Nicole hated this part.
The part where he knew something was wrong—but couldn't name it.
He leaned against the wall, arms crossed, pretending to listen to his friends while his eyes betrayed him again and again.
Sara.
She was laughing now.
Not loudly.
Just enough.
And the problem was—
he knew exactly why that laugh mattered.
Don't look, he told himself.
He looked anyway.
She was standing too close to someone else.
One of the guys from their group.
Nothing dramatic. Nothing obvious.
But Nicole felt it anyway.
That sharp, unreasonable twist in his chest.
You don't get to feel this, he reminded himself.
You never said anything.
Still, his jaw tightened.
Across the room, Sara felt it too—
that strange sensation of being watched.
She glanced up.
Their eyes met.
Just for a second.
Nicole looked away first.
Always him.
That hurt more than she expected.
Later, when the noise softened and people began drifting apart,
Nicole found himself walking beside her—unplanned, uninvited, unavoidable.
"So," he said casually, shoving his hands into his pockets, "you seemed… busy today."
Sara frowned slightly. "Busy?"
"With him," he added, nodding toward the group behind them.
"Oh," she said softly. "We were just talking."
"Right."
A pause.
Too long.
She stopped walking.
Nicole stopped too.
The air between them felt heavy, like it was holding its breath.
"Why do you care?" she asked—not accusing, just honest.
Nicole opened his mouth.
This was it.
The moment.
His heart pounded so loudly he was sure she could hear it.
Because the truth sat right there—
on the edge of his tongue.
Because when you smile at someone else, it feels wrong.
Because I think about you more than I should.
Because I'm losing control.
But he swallowed.
"It's nothing," he said finally, forcing a half-smile.
"I was just asking."
Sara's expression changed—not angry.
Disappointed.
"Oh," she said. "Okay."
She walked ahead.
Nicole stood there, hating himself for letting fear win again.
Across the room, Mia watched everything.
And shook her head.
"Idiots," she muttered.
"Both of them."
Because sometimes love doesn't fail because of rejection—
it fails because of silent
just two people
standing just a few steps apart,
pretending they weren't but already breaking.