Yuto hated the way people looked at him—as if they were trying to figure him out without ever asking who he was.

That’s why he liked the library. It was quiet. Predictable. Safe. The dusty scent of old books, the gentle hum of the air conditioner, and the way sunlight spilled in from the tall windows—it all wrapped around him like a shield. No one bothered him there. No one looked twice.

Until he showed up.

Kaito.

The first time Yuto saw him, he thought he was a ghost. The boy sat across from him, slouched in the chair like he had nowhere else to be, a cigarette tucked behind his ear and shadows under his eyes. He didn’t carry any books, didn’t pretend to study. He just stared out the window, like he was searching for something that didn’t exist anymore.

Yuto had tried not to notice. He really had.

But his pencil had other plans.

Before he knew it, the curve of Kaito’s jaw, the fold of his hoodie, even the way his fingers tapped silently on the table—all of it had found its way into Yuto’s sketchbook. Page after page.

He didn’t know why.

Maybe it was the loneliness Kaito wore like a second skin. Maybe it was the way he took up space without trying. Or maybe… Yuto had simply never seen anyone who looked so beautifully broken.

⸻

The fourth time Kaito came to the library, he caught Yuto staring.

“You always sit in the same spot,” Kaito said, his voice low and rough, like it wasn’t used to being gentle. “Don’t you get bored?”

Yuto blinked. “No. Do you?”

Kaito shrugged. “Depends on who’s across from me.”

Yuto quickly looked down, heart skipping.

A pause.

Then, Kaito leaned forward, elbows on the table.

“You draw me, don’t you?”

Yuto froze.

“What?”

“I saw your sketchbook,” Kaito said casually. “You left it open last time. You’re good. Kinda creepy. But good.”

Yuto’s ears burned. “I—I didn’t mean— I wasn’t—”

“I didn’t say I minded.” Kaito’s lips curled, almost into a smile. “No one’s ever drawn me before.”

That surprised Yuto. “Why not?”

Kaito tilted his head, eyes unreadable. “Because no one ever looks long enough.”

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- just a short story and won’t be long enough so enjoy do like, comment, subscribe and keep reading hope everyone like it!!!

i would like to give the intro for the characters soon enough so do comment and tell me how was it though I have not much in mind for this story I am just yapping it out like crazy but I really hope you guys like it and why is this 500 words not finishing omggggvg enough please get it over with it it’s embarrassing so please please please do like it comment subscribe read my other chat stories and many more I am sure you guys will like it a lot so do give it a try as well and like this novel as well<33

Chapter 2- cigarettes and sketches!!

Kaito didn’t show up for three days.

Yuto tried not to care. He told himself it didn’t matter—that it was better this way. The library was quieter again. Safe again.

But it didn’t feel right.

He found himself glancing toward the chair across from him. Empty. Like the space had grown a memory.

On the fourth day, just as Yuto was packing up his sketchbook, the chair slid back.

“Miss me?” Kaito asked, dropping into the seat like he’d never left.

Yuto didn’t look up right away. His hand paused halfway through zipping his bag.

“You’re late.”

Kaito smirked. “I didn’t know we had a schedule.”

Yuto didn’t respond. He didn’t need to. His silence was sharp enough.

Kaito leaned back and studied him. “You’re weird.”

“I get that a lot.”

“I mean it as a compliment.”

Yuto finally looked at him. “You say things like that, but I don’t think you know how to mean anything.”

That shut Kaito up—for a second.

Then he leaned in, elbows on the table, eyes dark but strangely open.

“Maybe I don’t,” he admitted. “But you make me want to learn.”

Yuto felt something shift in his chest. Small. Subtle. But real.

⸻

They fell into a rhythm after that. Not quite friends, not quite strangers.

Kaito didn’t talk much about himself. He avoided questions with sarcasm or silence. But he asked about Yuto. About his drawings. About the kind of music he listened to. About what it felt like to always be alone and not hate it.

“I don’t hate it,” Yuto said one afternoon. “But sometimes I wonder what it would be like… not to have to choose it.”

Kaito looked at him with quiet understanding. “It’s easier to be alone than to feel unwanted when you’re not.”

Yuto didn’t reply.

But that night, he drew two boys sitting side by side, sharing the silence between them like it was something sacred.

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For this novel the song I would recommend to listen with it (which you shouldn't or do it) is

“Let Me Down Slowly” – Alec Benjamin

“illicit affairs” – Taylor Swift

Or none well actually I wanted this novel really short but I don’t know why the limit is 500 words be happy with 300 only but anyways actually I really wanted to make it smutty since half (every single one)of my story has them but slow burn is also cute plus I am just yapping in this story so whatever it didn’t mattered much since I don’t know if people will get the concept behind this story it’s actually kind of sad and nice if you get it.. So it all depends well I have Yap enough but I need to complete 500 words so please ignore me now I am just letting it be here I hope they can fix it up and let us write til 300 or something cause there are lazy people here as well like “ME”. So yeah

Chapter 3- when the sky breaks

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The rain started just after lunch.

It came down hard, the kind of rain that blurred windows and erased everything beyond the glass. Most students rushed home, umbrellas bobbing like tiny boats in a gray sea. But Yuto stayed behind, like he always did—waiting for the library to grow still, waiting for the noise to fade.

Today, though, he wasn’t alone.

Kaito stood by the window, arms crossed, his silhouette lit in pale gray. His jacket was damp, black hair dripping slightly, and his cigarette was gone—replaced with the hollow quiet he wore when he didn’t feel like pretending.

“You’re soaked,” Yuto said softly.

Kaito didn’t turn around. “I walked here without thinking.”

Yuto closed his sketchbook. “That’s new. You always think. You just never say.”

Kaito finally turned to him. “Do I?”

Yuto nodded. “Your silence is loud.”

Kaito gave a small, humorless laugh. “So is yours.”

A pause stretched between them, filled only by the steady drum of rain on the roof.

Then, out of nowhere, Kaito asked, “Do you believe in people changing?”

Yuto blinked. “What?”

“I mean… do you think someone who’s always been messed up can really become someone else? Someone better?”

It wasn’t a casual question. Not from him.

Yuto studied Kaito’s expression. His jaw was tense. His hands were clenched at his sides. Like he was bracing for something, or maybe trying to hold it in.

“I think people don’t change overnight,” Yuto said. “But they grow. Bit by bit. And sometimes the people who think they’re the most broken… end up being the ones who shine the brightest.”

Kaito looked at him, eyes softening just slightly. “That sounds like something from one of your drawings.”

“Maybe it is.”

Kaito stepped closer, slow and unsure. “Can I see it?”

Yuto hesitated, then opened his sketchbook and flipped to a page he hadn’t shown anyone. It wasn’t detailed, not yet. Just pencil lines and soft shading. A boy standing in the rain, his eyes closed, a hand outstretched toward the sky like he was waiting to be forgiven.

Kaito stared at it for a long time.

“That’s me,” he said quietly.

Yuto didn’t deny it.

Kaito looked up at him, and for the first time, his voice cracked a little. “You always make me look like I’m someone worth drawing.”

“You are.”

The silence that followed wasn’t heavy.

It was full.

Like something had shifted between them. Like the rain had washed away a layer of armor Kaito didn’t even know he’d been wearing.

“Yuto,” he said, almost too softly to hear. “Don’t stop drawing me. Even if I disappear again.”

Yuto closed the sketchbook carefully. “Then don’t make me look for you in shadows.”

Kaito gave a quiet smile.

And for the first time, it reached his eyes.

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Okay so now we have some changes I like it just be together already why is slow burn so slow I wanted to rush but never mind