The days after the accidental kiss passed in a thick, disorienting haze. For Selene, the world had narrowed to a single point of sensation: the ghost of Lyra's lips against hers. It had been a fleeting, unplanned moment, a collision of bodies and circumstance, yet it reverberated through her with the force of a seismic event. It felt like a door had been flung open, revealing a blinding, terrifying light, only to be slammed shut again immediately.
And Lyra... Lyra had become a master of avoidance. She moved through the library like a silent specter, her presence a cold shadow where warmth had once been. She answered questions with monosyllables, her gaze skittering away from Selene's as if the very sight of her was painful. The easy camaraderie, the soft glances, the shared smiles over the circulation desk; all of it was gone, replaced by a chasm of unspoken words.
Eliza's constant presence was salt in the wound. Her flirtations were brighter, her laughter louder, her attempts to pull Selene into her orbit more persistent. She was a welcome distraction, a buoyant life raft in the choppy waters of Lyra's silence, but every moment spent with Eliza felt like a betrayal of the profound, confusing connection Selene felt with Lyra. She was drowning in the wrong ocean.
Another quiet evening settled over the library, the air stale with silence and unsaid things. Selene was mechanically reshelving books in the fiction section, her mind a thousand miles away, when the soft click of the staff door announced Lyra's arrival.
Her heart gave a painful, familiar lurch. Lyra moved down the aisle, a stack of books in her arms, her head bowed. She was a portrait of graceful isolation.
"Hey," Selene said, her voice softer than she intended, a tentative offering in the quiet.
Lyra's step faltered. She glanced up, and for a fractured second, their eyes met. Selene saw it then; not indifference, but a deep, swirling panic before the shutters came down. "Hey," Lyra replied, the word hollow. She made to move past.
"Lyra, wait." The words were out before Selene could stop them, fueled by a week of aching confusion. "Please. Can we just... talk?"
Lyra stopped but didn't turn around, her posture rigid. "There's nothing to talk about, Selene. I have inventory."
"It doesn't feel like nothing!" Selene's voice cracked, the frustration and hurt finally breaking through. She stepped closer, her own hands trembling. "You're acting like I'm a stranger. Like what happened was nothing. But it wasn't nothing to me."
Lyra finally turned, and the raw anguish on her face was a physical blow. "What do you want from me?" she whispered, her voice strained. "I told you I was scared. I told you I didn't know how to do this."
"I want you to stop running!" Selene pleaded, her own eyes burning with unshed tears. "I'm not asking for a declaration, Lyra. I'm just asking you to stop pretending I don't exist. That kiss... it meant something. I feel this... this pull towards you that I can't explain, and I know you feel it too. I see it in your eyes even when you're trying to hide."
The air between them crackled with the admission. Lyra looked utterly exposed, her carefully constructed composure in tatters.
"I can't," she breathed, shaking her head, a single tear tracing a path down her cheek. "You don't understand. It's not that simple."
"Then make me understand!" Selene implored, taking another step, closing the distance between them. "Let me in. Please. I like you, Lyra. So much. And I thought... I thought maybe you felt the same."
The confession hung in the silent library, vast and terrifying.
Lyra stared at her, a storm of conflict raging in her dark eyes. The silence stretched, taut and unbearable. When she finally spoke, her voice was a broken thing, laced with a pain that seemed centuries old.
"I thought you were going to be patient with me."
The words were not angry, but devastatingly sad. They were not a rejection, but a plea. They laid bare her terror and her hope, her desperate need for patience warring with her fear that she would never be worthy of it.
It was the most honest thing she had ever said to Selene.
Before Selene could respond, before she could promise her a lifetime of patience, the library's front door swung open with a jarring creak.
Eliza stood there, backlit by the evening streetlights, her confident grin a stark contrast to the raw vulnerability of the moment. Her eyes swept over them, taking in their close proximity, Lyra's tear-streaked face, Selene's anguished expression.
"Well, well," Eliza drawled, her voice echoing in the tense silence. She sauntered in, her gaze flicking between them with amused curiosity. "What's this? Looks like I'm interrupting something good."
Selene stood frozen, her heart still pounding from the confrontation with Lyra. Her words had been out before she could stop them I'm not asking for a declaration, Lyra. I'm just asking you to stop pretending I don't exist. But Lyra had pushed her away, and now, Eliza had entered at the most inopportune moment, her presence a stark contrast to the raw emotion that had just been laid bare.
