How To Lose A Crush In 10 Texts

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The world outside my head was a blur of noise.

Boots pounding on wood. Voices calling my name. The sharp clatter of the door sliding open so hard it rattled in its frame.

I didn't look up right away. My arms were full—full of Rin, or… something wearing her face. Her head lolled against my shoulder, strands of hair sticking to her damp cheeks. Her breathing was uneven, her skin fever-hot, and that tail—gods, that damned tail—still twitched weakly behind her.

I heard the gasps first.

"Ren?!"

It was Sora, her voice sharp enough to cut glass.

I turned slightly, and there they were—Sora, Ayame, Akane, Mei, and Elira—crowded in the doorway, their eyes wide. They didn't step inside right away, like they were afraid crossing the threshold might make the scene worse.

Akane's gaze dropped to my arms. "Who… what is that?"

Before I could answer, Ayame's eyes narrowed. She stepped forward, her movements slow, cautious—like someone approaching a wild animal.

"That's… Rin," she said quietly.

Everyone froze.

"What?" Sora's tone was half disbelief, half demand. "That's impossible."

I tightened my grip on the girl in my arms. "…It's her. I'm sure of it."

The disbelief rippled through the room like a chill. Mei covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes darting between Rin's face and the twitching tail. Elira tilted her head, the faintest frown pulling at her lips, studying every inch of the transformation with the detached curiosity of someone cataloging a rare artifact.

Akane, on the other hand, didn't even try to hide her alarm. "Rin's human," she snapped. "She's always been human. Humans don't just—" She waved vaguely toward the tail, "—sprout fox parts in the middle of the night!"

"No," Ayame said slowly, still staring. "They don't."

For a few heartbeats, all I could hear was Rin's shallow breathing and the pounding of my own pulse in my ears.

The silence didn't last.

Sora stepped in, ignoring the way the others hesitated. She crouched beside me, her eyes sharp and searching, as if the truth might be written on Rin's skin.

"What happened?" she asked quietly.

My mouth opened—then stalled. I couldn't exactly tell them we'd been tangled up on the bed, kissing like we'd never get another chance, when it happened. So I gave the stripped-down version.

"We were… talking," I said, the word feeling thin and dishonest. "Then she started shaking, like she was in pain. Next thing I know, she—" I glanced at the tail again, still not quite believing it myself. "—changed."

"That's not just a change," Elira said finally, her voice low. "That's awakening."

"Awakening into what?" Akane demanded.

Elira's gaze flicked toward her, then back to Rin. "Something old."

I didn't like the way she said that.

Not one bit.

Ayame straightened, arms crossed now, but her eyes never left Rin. "If she's turning into… whatever this is, then she wasn't completely human to begin with."

"That doesn't make sense," Mei said, finally lowering her hands. "Ever since we met Rin, she's never—never—had anything like this happen."

"She's never said anything about this," Ayame replied flatly.

That landed like a stone in a still pond. No one said anything for a moment, and I could feel the air getting heavier by the second.

Rin stirred in my arms, a weak sound slipping from her lips. I looked down immediately. Her eyes fluttered open for half a second—gold, not brown—before she winced and turned her face into my chest.

Sora caught the flicker of color. "Her eyes…"

Ayame's expression darkened. "Yeah. Definitely not human."

The tension in the room was getting tight enough to snap. Mei edged closer, biting her lip. "Ren… what are we going to do?"

I didn't have an answer.

Not for her.

Not for any of them.

All I knew was that the girl in my arms was Rin. Still Rin. No matter what had just happened.

And I wasn't letting her go.

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"Rin's breathing hitched. A muscle in her jaw twitched…"

At first, I thought maybe she was waking normally—that I could explain, calm her, maybe even joke about the whole tail situation later.

Then her eyes opened.

They weren't Rin's eyes anymore. The soft brown I knew had been replaced with molten gold, glowing faintly in the dim light.

Her lips curled back, teeth sharp—not human sharp. A low, guttural growl rattled from her throat, so animal it made the hair on my neck stand up.

"Rin—wait—" I started.

She lunged.

The sudden movement knocked the air out of me. Her claws—actual claws—caught on my sleeve, tearing fabric. I twisted, trying not to drop her or let her hurt me, but she was strong, far stronger than she should've been.

"Ren, hold her still!" Mei's voice rang out, panic lacing the edges. She was already forming a circle of runes in the air with her fingertips.

A flash of pale light burst forward as she pressed her palm toward Rin's forehead.

"Somnus Liria!"

The spell hit. Rin didn't even flinch.

