The next day came far too quickly, sunlight streaming through the blinds, slicing through the cosy darkness that had wrapped around the room like a warm hug. Our dorm wasn't much, just two twin beds, a small desk each. Mine was cluttered with notebooks and makeup, and walls plastered with a few posters that reflected our vastly different tastes. Mine was a chaotic mix of band posters and moody art with some polaroids of us all, while Cat's side was an explosion of colour With rainbows, glitter, and unicorn stickers covering every inch. Hanging fairy lights and more shades of pink than I'd care to list. Yet, despite the visual clash, the room felt strangely comforting, like a sanctuary hidden away.

I groaned, shifting beneath the weight of my blankets, reluctant to leave the soft cocoon I had created overnight. The mattress beneath me wasn't exactly luxurious, but after tossing and turning all night, it felt like sinking into a cloud right now. I threw an arm over my face, trying to block out the inevitable, but morning was here, and it wasn't going away.

Across the room, Cat was caught in her own sleepy battle. Her signature pink comforter, soft and fluffy like cotton candy, was tangled around her legs as she murmured something incoherent about "sparkles" and "unicorns." Typical. Even in her dreams, she couldn't escape her whimsical world. I couldn't help but smirk, though I was too groggy to fully enjoy the sight.

For a few more precious seconds, I tried to cling to sleep, sinking deeper into the plush warmth of my bed, but the relentless brightness was impossible to ignore. Reality, unfortunately, was calling.

I rolled over to grab my phone, which was buzzing at me, blinking at the light. A few texts lit up the screen.

Sam: "Hope you got some sleep. Talk soon?

My stomach twisted with guilt, a familiar knot that had been tightening since last night. I sighed, staring at my phone screen, the unread text from Sam glaring back at me like a reminder of everything unresolved. I hadn't texted her back since that whole thing with Jade, and now, I had no idea what to say. What could I say? Everything between Jade and me was complicated. Way more than I had ever expected and Sam deserved honesty, deserved clarity. The kind of clarity I wasn't sure I could give them, not with everything so tangled in my head.

I scrolled up to reread Sam's last message, my thumb hovering over the keyboard, but the words wouldn't come. My chest felt tight.

Walking her home, the heavy silence between us, the things we didn't say. And then that look she gave me, like she was waiting for me to figure something out. But I didn't know what that something was. The tension in the air had been suffocating, and the conversation, whatever it was supposed to be, still hung over me like an unfinished storm.

Just as I was sinking deeper into my thoughts, spiralling into that familiar pit of indecision, Cat's voice snapped me back to the present.

"Morning, Tori!" she chirped, her voice full of unearned energy, like she'd just woken up in a Disney movie. She sat up in bed, stretching her arms out wide with a big, dramatic yawn. I was expecting birds to swarm her any second now. Her red hair was a frizzy mess, like it always was first thing in the morning, but somehow she still managed to look like she was ready to go bounce on rainbows or something. I didn't know how she did it.

"Morning, Cat," I muttered, not nearly as enthusiastic. I threw off my blankets, my body protesting as I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. The bed had been so comfortable, too comfortable, like it had been trying to keep me there, but my mind was already running miles ahead.

Jade's words, her silence, the way she had stood so close- too close- when we stopped in the hallway. It all came rushing back, swirling around in my head like a storm I couldn't escape. I could still feel the weight of her gaze, the unfinished conversation clinging to me, making it impossible to think straight.

"What's wrong?" Cat asked, her bright blue eyes full of concern as she tilted her head, watching me closely. She always had this way of knowing when something was off with me, even when I tried to hide it.

"Nothing," I lied, forcing a smile. "Just tired."

Cat didn't seem convinced, but she didn't push it, and for that, I was grateful. The last thing I wanted to do was explain why I was so wound up. Especially when I didn't fully understand it myself.

