Chapter 5
It didn't happen all at once.
Whatever this was between us—it shifted in the smallest, subtlest ways. Like a song slowly fading into a different key without you even noticing at first.
One day, Aiden started waiting for me outside my classroom.
Not just ours. All of them.
He'd lean against the wall, earbuds in, pretending to scroll through his phone. But when I walked out, he always looked up. Always smiled.
Sometimes, he'd say, "Ready?"
And sometimes, he didn't have to say anything at all.
We weren't a secret. But we weren't official either. We existed in that strange middle space where people assumed things about us, but no one ever asked.
Except Mia.
"Are you two a thing or...?"
I blinked. "What do you mean?"
She gave me a look. "You wear his hoodie. You walk each other home. You basically speak your own language during class."
I shrugged, trying to sound casual. "We're just... close."
But my voice cracked on close.
Because honestly? I didn't know what we were. And I didn't know how to ask.
That Friday, he walked me home again. But this time, we stopped in front of my gate and didn't move.
He kicked at the ground with the tip of his shoe. "So... I might not be around as much next week."
My heart dipped. "Why?"
"My dad's making me visit his side of the family. Out of town. Kind of last minute."
I nodded, trying not to look disappointed. "That's cool. Family time."
He paused. Then added, "I'll miss this."
He didn't say you.
Just this.
But somehow, it felt like the same thing.
I stood there long after he walked away, the air colder than before.
And for the first time, I realized something dangerous:
I didn't want to be just almost anymore.