After the packing day, something shifted again.
Not between them.
Around them.
The leaving was everywhere now.
In half-empty shelves.
In boxes by the door.
In reminders from family.
In the way people kept asking Kai if he was ready.
He never knew how to answer that.
So he usually just smiled and said something easy.
"Almost."
But with Velithra—
They stopped talking about it altogether.
Not because it didn't matter.
Because it mattered too much.
They still met after school.
Still walked the same streets.
Still sat at the field when the weather allowed it.
Still held hands like it was the most natural thing in the world.
But certain words disappeared.
June.
Leaving.
Goodbye.
After.
Anything that might crack the surface.
It wasn't planned.
Neither of them said, Let's avoid it.
They just both knew.
One afternoon, Kai was telling her about something ridiculous that happened in class.
Velithra laughed harder than the story deserved.
He noticed.
"You're being generous."
She looked at him. "Maybe you're funnier than usual."
"I'm not."
"No," she admitted. "You're not."
He laughed.
But underneath it, they both felt the same thing:
Thank you for keeping this light.
Later, they stopped at the corner near her street.
The place where they usually slowed down without meaning to.
Kai glanced at her.
"You're quiet."
"I'm listening."
"That's suspicious."
She smiled faintly.
"You talk enough for both of us."
He stepped closer.
She let him.
The familiar ease of it still surprised him sometimes.
There were things he wanted to say.
That he was scared.
That nights felt shorter now.
That every normal moment felt like it had a shadow behind it.
But instead, he said—
"You still owe me a rematch at air hockey."
Velithra looked at him for a second.
Then understood.
"No, I don't."
"You absolutely do."
"I won."
"Exactly. Suspiciously."
She laughed again.
This time softer.
Realer.
They stood there as evening settled around them.
No heavy conversation.
No countdown.
No solving anything.
And maybe that was avoidance.
Maybe it was fear.
Maybe it was mercy.
Because not every truth had to be spoken every day.
Some truths could wait quietly beside you.
When she turned toward her gate, Kai caught her hand gently.
She looked back.
He didn't say I don't want time to move.
He didn't say I'm already missing this.
He just lifted her hand and pressed a brief kiss to her knuckles.
Her breath caught slightly.
Still, after everything.
"See you tomorrow?" he asked.
She nodded.
"Yeah."
He smiled.
She went inside.
And both of them carried the same unsaid thing home—
Not hidden.
Just held.