Cat's eyes lit up like a lightbulb, a sudden burst of energy coursing through her as if she'd just remembered the most exciting thing in the world. "Oh! I almost forgot! The guys want us to go to karaoke tonight! It was soooo fun last night, and we totally need to go again!" Her voice was bright and filled with enthusiasm, her entire body practically vibrating with excitement as she sat up straighter in bed, her hands flapping excitedly.

I, on the other hand, felt the complete opposite. My stomach twisted with dread at the thought of going out tonight, pretending everything was normal, and belting out cheesy pop songs while Jade was still weighing so heavily on my mind. I sighed, cutting her off before she could dive too far into her plans for the night.

"Caaaaat..." I whined, my voice higher than usual, barely able to muster the energy to sound enthusiastic. "I don't think I'm in the mood for karaoke." The truth was, I wasn't even sure I was in the mood to face the day at all, let alone a night out with everyone acting like everything was fine.

Cat tilted her head, her wide, curious eyes searching my face, her enthusiasm dimming just a little. "Are you okay, Tori? You look... sad." Her voice was softer now, full of concern, a tone she didn't use very often but one that always caught me off guard when she did.

I sighed again, running a hand through my tangled hair. "It's just... a lot. Last night was kind of crazy." The understatement of the century, really. My thoughts were still a mess, swirling around Jade and Sam, and how everything seemed to be spinning out of my control.

For a moment, Cat's expression turned serious, which was rare for her. It was like watching a switch flip, her bubbly energy replaced with something much more grounded. "Ooooh," she said, her voice dropping conspiratorially, "did something happen with Jade?"

That was the thing about Cat. Sure, she was oblivious sometimes, with her head in the clouds, but when she caught on to something, she was way sharper than most people gave her credit for. She had this almost supernatural ability to read between the lines when it really mattered.

I hesitated, my mind racing for the right words. "Yeah... kinda," I admitted, feeling the force of everything pressing down on me again. The tension with Jade, the confusion about what I was feeling. It was all so tangled, and talking about it made it feel even messier.

Her eyes went wide with excitement, lighting up like I'd just dropped the juiciest gossip of the year. "Oooh, tell me everything! Did you guys have a fight? Did you kiss? Did you break up? Wait- were you ever even together?" She gasped dramatically, her hands flying up to her cheeks as if she'd just uncovered the biggest secret of my life. "Are you in a secret relationship?!"

Despite the heavy knot in my stomach, I couldn't help but laugh softly. Only Cat could turn my emotional crisis into something that would make me smile on a morning like this. "No, it's not like that," I said, though even I wasn't entirely sure what 'like that' even meant anymore. "It's confusing."

Cat scooted to the edge of her bed, her feet swinging in the air like a kid impatiently waiting for a story to start. "Confusing how?" she pressed, her voice dripping with curiosity. "Like, you want to be with her, but she's all 'grr, I'm Jade and I hate everything,' but you know deep down she really cares, and now you don't know what to do because Sam is super sweet and nice and totally into you, but you're still thinking about Jade all the time?"

I blinked, momentarily stunned. "How did you—?"

"I watch a lot of dramas," she said matter-of-factly, her tone completely serious as if her ability to sum up my love life in one sentence was simply the result of binge-watching too many soap operas. "I also know Sam. We take Poetry boy do they talk about you, Tori."

I couldn't help but chuckle again, though it was a shaky kind of laugh, the kind that comes when you're on the edge of feeling overwhelmed. Cat's version of my situation was spot-on, and that made it both amusing and painfully real at the same time. How had everything gotten to this? I could barely make sense of it myself, and yet here was Cat, summing it up in the most Cat-like way possible.

"Yeah," I said finally, my voice quiet as I glanced down at my hands. "It's exactly like that." Completely ignoring the 'talking about me' part. BEcause I'll tuck that away for later when my brain isn't like two live wires teasing each other.

