Chapter 1
Celena, a smart but reclusive girl, sat isolated in class every day. She preferred it that way. But on the first day of the new session, she was seated beside Ciel—a boy who, strangely enough, slept through every class yet still managed to have friends. She didn’t care. Or at least, she told herself she didn’t.
What amused her, though, was how Ciel managed to sleep unnoticed, day after day. A whole week passed, and he never seemed to lift his head, even once. She started to wonder if he was just pretending.
Then one afternoon, when the bell had rung and most students had rushed out, one of Ciel’s friends—her crush, ironically—approached her.
“Can you stay in your seat for a bit?” he asked, eyes darting toward Ciel’s slumped figure. “Even after class is over?”
She blinked. “Why?”
“Ciel only wakes up and goes home when your seat’s empty.”
She hesitated, confused, but something about the strange request—maybe the boy asking it, maybe the curiosity building in her—made her nod. “Okay.”
That day, she stayed back. For a whole hour, she sat there quietly, finishing her homework. Eventually, she packed her bag and stood to leave. As if on cue, Ciel stirred, rubbed his eyes, and glanced at the clock. Then he turned to her.
“Why didn’t you leave on time?” he asked, his voice thick with sleep.
She blinked again, surprised he was talking to her. “Your friend told me to stay. Said you use me to tell time.”
“Oh.” He looked away, then back. “Thanks.”
A moment passed. She tilted her head. “How do you sleep so much during the day, anyway?”
He yawned and stretched lazily. “I work at night. So I sleep during the day.”
Her eyes widened. “You work at night? You’re sixteen.”
He shrugged, not offering more. She sensed the wall, decided not to push it, and turned to leave. But before she could take another step, Ciel reached out and grabbed her hand.
She froze, heart skipping.
“Come with me,” he said softly.
“Wha—”
Before she could finish, he pulled her into his arms and jumped out the window.
The classroom was on the ground floor, but still—she shrieked. Her heart pounded as he sprinted across the empty schoolyard and leapt over the fence like it was nothing.
He didn’t stop running until they reached a small, hidden park, walled in by trees. A fountain bubbled quietly at the center, surrounded by soft grass. It was beautiful. Quiet.
Ciel finally stopped, letting go of her hand. “This is my resting place,” he said, voice lower now. “I usually come here when it’s too much. I wanted company today, but none of my friends were around.”
She said nothing at first. The whole moment felt surreal. But she was tired, too. With a small sigh, she sat down on the grass, then lay back and closed her eyes. The cool blades tickled her neck. A second later, Ciel lay down beside her, hands behind his head.
“What is your father like?” he asked quietly.
She opened her eyes to the sky. The question floated between them, delicate.
Celena turned to him, frowning slightly. “Why are you asking such a weird question all of a sudden?”
Ciel looked up at the sky, but his voice was thick, like he was swallowing something heavy. “I don’t know… I guess I always wanted to talk about it with someone.”
There was a pause.
“My mom’s dead,” he said, quietly. “And my dad… he drinks. A lot.”
Celena blinked. Her breath caught in her throat.
“I work evenings so he can have his drinks. Then at night, I work again—secretly—so I can actually eat and afford the basics.” He gave a half-hearted laugh. “Pathetic, right?”
She shook her head. “No. That’s not pathetic. That’s—” she didn’t have the right word. “Who pays for school?”
He turned his face toward her, eyes serious. “I’m on a scholarship.”
“But you never study,” she said without thinking, then regretted how blunt it sounded.
Ciel just smiled a little. “I don’t need to. I pick up stuff in class. Even when I’m asleep, I guess I’m listening. It’s just... there, in my head. I remember everything.”
She stared at him for a long second, stunned. Then it clicked. All of it—the odd schedule, the silence, the way he was always alone even when surrounded by people.
But he gently brought the conversation back. “What about your dad?” he asked again.
She understood now why he’d asked. She sighed and looked back up at the trees.
“I don’t really know anything about my parents,” she said. “I’ve lived with my grandparents as long as I can remember. They’re nice. Supportive. But… they never talk about my mom or dad. It’s like there’s a closed door I was never meant to open.”
Ciel didn’t say anything, but he didn’t need to. The silence between them was warm now, not awkward. They lay there, side by side, trading thoughts about what they imagined real parents must be like. What it must feel like to be hugged after a bad day, or to be told someone was proud of them just for existing.
Time slipped past. Another hour vanished.
Then—suddenly—cheering voices broke through the quiet.
“Found you, birthday boy!” someone called.
Ciel sat up, startled.
Celena blinked as several boys and girls—his friends—came laughing through the trees, carrying a small cake with a flickering candle barely holding against the breeze.
She looked at him, then at the cake. “It’s your birthday?”
He smiled sheepishly. “Yeah. Seventeen today.”
Everything made sense now—the weird request from Rile, the quiet mood, the sudden need for company.
Celena smiled, then softly elbowed him. “You could’ve just said that.”
He looked at her, warm and grateful. “Would you have come if I had?”
She hesitated, then nodded. “Maybe.”
He laughed, and for the first time, she saw something different in him—something lighter, like the weight of the world wasn’t crushing him quite so much.
