When He Finally Comes Closer
1123 Words
Luna didn’t expect him to come.
Not tonight.
Not like this.
She had barely stepped past the edge of the forest when she felt it—someone watching her.
Not fear.
Something sharper.
Familiar in a way she didn’t want to admit.
“You’re going to get yourself killed doing that.”
The voice came from behind her.
Calm.
Controlled.
Noah.
Luna closed her eyes for a second before turning around.
Of course it was him.
He stood a few steps away, hands loose at his sides, like he hadn’t just followed her into the forest alone in the middle of the night.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
Noah didn’t answer immediately.
He just looked at her.
Really looked.
Not like before.
Not like the boy who mocked her in hallways.
This time it felt like he was trying to understand something that didn’t make sense.
“You’ve been coming here a lot,” he said finally.
Luna crossed her arms.
“That’s called living near a forest.”
His jaw tightened slightly.
“That’s not what I mean.”
Silence.
The wind moved through the trees.
Neither of them looked away first.
That alone felt wrong.
Noah always looked away first before.
Or smirked.
Or said something cruel enough to make her stop thinking about anything else.
But now he didn’t do any of that.
“You followed me,” Luna said.
“I needed to see it myself.”
“See what?”
Noah exhaled slowly through his nose, like he was holding something back.
“Something is changing.”
Luna let out a short laugh.
“That’s your big explanation? Something is changing?”
“Yes.”
“Wow. Very specific.”
He ignored the sarcasm.
His eyes dropped briefly to her hands.
Then her face again.
Like he was checking if she was still the same person he remembered.
“You don’t feel it?” he asked.
Luna narrowed her eyes.
“I feel tired of you talking in riddles.”
That landed.
She saw it in his expression.
A flicker of frustration.
Not at her.
At himself.
For a second, he looked younger.
Less controlled.
Then it disappeared again.
“Noah,” she said sharply, “if you came here just to act weird, you can leave.”
“I didn’t come to act weird.”
“Then act normal and explain what you mean.”
A pause.
Too long.
Then he stepped closer.
Luna didn’t move back.
She should have.
But she didn’t.
The space between them shrank again, and something about it felt heavier than it should have.
“I’ve been watching you,” he said quietly.
That made her freeze.
“…Excuse me?”
His jaw tightened.
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“That doesn’t make it better.”
“I needed to understand what was happening.”
“By stalking me?”
A muscle in his cheek twitched.
“You’re not listening.”
“I am listening,” she snapped. “You’re just not saying anything that makes sense.”
Silence.
Noah ran a hand through his hair, clearly frustrated now.
When he spoke again, his voice was lower.
Different.
Less controlled.
“You weren’t supposed to change this early.”
That hit something in her.
Luna frowned.
“What does that mean?”
No answer.
Of course.
She stepped closer instead.
Now they were almost the same distance apart.
Close enough that she could see the tension in his shoulders.
Close enough that she could hear his breathing change slightly.
“What am I supposed to change into, Noah?” she asked.
That time, he didn’t answer immediately.
His eyes flickered.
Just for a second.
Something almost like fear.
Then it was gone.
“You don’t understand,” he said again.
“I understand that everyone around me keeps acting like I’m a problem they refuse to explain.”
“That’s not what you are.”
“Then what am I?”
Silence.
The word hung between them.
Heavy.
Unfinished.
Noah’s hands clenched slightly at his sides.
Like he was physically stopping himself from saying something.
Luna noticed.
Of course she did.
Because for the first time ever, he didn’t look like he had control of the situation.
He looked like someone following rules he didn’t agree with.
“You should go back,” he said suddenly.
Luna blinked.
“What?”
“Go home.”
“After you show up here and say all that nonsense?”
Noah stepped closer again, but this time it wasn’t threatening.
It was… urgent.
“You’re not safe here alone,” he said.
Luna laughed once.
“You’ve spent years making me feel unsafe everywhere. Don’t start pretending this is about concern.”
That stopped him.
Completely.
His expression shifted.
Something cracked behind his eyes.
“I didn’t want it to be like that,” he said quietly.
Luna frowned.
“…What?”
Noah looked away for a second.
Like saying it directly was harder than anything else.
Then he looked back at her.
And this time his voice was lower.
Honest in a way that felt dangerous.
“I was told to stay away from you.”
Silence.
That hit differently.
Luna didn’t respond immediately.
“…Told?” she repeated.
Noah didn’t deny it.
That was enough.
Her chest tightened.
“So all of this,” she said slowly, “all the bullying, all the years of you acting like I’m nothing—wasn’t even your choice?”
His jaw clenched hard.
“No.”
One word.
But it didn’t fix anything.
It only made it worse.
Because now it wasn’t just cruelty.
It was intention behind it.
Control.
Orders.
Secrets.
Luna took a step back.
For the first time.
Not because she was afraid.
Because she needed space to think.
“You don’t get to say that,” she said quietly.
Noah didn’t move.
“I know.”
“You don’t get to ruin my entire life and then act like you had no choice.”
“I know.”
Silence stretched again.
The forest around them felt too still.
Like it was waiting for something to break.
Luna swallowed.
“Then tell me the truth,” she said.
Noah’s eyes darkened slightly.
“I can’t.”
That answer.
Again.
Always.
Her patience snapped.
“Then why are you even here?”
A pause.
Longer this time.
And when he finally spoke, his voice was quieter than before.
“Because I think you’re waking up.”
Luna went still.
“…Waking up to what?”
Noah didn’t answer.
But his eyes did.
And for the first time since she had known him
He looked afraid of her.
- Writer