Cat bounced excitedly in place, her eyes sparkling with unfiltered enthusiasm, completely caught up in the moment. "Well, whatever happens, I think you should follow your heart, Tori!" she declared, her voice brimming with certainty. "Even if it's scary and confusing and people are all 'grr.' You deserve to be happy." She mimicked Jade's signature scowl, scrunching her face into a comically exaggerated frown, which only made me chuckle despite myself. Her optimism, as always, was contagious in the best way, even when my heart was a confused mess.

I bit my lip, glancing down at my phone again, Sam's message still staring back at me like an unsolvable riddle. That smiley face, so innocent and simple, felt heavier than it should. Sam had no idea what was going on in my head, no clue about the emotional whirlwind Jade had stirred up. For the most part. And I wasn't sure how to explain it to her beyond what she already knew. Cat had a point, though, in her own bizarre, endearing way. I did deserve to be happy. I just wasn't sure what that happiness looked like right now. It was like trying to piece together a puzzle when you weren't even sure what the final picture was supposed to be, or if you had all the correct pieces.

"Thanks, red," I said, smiling softly at her. She was a ray of sunshine in my otherwise cloudy morning, and I was grateful for that.

Cat beamed back at me, her entire face lighting up with the kind of pure joy only she could radiate. "You're welcome! Now, should I tell the guys you're coming to karaoke tonight?" Her voice rose with excitement, and she bounced on her toes, clearly already planning the night in her head.

Normally, I would have been all over it. Karaoke with the gang was usually the highlight of my old highschool week, a chance to let loose and just have fun. But today? Today was different. After everything that happened last night with Jade, the thought of seeing Beck felt... uncomfortable. Uneasy.

I shook my head gently, feeling a pang of guilt for disappointing her. "I think I'll sit this one out, Cat. I've got... a lot of work to do." I slid my laptop from my bed to dramatise my point and flipped it open.

For a split second, Cat's face fell, her bright expression dimming as she processed my words. But, being the eternal optimist she was, she bounced right back, her smile reappearing in full force. "Okay! Well, if you change your mind, let me know! I'm gonna wear my pinkest outfit!" She clapped her hands together, excitement bubbling up again as she hopped out of bed, making a beeline for her closet.

I watched her rummage through her wardrobe, pulling out what looked like a pink sequined jacket that shimmered even in the dim dorm lighting. I couldn't help but smile at the sight of her. Cat's energy was like sunshine peeking through the clouds, and even if I couldn't match her enthusiasm, I was grateful to have her around. She was truly one of my dearest friends.

As she hummed to herself, holding the jacket up to her chest and spinning in front of the mirror, I slipped out of bed and went to my own closet. Sliding on some grey sweatpants and a loose top.

Maybe a walk could help clear my head. It's early, so it should be relatively empty around here. I grabbed my keys and my bag, deciding that I needed the fresh air. It was calling to me. The walls of the dorm suddenly felt too small, like they were closing in on me, and I needed space to think about what the hell I was supposed to do next.

I was halfway to the door when my phone buzzed again, the vibration sending a jolt through my already tense nerves. I hesitated, glancing down at the screen, expecting another message from Sam, but my heart skipped a beat when I saw the name lighting up my phone.

It wasn't Sam.

It was Jade.

My breath caught in my throat, and for a moment, I just stared at the screen, my fingers frozen. What did she want? Was this about last night? My mind raced with possibilities, none of them good even last night didn't end gloriously bad. I debated whether or not to open the message.

Cat, oblivious to my internal struggle, was still humming happily, holding up a matching pair of sequined leggings. "Look, Tori! Aren't these fabulous?" she called out, twirling around again, but her voice was distant, like it was coming from underwater.

I couldn't focus. Jade's name glowing on my screen consumed my thoughts, the unanswered message pulling me deeper into the confusion I'd been desperately trying to avoid. My hand hovered over the phone for a moment before I finally unlocked it, heart pounding.

Jade: You drink coffee, right?

Her message was short, casual, way too freaking casual, considering. I scrolled up, not sure what to respond, feeling more lost than ever. Needing a distraction, I opened Sam's message, hoping for some distraction.

