CONVERSATIONS THAT LINGER ..
418 Words
Damon found her sitting alone near the library steps after school, legs crossed, notebook balanced on her knee. The place was quiet, the kind of quiet he usually claimed for himself. Seeing her there felt oddly familiar, like she belonged.
He almost walked past.
Almost.
“You always look like you’re deciding whether to stay or disappear,” Aria said without looking up.
He stopped.
“How do you know that?” he asked.
She glanced up, a small smile playing at her lips. “Lucky guess.”
Damon exhaled and sat beside her, keeping a careful distance. He wasn’t used to choosing closeness. It felt deliberate. Dangerous.
They sat in silence for a moment, the air soft between them. Not awkward. Just patient.
“You don’t talk much,” she said eventually.
“I talk when it matters.”
She nodded like she understood that. “Fair.”
He studied her profile the way her eyes focused, the calm she carried. “You’re not afraid of silence.”
She shrugged. “Silence tells the truth sometimes.”
That caught him off guard.
People usually filled quiet moments with noise, afraid of what stillness revealed. Aria didn’t. She let it breathe.
“What about you?” he asked. “Why do you sit alone?”
She thought about it. “Because I like knowing myself without the noise.”
He nodded slowly. That made sense. More than he wanted it to.
Minutes passed. Then more. The conversation drifted easily to school, small frustrations, things they liked but didn’t talk about often. Damon found himself answering honestly, without rehearsing his words first.
It was so unsettling.
“You’re different when you’re not surrounded by people,” Aria said softly.
He glanced at her. “Different how?”
“Lighter,” she replied. “Like you’re not carrying the whole world.”
He looked away. She wasn’t supposed to see that.
“People think I’m rude,” he said after a while.
“They think that because you let them,” she replied gently.
The words landed deeper than he expected.
When the sun dipped lower, painting the sky in muted gold, Damon stood. “I should go.”
Aria closed her notebook. “Me too.”
They walked together for a bit, steps falling into the same rhythm.
“I’m glad we talked,” she said quietly.
“So am I,” Damon admitted.
As they parted ways, Damon realized something that unsettled him in the best way possible.
- Writer
