Sunday Night – Back Home in Midtown
The lights were low.
My room was quiet.
Outside the window, city sounds buzzed softly—faint horns, distant trains, the hum of ordinary life.
I sat on the edge of my bed, still wearing the hoodie I hadn't unpacked from the trip. My duffel bag was half-empty. My heart felt half-full.
Midterms were coming.
And after that… I didn't know.
I pulled out my phone and re-read the message from last week:
"Come to the family estate when your midterms are over."
Short. Cold. Final.
No signature. No warmth.
But I knew who it was from. And what it meant.
Jay's Inner Thoughts – The Storm Before the Silence
I don't know if I'll be back here after that.
Not to this apartment.
Not to this school.
Not to this version of life.
Maybe they'll want me to finally "return" for good. Step into the legacy. The seat. The throne.
And maybe… I won't have the strength to say no.
So, what does that leave me?
One week.
One perfect, stupid, chaotic, beautiful week of pretending everything's normal.
One week of friends.
One week of soccer practice, lunchtime teasing, hallway chaos, quiet rooftop talks.
One week of seeing Amaya's soft smiles and Emma's sharp glares, of Sofia's shameless flirting and Luna's silent sketches.
Of Tyler and Iris being awkward in the best way.
Of maybe, just maybe, figuring out what I want.
Not for the future.
But for now.
The Decision
I won't tell anyone.
Not yet.
Amaya and Tyler know I come from "money," sure—but they don't know what that really means.
They don't know that every exam I ace, every smile I give, every "normal" day I live here…
Is me stealing time from a life I was never meant to escape.
So, I'll enjoy this week.
Live it like it's the last one I get.
Because maybe it is.
Meanwhile – Across the City...
Tyler's Apartment – 8:47 PM
He flopped onto his bed in damp hair and gym shorts, staring at the ceiling fan spinning above him.
"I like her," he muttered to no one.
Then louder, into his pillow: "I LIKE HER."
His younger brother knocked on the wall. "Shut up!"
Tyler grinned.
Somewhere in his bag, the flower Iris had given him was still tucked into his hoodie pocket.
He'd keep it there.
For a while.
Amaya's Room – 9:05 PM
She placed the charm she'd bought at the shrine on her bedside table, just beside her old photo of her and Jay at age nine—muddy shoes, sunburnt cheeks, smiling like idiots.
She glanced at her reflection.
Pulled her blanket up to her chin.
"I need to say something," she whispered.
Then closed her eyes.
And didn't sleep.
Emma's Apartment – 9:22 PM
She sat at her desk, sorting the collected receipts from the trip—clearly labelled in envelopes.
A checklist of follow-up tasks was already being typed.
She didn't need to be so efficient tonight.
But she had to be doing something.
If she stopped…
She might start remembering the way his eyes had lingered on her too long. The soft heat of that balcony talks.
The regret she heard in his silence.
Her fingers paused above the keyboard.
She whispered, just once:
"I'm not losing again."
And resumed typing.
Sofia's Room – 9:48 PM
Her bedroom smelled like vanilla lotion and victory.
She sat cross-legged in bed, scrolling through her photo gallery—trip selfies, blurry dance moves, a perfect shot of Jay almost blushing in the hot spring mist.
She smiled.
Not because she won anything.
But because she got closer.
Closer than the rest?
Maybe.
"Tick tock, Your Highness," she whispered.
"Make your move before I make mine."
She flicked off the light.
Luna's Room – 10:11 PM
Paintbrush in hand.
Music low.
She wasn't drawing Jay this time.
She was painting all of them.
Side by side. Laughing. Messy. Alive.
In the middle, Jay's back was turned slightly.
Not distant. Just undecided.
She dipped her brush in deep blue and whispered, "Don't wait too long."
Noah's Apartment – 10:40 PM
Noah lay on the floor with a cold soda pressed to his forehead.
"I need more screen time," he muttered.
His cat meowed from the windowsill.
"Shut up, Shakespeare."
He pulled out his phone and opened a new doc:
"Chapter 1: The Prince Who Didn't Know He Was Falling."
He grinned.
"Now that's a good title."
Iris's Place – 11:00 PM
Drama masks lined the shelves of her room. Posters from plays past and present.
She turned a pen in her fingers, unread messages blinking on her screen.
Tyler hadn't texted yet.
Good.
Let him wonder.
Still… she smiled.
"That boy's gonna write sonnets after finals."
She added another line to her journal:
"If this is act one, I can't wait for act two."
Yuki's Apartment – 11:47 PM
She typed into a terminal window. Code scrolled.
Behind her, the TV quietly streamed a documentary on world economics.
Her phone buzzed once.
She ignored it.
Her eyes glanced at the bottom corner of the screen—an auto-saved photo from the lantern release.
Jay, looking up.
Unaware he was being watched.
She closed the window.
Stared at the blank black screen.
Then whispered,
"Don't break."
Just Before Midnight
I lay back on the bed. My heart wasn't heavy, but it wasn't light either.
I checked the group chat again:
📲 Class 1-A Group Chat – UNMUTED
Sofia: MONDAY IS THEME DAY. WEAR SOMETHING THAT SCREAMS "CONFIDENCE."
Emma: No, it's not.
Noah: I'm wearing a feather boa.
Tyler: does body glitter count
Luna: posts a doodle of Jay in a crown
Amaya: I'm… looking forward to seeing everyone.
Iris: someone better bring drama or I will.
I laughed. Quietly.
Yeah.
Let the final week begin.