Sam: Hey, hope you're doing okay. Was thinking about last night. No pressure, but maybe we could grab coffee later?

It felt like trying to have a conversation with one brain cell.

I stared at Sam's message for a moment, my thumb tapping absentmindedly against the screen. Coffee with her… it sounded so simple, casual even. But after everything else it didn't feel simple at all. Nothing did. I sighed, slipping my phone into my back pocket, trying to push thoughts of both of them to the back of my mind, at least for now. I'd like one day. A sweet relaxing day where I didn't have to see or talk to anyone or anything. Where I could be on my own and vibe.

"You sure you don't want to come to karaoke?" Cat's voice chimed in again from across the room. She was twirling in front of the mirror now, admiring herself in the sparkly jacket she'd found earlier. "You might feel better if you hang out with everyone. Plus, you always rock at karaoke!"

I smiled softly at her, appreciating her endless optimism. "Thanks, Cat. I'll think about it."

"Yay!" she clapped her hands together excitedly. "But if you don't come, I'm totally singing a duet with Robbie. He owes me after I covered for him in class that one time."

I couldn't help but laugh, despite the heaviness lingering inside me. Cat always had a way of lightening the mood, making everything seem a little brighter, even when I felt like I was drowning in my own thoughts. She had this unique way of seeing the world, a way that made everything seem less complicated, even when it really wasn't.

I glanced out the window, watching as sunlight poured over the campus. It was a perfect, sunny day, and the world outside felt like it was moving forward even when I was stuck. Maybe getting out of the dorm would help clear my head, make things a little less tangled.

"I'm gonna go for a walk," I said, reaching for the door handle. The very one I'd been staring at for the past five minutes. Thankful Cat hadn't noticed.

I stepped out of my dorm room, still rubbing the last traces of sleep from my eyes, and froze in my tracks. There she was. Jade West, leaning casually against the wall right next to my door, two cups of coffee in her hands as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

Well my quiet day went right out of the nearest window.

Her dark hair fell in loose waves around her face, the morning sunlight catching the streaks of purple that framed her sharp, familiar features. She looked... surprisingly relaxed. Well, as relaxed as Jade could ever look. There was always that simmering edge to her, the sense that at any moment she could switch back to her usual biting sarcasm or cold glares. But right now? She seemed almost approachable- something I wasn't used totally used to feeling around her.

Dressed in her usual leather jacket, which hung open over a black T-shirt, and her scuffed combat boots, she looked like she'd just rolled out of bed, yet somehow still put together in that effortless Jade way. Seeing her there, coffee in hand, was such a contrast to the simmering energy of last night. It caught me completely off guard.

She noticed me immediately, her eyes flicking up from her phone and locking onto mine with that intense gaze of hers. For a moment, neither of us said anything. The silence felt thick, like we were both waiting for the other to break it.

"Morning, Vega," she finally said, her voice low and unusually calm. Too calm. She raised one of the cups toward me, a silent offering.

I blinked, still trying to process what was happening. "Uh, morning," I mumbled, taking the coffee from her without thinking, the warmth of the cup settling in my hand.

Jade West. Standing outside my dorm. With coffee. For me. What alternate universe had I just stepped into?

I took a tentative sip, hoping it would calm the weird fluttering in my chest. The coffee was good - really good - but it did nothing to settle my nerves. "So, what's with the morning delivery service?" I asked, attempting to sound casual, though my voice betrayed me with a slight tremor.

Jade shrugged, leaning her shoulder against the wall as she took a slow sip from her cup. "Figured we should talk."

Typical Jade, blunt, straight to the point, no fluff. I had to admire her for that, even though it made me feel ten times more on edge. I raised an eyebrow. "About?"

Even though I already knew the answer, part of me hoped I was wrong. But when Jade glanced away, her gaze drifting down the empty hallway, I knew she was about to bring it up.

"Last night," she said quietly, her voice lacking its usual sharpness.