Lyra stood stiffly beside the desk, her gaze flicking briefly to Selene before she turned away, her posture tight and guarded. It was as if Selene's confession had hit her harder than Selene could have imagined, and the distance between them had widened once more.
Eliza gave a quick glance between them, raising an eyebrow. She noticed Lyra's cold demeanor and the distress written all over Selene's face. "Am I interrupting something?" she asked, her voice a little too light, as if she were relishing the awkwardness of the moment.
Selene opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say anything, Lyra interrupted with a stiff, strained voice. "I need some space, Selene. I can't—" She broke off, taking a sharp breath, as if forcing the words out of her chest. "I need to be alone right now."
The weight of the rejection hit Selene like a tidal wave. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think. The words were clear, though painful Lyra had pushed her away again.
"Space?" Selene whispered, her voice breaking. "I've been giving you space for days, Lyra. What's the point of this? What are you really afraid of?"
Lyra didn't respond. Instead, she walked toward the back of the library, her steps quick and deliberate, her gaze averted. Selene stood there, stunned, as Lyra's retreating figure seemed to close off all the possibility that had lingered between them.
The silence in the room was deafening.
"Fine, I'll give you some space but I'll be back before closing time" she said she doesn't care if lyra heard it or not.
Eliza, who had been standing by the door, watching the whole interaction unfold with a mix of amusement and concern, took a step closer to Selene. "Well, that was intense," she commented, her tone a little softer now. She approached and placed a hand gently on Selene's shoulder. "I'll give you a moment, alright? You don't need to go through this alone."
But Selene barely noticed Eliza. Her mind was still on the way Lyra had pulled away from her, leaving her heart aching in a way she hadn't felt before. The words felt like a weight pressing down on her chest, suffocating her.
"I don't know what I did wrong," Selene muttered to herself, her voice breaking again. She wanted to fight for Lyra, to make her understand how deeply she felt about her. But all Lyra had done was shut her out, leaving Selene feeling more lost than ever before.
Eliza's expression softened, her grip on Selene's shoulder tightening. "You didn't do anything wrong, okay?" she said gently. "She's just... dealing with something. Maybe she doesn't know how to deal with it. I think she's scared, Selene."
Selene nodded, though it didn't ease the ache in her chest. "But I can't just wait around forever. I'm not gonna just pretend like this doesn't matter."
"I get it," Eliza said, her voice sympathetic but firm. "But you have to give her the space she needs. It's not going to be easy, but you'll have to wait for her to come to you. She's not ready to face whatever this is yet, but she will be. Eventually."
Selene didn't know if she could wait. She didn't know if she could stand by while Lyra ran from whatever it was they had. But as much as it hurt, Selene knew she had no other choice.
"I guess I don't have a choice, do I?" she murmured, more to herself than to Eliza.
Eliza gave her a slight smile, her eyes soft with understanding. "No, you don't. But it doesn't mean you have to give up. Just... don't rush it. Let it happen in its own time. And in the meantime, you've got me."
Selene turned to Eliza, the weight of the moment still pressing on her. But Eliza was right. There was nothing else Selene could do. She had to wait. She had to be patient, even though every fiber of her being screamed for something more.
"Thanks, Eliza," Selene said quietly, offering a small, grateful smile.
"Anytime," Eliza replied with a wink. "Now, let's get out of here. I'm getting you something to drink. You look like you need it. And also, there's a beach party going on near town tomorrow. Wanna come to that as well, you know, to clear up the mind?"
Selene nodded and followed Eliza to the door, her heart still heavy but grateful for the small moment of light in the otherwise bleak situation. As they walked into the cool evening air, Selene couldn't help but glance back at the library, wondering if Lyra would ever come back to her.
If Lyra kept avoiding her, if the silence stretched on and the distance between them only grew, maybe the beach party would be the perfect distraction. She could let the waves pull her thoughts away from the heavy ache in her chest. It had been a long time since she had truly let go, since she'd felt like she could just breathe without the weight of unresolved emotions pulling her down. A change of scenery sun, sand, laughter would do her good.
Maybe Eliza was right. Maybe stepping back and clearing her head would help her figure things out, especially if Lyra stayed distant. And if she didn't? Well, at least she wouldn't be sitting in a dark corner of her mind, waiting for something that might never come.