Unraveled Ties-Chapter 34: Unavoidable Tension

The clubroom was silent.

Reiji sat across from Sena, his hands resting on his knees as he stared at the floor. He had lost count of how many times she had made him try and fail at today's lesson—eye contact.

"You're pathetic," Sena sighed, arms crossed. "You can't even look at me for more than two seconds."

Reiji exhaled sharply. "I'm trying."

"Trying? You've failed at least twenty times now." Sena leaned forward, smirking slightly. "What, am I *that* intimidating?"

Reiji clicked his tongue, gripping his knee. "It's just weird, alright?"

"Tch." Sena sighed, shaking her head. "If you can't do something as simple as this, how do you expect to have a real relationship?"

Reiji narrowed his eyes. "I never said I was good at this."

"And I never said it was optional," she shot back.

They stared at each other for a brief second before Reiji, once again, looked away.

Sena let out an exasperated groan. "That's it. I'm done playing around."

Before he could react, she reached forward and cupped his face in both hands.

Reiji froze.

His body locked up, breath catching in his throat as her fingers gently held his face, her palms pressing against his skin.

His eyes widened.

Sena was *close*.

Too close.

Her face was only inches from his, her sharp golden eyes peering directly into his own.

His heart pounded—hard.

"W-What—"

"Look at me," she ordered, her voice softer this time.

Reiji tried.

Tried to act normal. Tried to stay calm.

But his brain refused to function.

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His pulse was racing, his body frozen in place. His mind screamed at him to move, to say something—*anything*—but the words wouldn't come out.

He wasn't expecting this.

Sena, this close.

Her eyes, sharp yet strangely warm.

Her fingers, cool against his burning skin.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

"Reiji?" Sena blinked, confused by his reaction.

That snapped him out of it.

He immediately jerked back, practically jumping out of his chair. His back hit the clubroom wall as he sucked in a sharp breath.

Sena's hands hovered in the air where his face had been just moments ago.

A strange silence filled the room.

Sena, surprisingly, looked... regretful. "I—Sorry," she muttered. "I guess I went too far."

Reiji, still trying to steady his breathing, rubbed the back of his neck. "No, it's fine," he said quickly, trying to regain his composure.

It *wasn't* fine.

His heart was still hammering in his chest.

But he wasn't about to admit that.

Sena leaned back in her chair, her expression unreadable. "We'll stop here for today."

Reiji gave a small nod, still standing by the wall. He wasn't sure if he could sit back down just yet.

For the next few seconds, neither of them spoke.

Then, Sena stood up, grabbing her bag. "See you tomorrow."

Reiji barely managed to mumble a response as she walked past him and out the door.

He let out a deep sigh, running a hand through his hair.

What the hell was *that*?

—

### **For the Next Few Days...**

Neither of them mentioned what happened.

Whenever they saw each other in the clubroom, things were... awkward. Not outright tense, but there was an unspoken understanding between them to *not* bring up that moment.

They didn't do any more practice. Not right away.

And strangely, Reiji felt relieved.

Because every time he remembered that moment, his face would heat up, and his heart would beat faster—*and he didn't know why*.

It took nearly a week before they resumed their lessons, both of them acting as if nothing had happened.

But even though they never spoke about it...

Reiji couldn't forget it.

—