After that night, everything became harder.
Not because anything had changed.
Because nothing had.
No confessions.
No broken rules.
No crossed lines.
And yet both of them knew.
The truth lived between them now.
Silent.
Impossible.
Every glance lasted a second too long.
Every smile carried too much meaning.
Every conversation felt like walking across thin ice.
One wrong step.
One moment of weakness.
And everything would break.
Ava felt it constantly.
The awareness followed her everywhere.
Into dreams.
Into books.
Into every quiet moment she used to enjoy.
The strange thing was that she wasn't afraid of her feelings anymore.
She was afraid of Noah's.
Because if he felt the same way she did—
And she knew he did—
Then sooner or later something would happen.
Something