Her golden eyes snapped toward Mei, and the growl deepened.

"It's not working!" Mei gasped, stumbling back.

Sora was already moving, her hands weaving a second incantation. "Hold her steady!"

"I'm trying!" I grunted, feeling Rin thrash in my arms like a wild animal.

Another wave of light washed over Rin. She faltered—only for a moment—then let out a sharp snarl and renewed her struggle.

"Still not enough!" Sora snapped. "Ayame, now!"

Ayame stepped in without hesitation, her magic igniting in a bright, controlled flare. "Sleep, little fox."

The third spell struck, overlapping with the first two. For a second, Rin fought—muscles tense, tail whipping violently—then her body went slack, the gold in her eyes dimming until only darkness remained.

I held her a moment longer, just to be sure.

"She's out," I said, breathless.

"Good," Sora replied grimly. "Now we put her somewhere she can't wake up until we're ready."

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For a long, heavy moment, no one said anything. The only sound was Rin's faint, uneven breathing against my chest, her tail flicking once in a slow, unconscious twitch. She looked deceptively peaceful now — but we'd all seen the wild light in her eyes just minutes earlier, the way she'd lunged, all teeth and instinct.

Sora's gaze swept over her again. "We don't know if this… form is stable." Her tone was steady, but I caught the way her fingers flexed, like she was ready to strike if Rin suddenly woke up snapping.

"She doesn't seem dangerous now," I said quietly. "She's calm—"

"That can change in a heartbeat," Ayame interrupted, her eyes narrowing. "You didn't see yourself just now, Ren. You were holding her like you were afraid to let go… but you were also ready to pin her if she moved."

I didn't answer. She wasn't wrong.

Mei shifted uneasily, glancing at Rin's ears — those unfamiliar, fox-like ears that twitched faintly even in sleep. "If she wakes up like before and lashes out… what if she hurts herself? Or one of us?"

Elira finally stepped forward, her golden hair glinting in the low light. "There's one way to make sure that doesn't happen — we contain her until we understand what happened. A magical isolation."

"You mean… a cage," Mei said.

"Not chains and bars," Elira corrected. "A bounded space. She won't be able to leave, and no one will be able to get in without breaking the seal. It's safer for everyone — her included."

Sora's eyes met mine. "Ren, we'll need you to put her down."

I hesitated. "She's still unconscious. Can't we—"

"Ren," Sora said again, more firmly this time, "put her down."

I swallowed hard and lowered Rin to the floor, gently as I could, brushing a lock of hair from her cheek. Her tail curled loosely beside her, almost like a cat's.

Ayame crouched near her head, studying her expression. "She's still breathing normally. That makes this easier." She straightened and looked at the others. "Let's do it."

The five of them took positions in a loose circle around Rin's body. Elira lifted her hands first, her voice low as she began speaking in that flowing, arcane cadence that made the air itself seem to vibrate. Thin lines of silver light began tracing the floor beneath Rin, forming runes that pulsed with quiet power.

Mei followed, her magic softer, almost like a hum. Pinkish light joined the silver, weaving in looping, petal-like shapes between the runes. "This will keep her calm while the seal holds," Mei murmured. "Less chance she wakes up panicked."

Sora extended her palm toward the circle, a faint blue glow seeping from her fingertips. Where it touched the silver and pink, the light hardened, like frost locking over glass. "This is the barrier layer. Even if she resists, she won't be able to shatter it instantly."

Ayame knelt, pressing both palms flat to the floor. Her magic surged in a deep, amber light, seeping into the cracks between the runes. "Structural anchor," she explained. "Without it, the whole thing would collapse under strain."

Finally, Elira's voice grew sharper, the language shifting into something older, heavier. "Ren," she said without looking at me, "you should step back now."

I stepped away just as the air inside the circle thickened, shimmering faintly like heat haze. Rin's body twitched once, her ears flicking — then her movements slowed, her breathing deepening. Mei's calming magic was taking hold.

The runes flared one last time before settling into a steady, faint glow. The entire space felt… sealed.

Mei exhaled slowly. "She's asleep again. That should last until morning."

"Morning isn't enough," Ayame said. "We need to figure out what caused this before she wakes up, or we'll be doing this all over again."

"And next time," Sora added quietly, "she might not go down so easily."

I looked at Rin's sleeping face behind the shimmering barrier. She looked so small in there — small, and nothing like the snarling, fox-eyed girl from earlier.

"Hang in there, Rin," I muttered under my breath. "We'll fix this."

But the words felt empty. Because none of us, not even Elira with all her old magic, knew exactly how.

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