For the first time in weeks, Brielle walked into school without her walls fully up.
She didn't smile, didn't strut, but she also didn't flinch.
Elijah walked beside her.
Not touching. Not saying much.
But his quiet presence felt like armor.
Whispers still followed them. Rumors still clung to her like perfume. But something had changed. The stares didn't cut as deep. The weight on her chest wasn't suffocating.
Lunch came, and she sat with him.
Not hiding. Not apologizing.
Ariana passed by their table, tray in hand, her expression unreadable. Their eyes met briefly, and for a second, Brielle saw it, jealousy. Not the petty kind. The aching kind. The kind that came from watching someone get close to the person you secretly loved.
Elijah didn't look at Ariana once.
It was Brielle he was focused on, even when she picked at her food and barely said a word.
After lunch, their final presentation was scheduled.
The same one that forced them to work together in the first place.
It was supposed to be about "Representation in Media."
But what they presented was something else entirely.
Connection. Conflict. Vulnerability.
Their delivery was raw and unexpected. Their arguments passionate. Their banter, the push and pull, was magnetic.
By the end of the presentation, there was a slow clap.
Then more.
For a moment, it felt like the storm had passed. Like maybe, just maybe, they could be normal.
But peace in their world never lasted long.
That evening, as Elijah waited for Brielle outside her class, his phone buzzed.
A message.
From an unknown number.
"If only they knew what she was hiding. Funny how therapy can't fix what's truly broken."
Attached: a blurry photo of a printed session summary... Brielle's.
Elijah's jaw tightened.
Zane.
It had to be.
He deleted the message and looked up just as Brielle appeared, smiling softly at him.
He didn't tell her.
Not yet.
Let her have this moment.
They walked home together, fingers brushing but not quite laced.
The silence between them was different now. Not filled with fear or tension, but fragile hope.
And as they neared her gate, Brielle whispered, "Do you think people like us can ever really be… okay?"
Elijah paused, then looked her in the eye.
"Not all at once," he said. "But maybe… piece by piece.