.
Then she smirked.
"Are you two dating?"
Rei smirked right back.
"Yeah. What if we are?"
His sister gasped dramatically.
"Oh my—my brother actually got a Valentine!" she teased, playfully clutching her heart.
---
To be continued
~Rei