We Keep Coming Back
763 Words
Micah avoided him for two whole days.
It was easier than she expected. School hallways were crowded enough to disappear in, and Eden… well, Eden was good at pretending too. She saw him laughing with his friends, slouched against lockers, grinning at other girls like nothing had changed.
But Micah knew better.
The memory of his hand over hers.
The sound of his voice saying, *“I meant it.”*
It haunted her.
Now it was Saturday, and the campus was empty except for the faint hum of janitors and the rustle of wind in the trees. She wasn’t supposed to be here, but sometimes old habits were hard to break. She found peace in the library’s forgotten corners — the ones where no one would think to look for someone like her.
Or so she thought.
“You suck at hiding.”
Micah jumped, a book nearly slipping from her lap. She turned, and there he was — Eden Rowe, leaning casually in the doorway, hands in his pockets like he had every right to show up here.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, too sharply, her voice echoing against the walls of the abandoned reading room.
Eden shrugged. “Looking for you.”
Micah’s pulse skipped.
“Well, you found me. Congratulations.”
He didn’t grin this time.
Didn’t tease.
Instead, he stepped into the room, the air shifting with him.
“I wasn’t lying, Micah,” Eden said quietly, sitting down across from her at the long oak table. His gaze was steady, serious. “About what I said. About this not being a game anymore.”
Micah swallowed. Her hands felt clammy against the worn surface of the table.
“I don’t know what you want me to say,” she murmured, her voice small in the silence.
“I don’t want you to say anything,” he replied, his tone softer now, stripped of its usual cocky armor. “I just… I want to figure this out.”
Micah glanced away, unable to hold his gaze.
“People like you don’t… pick people like me, Eden.”
“You don’t know that,” he said, leaning forward. “And besides — who says I get to pick?”
She met his eyes then, and for a second the air cracked between them, sharp and electric.
“I’m not brave like you,” Micah whispered.
“I’m scared all the time.”
Eden gave a soft, crooked smile.
“So am I.”
And that’s when she realized — he wasn’t fearless. He was just louder about his fears.
Micah sighed, her shoulders sagging. “What do we even call this?”
Eden didn’t answer right away.
“I don’t care what it’s called,” he said finally. “As long as it’s real.”
They sat there, words unspoken, hearts racing.
After a while, Eden stood, walking to the window where the last light of afternoon filtered through dust-speckled glass.
He glanced back at her. “Come with me.”
Micah frowned. “Where?”
“Just… somewhere,” Eden grinned, a spark of his old mischief returning. “No rules. No labels. Just you and me.”
Micah hesitated, the war inside her raging.
The version of her that made lists, met deadlines, and never broke rules screamed **no**.
But the girl who kissed him on that broken-down couch, the one who wanted to feel something more — she said **yes**.
She stood.
“Okay.”
---
**An hour later**
The city stretched wide and glittering beneath them.
They’d climbed up to an abandoned rooftop overlooking the old train tracks. Rusted metal signs clung stubbornly to crumbling brick walls, and the air smelled like rain waiting to fall. A faded neon sign buzzed in the distance.
Micah had never seen the city from this high.
It made her feel small… but also infinite.
“Pretty great view, huh?” Eden said, dropping onto the ledge, legs dangling over the edge.
Micah stayed a few steps back, heart pounding.
“I feel like I’m about to get arrested.”
“Wouldn’t be the worst way to spend a Saturday,” Eden joked, glancing back at her with a grin.
Micah laughed despite herself, the sound surprising them both.
Eden patted the space beside him.
“C’mon, Hale. Live a little.”
So she did.
And when she finally sat beside him, knees almost touching, she felt like the world might spin right off its axis.
But in that moment, she didn’t care.
---
- Writer
