It was already 5 in the morning, but Rei was still awake.
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Elias had been trying to convince her to sleep for a while now, but he already knew how stubborn she could be. She had told him that she was going to finish watching Classroom of the Elite Season 3, even if it meant staying awake all night.
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He stared at the screen and let out a quiet laugh.
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"You really don't make it easy for me, do you?"
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Rei had a habit of surprising him. She didn't just watch stories—she analyzed them, broke them apart, and looked for things most people completely missed. Elias found himself genuinely respecting that about her.
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When she simply replied, "Hmm," he paused.
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That one little word somehow felt like a challenge.
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He finally typed that she saw things differently from most people and that it was rare to find someone who actually looked beneath the surface. He wondered if she was still awake or if she was simply keeping him on his toes.
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But Rei was determined.
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She wasn't going to sleep.
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She was going to finish watching the anime.
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Eventually, Elias gave up.
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"Fine. I'm going. But don't blame me if you wake up tomorrow with a headache from staying up all night watching anime."
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Before putting his phone away, he added one final message.
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"Send me a message when you finish it. I want to know if your theories on this one are as sharp as they were on Tomodachi Game."
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Rei finally wished him good night.
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Elias stared at her message for a moment longer before replying.
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"Good night, Rei."
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He placed his phone face down on the nightstand and pulled the covers over himself.
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The room became quiet, but his mind wasn't.
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He found himself thinking about their conversation—the way she challenged him, the way she refused to listen when he told her to sleep, and the way their conversations somehow always managed to keep him interested.
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As he closed his eyes, he could still picture the faint glow of her phone screen and the quiet smile he'd seen from her balcony earlier that night.
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Tomorrow, he thought.
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Tomorrow I'll find out what she thinks of Classroom of the Elite.
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Eventually, he drifted off to sleep with a quiet, satisfied smile.
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---
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The next morning arrived beneath a soft gray sky.
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Elias woke up without an alarm, surprisingly well-rested. But the moment he opened his eyes, his thoughts immediately returned to the night before.
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He reached for his phone.
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No new messages.
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He sat up and ran a hand through his hair, glancing toward the window. For some reason, his apartment felt different that morning. Less empty.
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More expectant.
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He almost imagined Rei standing outside, waiting to discuss anime theories with him under the morning sun.
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Elias eventually got out of bed and went to the kitchen. He prepared his coffee with his usual quiet routine, but even while the machine hummed, his attention kept drifting back toward his phone.
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He wanted to text her.
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He wanted to ask whether she had actually finished the season or whether she had finally given in and gone to sleep.
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But he stopped himself.
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He remembered what he'd told her before.
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He wouldn't pressure her.
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So he left his phone alone.
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The morning passed quietly. Elias finished his coffee and began working, but his thoughts kept wandering back to her.
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A song playing in the background.
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A character in a book.
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A particular moment of sunlight falling across the street.
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Everything seemed to remind him of Rei in some small way.
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By noon, his phone was still sitting beside him, close enough to reach without thinking.
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He tried to focus on his work.
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But eventually, around two in the afternoon, he gave in.
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This time, he didn't overthink it.
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He didn't type a message, delete it, and rewrite it.
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He simply wrote what he wanted to ask.
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"Did you make it through the season, or did you pass out halfway through episode six?"
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He pressed send.
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Then he returned to his work, a faint and patient smile resting on his face as he waited for her answer.
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After all, he already knew one thing.
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Whatever Rei's answer was, he was looking forward to hearing it.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcLD7ZlhwFA
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