I swallowed, feeling my chest tighten. Right. Last night. It had been a whirlwind. Beck breaking up with her. Me running after her. That strange, vulnerable moment between us, where Jade didn't seem like the untouchable, tough girl I knew her as. For the first time, I'd seen a crack in her armour, and it was messing with my head.

It was giving me the faintest glimmer of hope, that the Jade I had known in high school was still there. Still buried beneath all that ice, but breathing.

I nodded slowly, leaning back against my closed room door, gripping my cup like it was some kind of anchor. "Yeah, that was... a lot."

Jade scoffed softly, her lips twisting into a familiar bitter smirk. "That's one way to put it."

For a second, neither of us said anything. The silence between us stretched, not uncomfortable exactly, but heavy with unspoken things. I took another sip of coffee, trying to gather my thoughts, wondering if I should press her more about what she was thinking or if I should keep my mouth shut and let her lead.

Jade pushed herself off the wall with a sudden, easy grace and started walking down the hallway, her boots clunking softly. She didn't say a word, just started moving like she knew I would follow.

Without hesitation, I pushed off the door and fell into step beside her.

The air outside our dorm felt crisp as we stepped out, a light breeze playing with my hair. The campus was just beginning to wake up, the early morning quiet still hanging in the air. It felt oddly peaceful. Too peaceful, considering the knot of tension sitting between us.

We walked side by side for a minute, the steady rhythm of our footsteps the only sound between us. I didn't know where we were going, and Jade didn't seem like she was in a hurry to say anything else, so I finally broke the silence.

"So... what did you want to talk about?" I asked, keeping my voice as neutral as possible, though my heart was racing.

Jade's expression was hard to read, her jaw clenched slightly, but there was no immediate snark, no cutting remark. Instead, she glanced at me from the corner of her eye, her voice low. "About Beck. And you. And whatever the hell that was last night."

There it was. The thing we were dancing around finally laid out in front of us, and I had no idea how to respond. My stomach twisted uncomfortably as I thought back to the look on her face after Beck had walked away.

"I don't really know what that was," I admitted, my voice coming out quieter than I intended. "You seemed... upset. And I—" I hesitated, unsure of how to explain why I ran after her, why I couldn't stand the idea of leaving her alone. "I just didn't want you to be alone."

Jade stopped walking abruptly, forcing me to stop too. She turned to face me, her eyes narrowing, but there was something in her gaze that wasn't anger. She studied me for a second, like she was trying to decide whether to let me in or shut me out entirely.

"You didn't have to do that," she said finally, her voice softer than I expected. "I can handle myself, Vega."

"I know," I said quickly, holding her gaze. "But... I wanted to."

Jade looked away, the muscles in her jaw working like she was fighting with herself. For a long moment, she said nothing, her eyes fixed on some distant point across the campus. When she finally spoke again, her voice was barely above a whisper.

"I didn't ask you to."

The words stung more than I expected them to. But there was something about the way she said it. Not angry, not biting, just... guarded. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate it. It was that she didn't know how to.

We stood there in silence again, and I could feel the weight of everything hanging between us, pressing down. Jade wasn't used to people seeing her vulnerable, and I wasn't sure if she hated me for it or if she was just as confused as I was.

"Jade..." I started, unsure of what I was even going to say, but her phone buzzed before I could get another word out.

She glanced at the screen, her face immediately hardening again, and without saying another word, she turned and kept walking.

And just like that, the moment was gone.

There was an awkward silence between us, the kind where it felt like there was so much to say but neither of us knew where to start. Jade walked a little ahead of me, and as I caught up, I glanced at her and really looked at her. For once, she wasn't putting up her usual defences. She looked… tired. Maybe even a little lost, her eyes heavy as she slid her phone back into her pocket. The sight made my chest tighten.

"Are you okay?" I asked, my voice soft, more tentative than I expected.

She didn't answer right away, taking a long sip of her coffee like she was buying time. When she finally spoke, her voice was almost reflective. "Yeah, I'm fine. It was… whatever. I mean, Beck's Beck, right? He'll get over it."