The group burst into the clearing like a sudden breeze, bringing laughter and noise with them. A couple of them held sparklers, one had a Bluetooth speaker playing a mellow beat, and Rile—the friend who’d asked Celena to stay back—was holding a modest cake with uneven lettering that read “Happy 17th, Ciel!” in light blue icing.
“Dude, we’ve been looking for you for, like, an hour,” one of the boys groaned, panting.
Ciel chuckled. “Needed quiet. And company.”
His eyes flicked toward Celena for just a second. She caught it and looked away quickly, pretending to be very interested in the grass.
Rile grinned as he set the cake down on a stone ledge by the fountain. “Yeah, I figured. That’s why I sent her in.”
The others turned to Celena, suddenly noticing her properly for the first time. She felt herself shrinking a little under their eyes, unsure how to stand or smile or exist. But Ciel’s hand brushed lightly against hers. Not grabbing—just grounding. It was enough.
“Guys, this is Celena,” he said. “She… helped.”
A few nodded, one gave her a lopsided smile, and just like that, she was accepted. No interrogation. No judgment.
“Let’s light the candle before it melts off the cake,” someone said, pulling a lighter from their jacket.
As the candle flickered to life, everyone crowded around, their faces glowing in the orange light. Celena stood just behind Ciel, arms crossed, quietly watching.
“Make a wish, birthday boy,” Rile said.
Ciel stared at the flame. His face was unreadable, but there was something raw in his eyes—something Celena understood now. He closed his eyes for a beat, then blew the candle out with a soft puff.
Applause. Someone clapped him on the back, and someone else handed him a paper plate with a crooked slice of cake. Celena was surprised when he turned and offered it to her first.
The group was still scattered across the park, some lying on the grass, others sitting on the fountain’s edge, laughing and sharing stories from old classes and after-school mishaps. Someone had started a quiet game of cards using an old, bent deck, and music still hummed faintly in the background.
Celena had drifted into silence again, letting the sounds blur around her. It was warm here, in this small circle that didn’t ask too much of her.
Ciel stood up suddenly, brushing grass from his jeans. He checked his phone and winced. “I have to go.”
Everyone groaned in protest. “Already?”
“Work,” he said simply, with a shrug. “Real life calls.”
He looked down at Celena one last time, gave her a small smile, and then disappeared into the trees with that same quiet speed he always moved with—like he was never meant to stay in one place for long.
The others slowly started gathering their things, tossing empty cups and folding blankets. They left in pairs or small groups, calling out goodbyes, cracking last jokes.
Eventually, the park had thinned out until only Celena and Rile were left by the fountain, sitting side by side on the cold stone edge.
The silence that settled now felt different. Still, but humming with something unsaid.
Rile glanced at her, then smiled. “Thanks for staying today. It really meant a lot to him.”
Celena tried to speak but ended up just nodding. Her face felt hot all of a sudden. She could hear her own pulse in her ears.
He chuckled softly. “You really did good.”
And that did it.
She looked away, blushing like an idiot.
“I didn’t do much,” she muttered, barely audible.
Rile leaned back on his hands and looked up at the sky. “Doesn’t matter. You were there. That’s what counts with Ciel.”
Celena peeked at him out of the corner of her eye. “Are you all… always this close?”
Rile smiled, softer now. “Yeah. He saved me once. Not like dramatic or anything—just… showed up when I was disappearing. So we stick around for him when we can.”
She nodded, hugging her knees to her chest.
“I think he likes you,” Rile added casually.
Her head snapped toward him. “What?!”
He smirked. “Relax. I mean, you’re… different. Calmer. He wouldn’t have taken anyone else to that park. Trust me.”
She said nothing, cheeks flaming.
Rile stood up, stretching. “Come on. Let’s walk back before we both get eaten by bugs or something.”
She followed him out of the trees, heart fluttering in a way she wasn’t used to. But for the first time, it wasn’t uncomfortable.
It was kind of nice.
That night, long after she got home, after she brushed her teeth and changed into her oversized hoodie and soft socks, Celena lay curled up on her bed with the lights off and her thoughts wide awake.
Her room was quiet, save for the occasional creak of the house settling and the faint hum of her old desk fan. Outside, a dog barked once. The world was winding down.
She stared at the ceiling, fingers tangled together over her chest.
Maybe Ciel was her friend now.
The thought came softly. Like a whisper she didn’t want to say too loud in case it disappeared.
She’d never really had a friend before. Not really. She was always the girl who sat alone, eyes down, books up. People didn’t dislike her. They just… didn’t see her. Or maybe she didn’t let them.
But today—today something changed. Not just because of Ciel, though he was the reason. But because she said yes. She stayed. She talked. She listened. And someone noticed.
She smiled into the dark, barely a twitch at the corner of her lips.
Rile had thanked her. Made her blush in a way she wasn’t ready to admit even to herself.
But it wasn’t just about him. Or them.
It was the first time she felt like she belonged somewhere—even if it was just for one evening, in a hidden park with a broken fence and a cake with melting icing.
She rolled onto her side, hugging her pillow close.
Maybe he’s my friend now.
She repeated it in her head once, then again.
And it didn’t scare her. It made her chest feel a little fuller. A little warmer.
