“…Ergo, I must say, you are quite an interesting creature of delight, a lab rat of wonder, that I myself would love to understand.”

Alia sits dumbfounded, gaping at what she heard. She pinches the bridge of her nose. “You know Haru, for someone who is a member of Mensa, that was the most stupidest love letter I’ve ever heard in my entire life.”

“It’s actually stupidest-”

Alia shushes him. “Whatever, Mr. Genius. That’s not the point right now.” She snatches the letter from his hands and crumples it.

He looks down at his empty hands and back up at the crumpled paper. “I think I’m supposed to be mad now.”

Haru grunts and scrunches his face inhumanely. He balls his fists and flares his nose. “Give it back!”

Alia blinks in surprise before bursting into a fit of laughter. “That was a good try Haru. I’m sorry for crumpling your letter.”

She hands it back to him and slumps next to him on the bed. Haru glances at her for a moment, before quickly smoothening out his letter.

“Okay, but for real,” Alia sits up, nudging his arm. “I thought alexithymia meant you couldn’t feel emotions. What makes you think that this one’s real? What makes you think you like Claire?”

Haru furrows his brow. He notices their shoulders brushing. He notices that Alia was only 4 inches away from his face; he didn’t know why those were important, but his mind took note of it. His eyes then trail up, meeting Alia’s. Wrong. 3.5 inches.

“Brown,” he mutters. “Brown eyes.”

Alia smiles encouragingly. “Okay, that’s a start, what else?”

His eyes shift towards her lips. Soft, pink, and beautiful. “Smile. Her smile.”

An awkward silence settles. Haru fixates on her plump lips, intrigued. His fingertips brush against hers, a little zap of electricity running through him. 3 inches. Too close. Alia jumps up quickly and looks away. She coughs heavily, masking the small roses forming on her cheeks.

“Okay, but they’re all physical traits,” she says, still not meeting his direction. “That’s infatuation. Do you like anything about her personality?”

Haru looks down at the letter in his hands. “Every reaction has been a learned response. Things I’ve learned from watching other people, not things I feel.”

He then looks up, eyes begging Alia’s to meet his. “But when I’m with her, it’s as if my heart is reacting as well, not just my mind.”

He reaches for her hand, holding it gingerly. “She makes me feel, Alia.”

Alia turns around in surprise. She grips Haru by the shoulder, eyes wide with excitement. “Oh my god, Haru. Did you just-that’s it.”

She squeals and hugs him tightly. “Oh my god! You did it! That was perfect. Absolutely perfect.”

She quickly grabs a pen and a fresh paper from his desk and shoves it into his chest. “Now, just write that and she’ll love it!”

Haru slumps. Perhaps that wasn’t the right way to tell her.