But I could tell there was more to it. It wasn't just about Beck. The way her eyes darted toward me and then quickly away, the tension in her shoulders, it was like she was wrestling with something bigger, something she wasn't ready to say. I didn't push her though. Jade wasn't the type to open up easily, and pressing her only made her shut down faster.

We walked in silence for a few more steps before Jade broke it, her voice cutting through the quiet like a knife. "And what about Sam?"

Her question hit me out of nowhere, and I stopped in my tracks, staring at her. "What?" I asked, not sure if I'd heard her right.

Jade rolled her eyes, her expression hardening, though there was something else there. "I saw you two last night, right before everything went down with Beck. What's the deal with you two? Are you together or something?"

My heart skipped a beat, and I felt my face heat up. I shifted awkwardly, looking down at my feet, suddenly feeling very small under Jade's sharp gaze. "I… I don't know," I admitted, the words tumbling out before I could stop them. "We went out last night. We had a good time. Sam's… fun. We kissed."

Jade's jaw clenched slightly, her stare growing more intense, as if she was waiting for me to say something more. "And?"

The way she asked, with that sharpness, like she needed to know but didn't want to care, made my stomach twist. There was something beneath her question, something unspoken hanging in the air between us, but I didn't know how to handle it. Not yet.

"And… I don't know," I repeated, feeling the weight of everything settle heavier on my shoulders. Pressing me into earth harder than gravity was pulling me. "I'm just… I'm still figuring things out."

"Figuring things out," Jade echoed, her tone flat, but there was an edge of frustration underneath it, like she was holding back more than she was willing to say. "You mean, like, between us?"

Her words hit me harder than I expected, like they'd been waiting in the air this whole time, unspoken. For a moment, I didn't know what to say. Because that was exactly what I was trying to figure out, what had been gnawing at me, even when I tried to shove it down. Everything between me and Jade had always been tangled, confusing. No matter how much I tried to focus on something else- on someone else, like Sam - it always came back to Jade. It was always her.

"I guess," I admitted softly, my voice barely above a whisper. "I don't know what this is between us, Jade. I don't know what I'm supposed to do with it."

There was a flicker in Jade's eyes, a split second where I thought maybe, just maybe, she'd let down her guard and actually tell me how she felt. But then she smirked, her old defences sliding back into place, though without much bite.

"You're such a mess, Vega," she said, but her voice was missing its usual harshness. If anything, there was almost something... affectionate in the way she said it, like she didn't really mean it this time.

I let out a soft, tired laugh, smiling weakly. "Maybe."

For a second, we just stood there, the tension hanging in the air but feeling a little lighter now, a little less heavy between us. Neither of us had the answers, but somehow, being in the confusion together felt less overwhelming.

I sighed.

"But I'm... I'm not sure what I'm doing, Jade. I thought maybe I could move on, you know? After, well, you know, high school. But last night, when we kissed, I couldn't stop thinking about-"

"Me?" Jade interrupted, her voice sharper than before, cutting through the air between us. She locked her gaze onto mine, her eyes searching.

I swallowed hard, feeling the heat rise to my cheeks. I wasn't sure how to respond, but deep down, I knew she was right. I had thought about her.

"Yeah," I admitted, the weight of the word hanging heavily between us.

Jade exhaled sharply, her jaw tightening for a moment as she processed what I'd just said. "You don't have to explain it to me, Vega. I get it."

"It's not that I don't care about Sam," I murmured quickly, desperation creeping into my voice. "It's just... I don't know what this is between you and me."

Jade stared at me, her expression hard to read. For once, she didn't snap back with her usual sarcasm, which threw me off more than anything. Instead, she just stood there, looking at me as if she was trying to decipher my words or perhaps what I wasn't saying.

"Me either."

