Chapter 7
775 Words
Chapter 7: The Shift
Maison Sauveur Department – Late afternoon, nearing deadline
The studio buzzed with low conversation and the soft hum of machines. The scent of fabric glue, warm coffee, and floral perfume lingered in the air.
Everyone was a mess—except, of course, Feliz.
Or so she tried to be.
Feliz [tight-lipped, brushing lint off her skirt]
"We’re behind again. As usual."
Maya [half-asleep, head on her sewing machine]
"I swear if Joseph breathes down my neck again, I’ll fake a fever."
Lia [with a sandwich in hand]
"You can’t fake a fever. You run hot when you lie. You’ll actually burn up."
Aaron [teasing, from across the table]
"Just admit you wanna go home and eat noodles, Lia."
Lia [pointing her sandwich at him]
"Shut up, Aaron."
Sly [leans against Feliz’s table, watching her quietly]
"She’s right though. You do run hot when you lie."
Feliz [without looking at him]
"Why are you eavesdropping?"
Sly [grinning, voice low]
"Why are you pretending you don’t like it?"
Feliz [finally looking at him, brows lifting]
"What makes you think I like it?"
Sly [smirking]
"You haven’t kicked me yet."
Feliz [turns back to her work]
"That can be arranged."
Sly chuckled but didn’t leave. Instead, he sat on the edge of her table, elbows on his knees, looking at her. Not the way he usually looked at her like a toy to provoke—but something quieter.
Sly [softly]
"You didn’t sleep, did you?"
Feliz [pauses]
"What?"
Sly [eyes on her hands, noticing the faint tremble]
"You’ve got bags under your eyes. More than usual."
Feliz [sighs, admitting before she could stop herself]
"Nightmares."
Sly [surprised, voice gentler now]
"Want to talk about it?"
Feliz [shaking her head, lips tight]
"No. Just dreams. They don’t matter."
Sly [still watching her, quietly]
"Dreams always matter."
She didn’t know why that made her throat tighten.
The air between them thickened. She tried to focus on the fabric in front of her, but his gaze was like heat against her skin.
Feliz [clears her throat]
"Shouldn’t you be bugging someone else right now?"
Sly [soft chuckle]
"No fun when it's not you."
She rolled her eyes—but her fingers had stopped moving. That tension again. That thing between them that felt electric and dangerous.
Sly [still watching her, then shifts, voice more serious]
"You’re not as tough as you pretend to be."
Feliz [bristling]
"Excuse me?"
Sly [softly, like it’s a fact]
"You care more than you want to. You carry everything, even the things that aren’t yours."
Feliz [heart thudding]
"You don't know me."
Sly [leans in, voice low]
"Maybe not yet. But I want to."
And there it was—
That shift.
That flicker in his eyes that wasn't mockery. It wasn’t flirtation. It was something else. Real. Honest. Unsettling.
She looked at him—really looked.
He wasn’t all bark and chaos.
There was something beneath the smug grins and stupid lines.
Something... broken.
Something warm.
Something familiar.
She didn’t know what possessed her—but she whispered:
Feliz [softly, like a secret]
"You're different today."
Sly [still, lips curving into a half-smile]
"Maybe I'm always like this. You just never stayed long enough to see it."
Silence fell between them again.
Long. Heavy. Barely breathable.
Then—
Their hands brushed again.
Neither moved.
Their eyes locked.
He leaned in. Slowly. Carefully. Like she was a thread too delicate to pull too fast.
Sly [whispering, breath brushing her cheek]
"Tell me to stop."
Her lips parted. But no words came out.
Closer.
Closer still—
The door burst open.
Joseph [loudly, holding a clipboard]
"Feliz! We need that mock-up for the presentation. Now!"
She jerked back. Sly didn’t move right away.
Feliz [scrambling to stand]
"I—yes. I’ll bring it."
She didn’t look at him as she walked away.
Because if she did—she knew she wouldn’t.
---
Later that night – Outside Leo’s Apartment
Sly [leans against the wall, phone pressed to his ear]
"Yes, Grandpa. I'm doing fine."
Grandpa [voice through the phone, firm but affectionate]
"It’s been a week. You haven’t come home. You’re not avoiding me, are you?”
Sly [rubbing the back of his neck]
"No. I’ll visit when I can. I’m working. Just... figuring things out."
Grandpa
"You're not just figuring out work, are you?"
Sly [pauses]
"...No."
Grandpa [quiet]
"Good. That means it’s working."
Sly [frowning, suspicious]
"You’re still spying on me, aren’t you?"
Grandpa [laughing softly]
"Of course not. That would be—Leo, did you water the plants?"
Leo [from inside the apartment, yelling]
"I DID, SIR!"
Sly [rolls eyes]
"...Subtle."
- Writer
