Since the fight, Ellie and Cloud had stopped talking completely.
It was weird, how someone who once felt like a constant in her life could so quickly become a stranger. They used to sit next to each other in class, share inside jokes, text late at night about everything and nothing. But now, it was like none of that had ever happened. They passed each other in the halls like they were invisible. And maybe that was the part that hurt the most—not the fight, not even Cloud's feelings for Astrid, but the silence that came afterward. A silence that stretched and thickened until it felt impossible to break.
And Astrid must've noticed.
One afternoon, after everyone else had already filed out of their last class, Astrid lingered behind and gently blocked Ellie's path with a concerned look on her face.
"Are you okay?" she asked, voice soft, her eyes scanning Ellie's expression.
Ellie's stomach twisted. She hated how her heart still reacted to Astrid—how one glance, one familiar tone, made her want to crumble.
Even though she wanted to tell her the truth, to unload everything that had been eating her alive, Ellie forced a smile. "I'm fine."
Astrid frowned, clearly not buying it. "You and Cloud aren't talking. Did something happen?"
Ellie hesitated. Her throat tightened. She could've told her. Could've said, "Yeah. He told me he likes you and I couldn't handle it because I still do too." But instead, she shook her head, barely holding her voice together. "It's nothing."
Astrid didn't look convinced. She stood there for a moment, watching Ellie closely, as if trying to see past the mask. Then she nodded, quietly. "Okay," she said. "But if you ever want to talk… I'm here."
Ellie forced another smile, even though her chest felt like it was splintering from the inside.
"Thanks," she managed to say, but her voice was almost a whisper.
Astrid gave her a small, lingering look before turning and walking away.
And just like that, Ellie felt like she was breaking all over again.
She had spent so many days pretending. Pretending she didn't care, pretending she was healing, pretending Cloud's words didn't reopen the wound she thought had scarred over. But all it took was one moment with Astrid for everything to come undone.
She still loved her.
And she didn't know how to stop.
Before the weight of that realization could crush her, someone appeared beside her with the kind of energy that felt like sunlight cutting through clouds.
"You okay, kiddo?" Kyla asked, a teasing smirk playing on her lips.
Ellie rolled her eyes. "Don't call me that."
Kyla grinned, clearly enjoying herself. "What? You're cute when you're grumpy."
Ellie folded her arms across her chest and looked away. "What do you want?"
Kyla leaned a little closer, her smile turning a shade bolder. "Nothing. Just a kiss."
Ellie blinked, caught off guard.
"Are you flirting with me again?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.
"No," Kyla said quickly. Then she paused, her voice softening. "I'm just… cheering you up."
For a second, Ellie wasn't sure how to respond. Kyla had always been like this—flirty, playful, loud in the kind of way that got under her skin. But lately, there was something different. A tenderness behind the teasing. A sincerity she hadn't noticed before.
But Kyla didn't push. She just stayed beside her, quiet now.
They stood in silence for a while, the hallway slowly emptying until the echo of footsteps disappeared completely.
Then Kyla broke the quiet.
"You still like her, don't you?"
The words cut through the stillness like glass.
Ellie froze. "What was that question for?"
Kyla didn't look away. "Just admit it. I won't scold you. Promise."
Ellie clenched her jaw. Her first instinct was to deny it, to laugh it off, to pretend she hadn't spent the last few nights replaying Astrid's smile like it was some kind of punishment. But the truth was heavier than denial.
She stayed quiet.
Because if she said it out loud, it would make the pain real again.
Kyla didn't press. She just nodded, like she already knew.
Ellie looked down at her shoes. "Every time someone talks about her and Cloud, it hurts. I know it's stupid. I know she's allowed to move on, and so is he. But it still… hurts."
Kyla gave her a gentle smile. "It's not stupid. You gave her your heart. That doesn't just go away."
Ellie looked up, her eyes soft. "How do I make it stop?"
Kyla's smile faltered for a moment, her voice lower now. "I don't know. But I'm here until it does."
Ellie swallowed hard.
There was something comforting about the way Kyla said that. Like she wasn't afraid of Ellie's mess, like she didn't expect her to be okay overnight.
Ellie appreciated that more than she could say.
A few days later, Ellie found herself walking across the courtyard during lunch, hoping to find somewhere quiet to sit. Her earbuds were in, but she wasn't playing music. She just needed the world to be a little quieter.
And then she saw them.
Astrid and Cloud.
Walking side by side, laughing at something he said.
Ellie's heart stopped.
They weren't just walking. They were holding hands.
It wasn't overt. It wasn't a performance. It was subtle. Gentle. The kind of hand-holding that looked easy, familiar, like it had been happening for a while behind closed doors.
And that was the worst part.
Because it confirmed what Ellie had feared all along.
They were something now.
Her breath caught in her throat. Her hands trembled. She couldn't move, couldn't blink, couldn't think. She stood frozen in place, watching the two people she had loved—one in the past, one as a friend—walk away like she didn't exist.
She turned abruptly, her vision blurring. She didn't know if she was angry or heartbroken. Maybe both. Maybe more.
She just knew she needed to disappear.
She rushed behind the nearest building and leaned against the wall, chest heaving.
Then she heard footsteps.
Not loud. Just familiar.
"Ellie?" Kyla's voice came gently from behind her.
Ellie wiped her eyes quickly, not wanting to be seen like this. "I'm fine," she muttered, voice strained.
"No, you're not," Kyla said.
She stepped in front of Ellie, pausing for a beat before saying anything else. Her eyes searched Ellie's face, and in them, there was no judgment. Just quiet understanding.
"You saw them, didn't you?"
Ellie didn't answer, but her silence said enough.
Kyla exhaled, then reached up and gently tucked a loose strand of Ellie's hair behind her ear.
"You didn't deserve that," she whispered.
Ellie looked away, but Kyla wasn't done.
"I know this isn't the right time," she said. "And I know you're not ready to hear it. But I need to do this."
Before Ellie could ask what she meant, Kyla leaned in and pressed a soft, lingering kiss to her cheek.
It wasn't flirty. It wasn't meant to make a statement. It was warm. Reassuring. A promise, not a question.
Ellie's eyes widened slightly, but she didn't pull away.
Kyla stepped back, her voice barely above a whisper. "I like you, Ellie. I have for a while. And I'm not asking you to feel the same way. I just needed you to know… you're not alone."
Ellie blinked, too stunned to speak.
"I know you're hurting," Kyla added. "And I'm not trying to replace anything. But I'm here. If you want me to be."
Ellie looked at her, something stirring in her chest she didn't have the words for.
A part of her still ached for Astrid. Still mourned what they had, what they could've been. But another part—the part that had started to heal without her realizing—felt something different now. Something softer. Something she wasn't ready to define, but didn't want to push away.
"Thank you," Ellie said quietly. "For seeing me."
Kyla smiled. "Always."
They stood there in silence, the noise of the courtyard fading behind them.
Ellie didn't know what tomorrow would look like.
She didn't know if she was ready for something new.
But in that moment, as Kyla stood beside her with patience in her eyes and kindness in her voice, Ellie let herself feel something she hadn't in a long time.
Hope.
And for the first time in weeks, she didn't feel like she was drowning.
She felt like maybe—just maybe—she was finally learning how to breathe again.