FIXING WOUNDS

UNI

A week after graduation, the university organized a field trip for all the freshmen.

Beach. Sunset. Bonfire. The whole thing felt like something out of a movie Ivy never thought she’d be in.

Ivy and Zero ended up sitting alone by the water. The rest of the group was further down the shore, laughing and playing music, but the three of them had drifted away without meaning to.

The sky was orange and pink, reflecting off the waves. It was quiet, except for the sound of the ocean.

Ivy’s heart was beating faster than it should be.

She hadn’t meant to think about Zero like that. Not after what he said before finals. But here he was, sitting beside her, close enough that their shoulders brushed every time a wave crashed louder.

Then it happened.

Zero’s hand accidentally touched hers.

It was nothing. Just skin against skin for half a second. But Ivy felt it like electricity.

She looked up at him.

Zero looked back. His eyes were calm, but there was something else there now. Something patient. Something waiting.

Ivy didn’t think. She just leaned in and kissed him.

It wasn’t planned. It wasn’t dramatic. It was quiet and sudden and over in a few seconds.

Zero pulled back, shocked. His eyes widened. “Ivy—”

Ivy stood up immediately, her face burning.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered, and walked away without another word.

She didn’t stop until she reached her tent.

She sat there for hours, knees pulled to her chest, hands trembling. _What did I just do? How am I supposed to fix this?_

The question kept spinning in her head until Sarah found her.

“Hey,” Sarah said softly, sitting down beside her. “What’s up, Shisela?”

That was Sarah’s nickname for Ivy now. She’d picked it up from one of Ivy’s old jokes and it stuck.

Ivy explained everything. The kiss. The panic. The way her heart wouldn’t slow down.

Sarah listened, then gave her the advice she’d learned from her own three close friends back home: _“If you care about him, be honest. If you don’t, don’t lead him on. But don’t hide from it either, Ivy. That’s how you end up alone again.”_

Ivy nodded, but she wasn’t ready to talk to Zero yet.

---

A few days passed.

Ivy and Zero didn’t see each other. Not really. They avoided each other in the dining hall. Passed each other in the hallways without speaking. The silence felt heavier than before.

Finally, a day after they got back from the trip, Ivy took a long bath at their apartment. She needed to clear her head.

When she came out, Zero was on the balcony.

He’d been waiting.

Ivy walked out slowly, wrapped in a towel, hair still damp.

“I didn’t know what I was doing when I kissed you,” she said before he could say anything. “But I’ve been thinking about it. And…”

She paused. The words felt heavy but right.

“I really like you, Zero. And I’d like to give this… us… a chance.”

Zero looked at her for a long moment. Then he smiled — that small, quiet smile Ivy had grown to love.

“I’ve been waiting for you to say that,” he said.