A low hum filled the room, its pulse syncing with Selene's uneven breaths. Not far away, Kieran stayed close in memory, his weight impossible to ignore. That instant between them - his fingers grazing her - still tingled like a warning left behind. It echoed what she'd sworn to keep buried.
There he stood. Same city. Same room. His gaze landed on hers as if years meant nothing… tightness coiled deep in her chest - want, sorrow, something edged with possibility.
Still facing the wall, she let the silence stretch, even while something pulled hard beneath her ribs. Across the room now, at the edge of the counter, she reached for the bottle again, tipping it slow - liquid catching light before meeting glass, her fingers unsteady. A breath did not help. Neither would a second sip, but she poured anyway. That hum under her skin? His voice had started it. The way he looked at her? That stayed longer than it should.
A shadow lingered close behind - Kieran, outlined by the club's pulsing lights. His stare pressed against her skin, sharp despite the space between them. The drink in her grip held her attention, the liquor leaving its usual trail as she swallowed. Still, her mind circled back, pulled toward him like a current.
There he stood - what brought him back after so long? Now of all moments, what pulled him here again? As if no time had passed, the pull between them snapped tight, sudden, just as fierce as before.
A pause came over her, eyes shut, mind searching - then his shape stood next to her, sudden, like mist folding into form.
Selene," he murmured - soft, near silent, meant only for her ears. How his lips shaped that word, slow and hushed, almost sacred, pulled at something deep inside. A quiet breath caught in her chest when he spoke.
Her eyes stayed down. Inside, a tug-of-war - pushing him far versus drawing him near made it impossible. Right then, she had no choice.
"I didn't expect to see you again," she said, her voice brittle, guarded. "Not like this."
Still, here I stand," Kieran said, voice low. A slight shift forward brought him nearer, so near she sensed the heat rising from his skin. Not a flicker of shock crossed her face
Her eyes met his, face calm even if her heartbeat shouted otherwise. A pause came before she spoke again, searching for what fit. It wasn't surprise exactly - more like he'd outlasted every guess she'd made. The silence stretched just long enough to matter
A twist of his lips showed, though nothing about it felt light. You've seen who I am too clearly for that
"I used to," she shot back, narrowing her eyes. "But you left, Kieran. You disappeared without a word. What was I supposed to think?"
A shadow crossed his face. For just an instant, Selene caught a glimpse - was that sorrow? Hurt? - deep within his gaze. Then silence pulled it away.
"I had my reasons," he said, his voice rough with something unsaid. "I never wanted to hurt you, Selene."
A tightness rose in her chest, drawn by how real he sounded - then she pushed it down hard. Softness was something she could not afford. Especially not right now. Too much had already gone wrong.
"Don't do this," she said, her voice low and firm. "Don't make me believe in something that will just break me again. I'm not that girl anymore, Kieran."
Quiet stretched on, heavy, filled with things neither said. After a while, his fingers moved, almost touching her skin, light as a breath.
"You don't have to be that girl," he said quietly. "But I can't walk away. Not again."
A sudden stillness took hold when she tugged back - his fingers held firm, not harsh, yet unyielding. That small pressure did it: breath caught, feet froze, fear crept in where doubt had been.
"Stop it, Kieran," she whispered. Her voice was shaky now, the facade she had built cracking. "You don't understand. I can't do this. I can't let you back in."
For just an instant, his gaze grew gentle - she caught a glimpse of the fragility she'd sensed all along, tucked behind walls he rarely let down.
"I know what I'm asking," he said, his voice low, almost pleading. "But I don't want to leave. Not when I know you're here, fighting battles you shouldn't have to fight alone."
A single drop traced Selene's face, ignored as if it had never come. Their fingers stayed locked, motionless under dim light. His touch moved slow across her hand, gentle in a way that cracked something open. She watched, silent, unable to look away.
"You left me once," she said, her voice breaking. "You don't get to come back now, not when I've built this life, this distance. Not when I've tried so hard to forget you."
"I never forgot you," he whispered. "And I'm not asking you to forget. I'm asking you to remember."
A gasp caught in her throat when their eyes locked. Time dragged, sound thinning out like a radio losing signal - just one force remained, tugging hard beneath the silence.
Quietly, she spoke. Her words almost disappeared, even while everything inside fought to pull him close again. Not now, came the reply, thin and fragile. Yet he stood there, insisting it was about her - about them - not just what either wanted alone
Out loud, his voice cracked like thin ice under weight. A silence fell between them as she shut her eyelids, just briefly, chasing calm through tangled thoughts. Breath by breath, the chaos within twisted tighter, refusing to settle.
Eyes lifting once more, she was already moving toward him, pulled by something stronger than thought. A quiet warmth spread across her skin when his mouth touched her forehead - gentle, brief - and then came the stillness of holding time in place, just before it slipped away.
A sudden sound broke the quiet, sharp like a warning. It came without notice, pulling attention tight. The air changed fast, heavy with what followed next.
"Selene! There you are."
Suddenly awake, Selene felt her heart jump. Turning next her gaze moved that way, breath faltering when she saw Damien planted on the far side of the space, jaw tight, eyes burning like something caged had just caught wind of intruders.
Kieran's fingers squeezed hers, sudden and firm. A cold wave rolled across Selene's skin. That quiet instant between them faded like breath on glass. Yet when Damien stepped closer, something sharp clicked into place - this struggle hadn't truly started until now.