Perfect — here's Chapter 7 of Beneath the Same Roof:
A dual POV chapter where the emotional slow burn deepens, secrets begin to unravel, and Ava and Julian both realize — this isn't just attraction anymore.
Chapter 7 – Underneath the Noise
Dual POV – Julian & Ava
Julian
I didn't sleep.
Not because of the guilt — I was used to guilt.
But because of her face when I walked away.
I'd hovered so close I could taste her breath. I'd wanted to ruin both of us. And I almost had.
So I did what I always did.
I put on headphones, blasted instrumental vinyl so loud the walls pulsed, and ran.
Down the stairs. Through the hall. Into the gym. Onto the treadmill.
Pushing every step like I could outrun the ghost of her skin under my fingertips.
But I couldn't.
Because she was everywhere.
In the citrus of her shampoo. In the sweater she left on the banister.
In the way I still smelled her when I lifted weights, like some part of her had gotten under my skin.
Maybe it had.
---
Ava
He didn't come to breakfast.
Which was fine. It was stupid to think he might.
But when I saw the way Mrs. Delacroix eyed me—like I was out of place at this glass-and-gold table—I wished he had.
Because Julian might've been cold, but when he looked at me, I didn't feel invisible. I felt like danger.
And honestly, danger was easier than silence.
I spent the afternoon hiding in the attic, in the one place no one cared about. Paint-streaked floors. Windows that squeaked in the wind. The smell of dust and turpentine and air that hadn't been filtered by machines.
I set up a blank canvas. But I didn't start painting.
Instead, I traced him.
His jawline.
His hand — the one that almost touched my cheek.
His mouth, drawn slightly parted, like he'd just whispered something he shouldn't have.
And then I added me.
Eyes closed. Inches away. Frozen.
Together — but not.
God. What was happening to me?
---
Julian
At 3 a.m., I found her drawing in the attic.
She didn't hear me at first.
Then she turned.
Eyes wide. Paint on her cheek. Sweater falling off her shoulder like it wanted to be touched.
"Couldn't sleep?" she asked softly.
I shook my head. "You either."
Silence stretched. Tight. Breathless.
"What are you drawing?" I asked.
She looked down, then angled the canvas.
It was us.
Us in that moment I'd nearly kissed her.
I swallowed hard.
"It's... honest," I said.
"It's what I remember," she whispered.
I stepped closer. She didn't back away.
"I lied," I admitted. "When I said not yet."
She blinked. "What?"
"I meant 'not now' because if I kissed you, I wouldn't be able to stop."
Ava didn't speak.
She just stared at me like she already knew that — and wanted it anyway.
End of Chapter Hook:
He walks away again, but this time?
He looks back.