Her eyes locked onto mine, holding my gaze with an intensity that made my heart skip. For a long moment, neither of us spoke; the silence was thick, charged with unacknowledged feelings that seemed to pulse between us. Then, in a voice softer than I'd ever heard from her, Jade added, "But I wouldn't be here if I didn't care."

Her words hung in the air, anchoring me in place. For the first time, I felt like Jade was being completely honest, letting down her guard just enough to reveal the vulnerability that lay beneath her tough exterior. That realisation hit me harder than I expected, sending a rush of emotions coursing through me. I opened my mouth to respond, to find the right words that would express everything swirling inside me, but they caught in my throat. Instead, we just stood there, enveloped in the quiet, the unspoken feelings hanging between us like a thick fog, heavy and suffocating.

"Let's walk," she said suddenly, breaking the tension like a sudden gust of wind sweeping through a still room.

I blinked, caught off guard by the suggestion, but I nodded, my heart racing. "Yeah... okay."

The coffee in my hand warmed me, its rich aroma mixing with the crisp morning air.

As we strolled side by side, the world around us began to wake up. Students shuffled by, some still in pyjamas, others already buzzing with energy. Yet, within our bubble, it felt like time had slowed down. I could feel the weight of Jade's presence beside me, the way she walked with a confidence that both reassured and unnerved me.

"Do you think we'll ever figure this out?" I finally asked, breaking the silence, my voice barely above a whisper.

Jade paused, glancing at me with a mixture of surprise and contemplation. "Figure what out?" she asked, her brow furrowing slightly.

"This... us," I replied, gesturing vaguely between us. "The whole situation. It feels like we're always dancing around it, but never really addressing it."

Her expression softened, and for a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of understanding in her eyes. "Maybe we're just scared," she admitted quietly. "Scared of what it means, scared of getting hurt."

Her honesty took me aback. Jade West, admitting fear? It was a side of her I'd rarely seen, and it made my heart ache for her. "I get that," I said softly, meeting her gaze. "I'm scared too. But I don't want to keep pretending like nothing's happening between us."

She nodded slowly, a silent agreement passing between us. In that moment, I realised we were on the verge of something important- something that could either bring us closer or tear us apart. And despite the uncertainty, I felt a flicker of hope igniting in the pit of my stomach. Bubbling beneath the surface.

After a few minutes of walking in silence, we approached a small, weathered bench nestled beneath a sprawling oak tree. The tree's branches swayed gently in the breeze, casting flickering shadows on the ground. I glanced at Jade, who seemed to hesitate for a moment before nodding toward the bench.

"Want to sit?" she asked, her voice calm yet inviting.

"Yeah, sure," I replied, relieved to have a moment to gather my thoughts. We settled onto the bench, the wood creaking slightly beneath our weight. I took a sip of my coffee, letting the warmth spread through me as I felt the tension in my shoulders start to ease just a bit.

As we sat there, the sounds of the campus slowly came to life around us. The distant chatter of students, the laughter echoing from a nearby group, and the rustle of leaves filled the air. Yet, in this little pocket of the world, it felt like we were the only two people that existed.

Jade leaned back against the bench, her posture relaxed, but I could see the flicker of emotions behind her guarded facade. I turned to her, my heart pounding as I broke the silence that hung between us.

Jade glanced at me out of the corner of her eye, the faintest hint of a smirk playing on her lips. "So, are we going to talk about last night, or are we just going to pretend it didn't happen?"

I laughed. "What part of last night? The part where you almost smiled or the part where Beck broke up with you?"

She shot me a sideways glare, but there was no real venom behind it. "Neither. I'm talking about you chasing after me like a lost puppy." She took a sip from her coffee, her smirk widening. "It was pathetic, Vega."

I rolled my eyes but couldn't help laughing. "You didn't seem to mind."

Jade's expression softened a bit as she continued. "No, I didn't."

A little later than usual guys, but enjoyable still" So much Jori softness in this chapter :) I adore them.

To my usual reviewers, you guys are amazing, and i love all the love you're giving me. It makes me happy seeing people enjoying what I write :)

Until next time.

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