Chapter 8
895 Words
Chapter 8: You Pretend Too
Most of the team had gone home, except for the stubborn ones—and the unpaid hours they offered like sacrifices to the Fashion Gods.
The room was quieter now. Dim lights, fabric scraps on the floor, the faint whir of the iron in the corner. The scent of coffee and lint lingered in the air.
Feliz sat at her station, head bowed, quietly pinning the last piece for tomorrow’s presentation.
Sly watched her from the other side of the room.
Noticed how her shoulders dipped every time she sighed.
Noticed how she hadn’t eaten dinner.
Noticed… her.
He stood up, walked slowly, leaned his hip against her table.
Sly [smiling softly]
“How are you, Feliz?”
Feliz [not looking up]
“Busy.”
Sly [voice low, teasing but gentler than usual]
“That’s not an emotion.”
Feliz [looks up, eyes tired]
“It is. If you work here.”
Sly [pulls the chair beside her and sits, unusually calm]
“Let me guess. No lunch? No snacks? Just coffee?”
Feliz [sarcastic]
“Wow, stalker mode? That’s new.”
Sly [shrugs]
“Just observant. Also, your stomach literally growled during Joseph’s meeting earlier.”
Feliz [groans, covers her face]
“Shut up.”
Sly [grinning, pulls a paper bag from his backpack]
“Here.”
Feliz [eyes narrow]
“What’s that?”
Sly
“Chicken pie. And cheese roll. I didn’t know which one you liked, so I got both.”
Feliz [staring at him, suspiciously]
“Why?”
Sly [smile softening]
“Why not?”
She didn’t answer. But her fingers slowly reached out and took the cheese roll.
She took a small bite. Her shoulders relaxed.
Feliz [mumbling]
“...Thanks.”
Sly
“Don’t thank me. Just owe me forever.”
Feliz
“There it is. I knew there was a catch.”
Sly [smirks]
“Consistency is the key.”
He watched her eat in silence for a while.
Sly [softer, more serious this time]
“You know, you don’t always have to do everything alone.”
Feliz [glancing at him]
“Says the guy who literally pushes everyone away just to avoid real conversations.”
Sly [quiet laugh]
“Fair.”
Feliz
“...Why do you even care?”
Sly [shrugs, voice quieter now]
“I don’t know. Maybe because I know how it feels… to pretend you’re okay all the time.”
Feliz [surprised by his tone, eyes softening]
“You pretend too?”
Sly [looks at her]
“Every day.”
For a moment, silence blanketed them again. But this time, it wasn’t heavy. It was... intimate.
Feliz looked at him—really looked.
His messy hair, soft eyes, that crooked smile trying to hide something deeper.
He wasn’t just annoying.
He was human.
Feliz [barely above a whisper]
“You're not what I thought you were.”
Sly [smirks]
“Do you have a crush on me?”
Felizv[throws a crumpled fabric at him]
“Never mind.”
Sly [laughs, but leans in a little]
“Just kidding. I just... I want you to know. I see you.”
Feliz [eyes flickering to his]
“...Why?”
Sly
“Because you look at everyone else, but no one looks at you.”
Her breath hitched. And that’s when she felt it—
The air shifting. The space shrinking. The ache in her chest softening.
He leaned in—slow, unsure. Like he was waiting for her to stop him.
But she didn’t.
His hand lightly brushed a loose thread from her sleeve. Her breath caught.
---
For a long moment, neither of them moved.
Just breathing. Just surviving the storm between them.
Sly’s forehead rested gently against hers, his hands hovering at her waist like he was afraid she’d disappear if he held on too tightly.
Feliz didn’t know how they got here.
Didn’t know how to pull herself back.
She didn’t trust herself to move.
Or speak.
Sly [hoarse, barely audible]
“Tell me to stop.”
The words hit her like a wave—offering her a way out.
But she didn’t take it.
Her hands, traitorous and trembling, found his chest.
Not to push him away.
But to feel the wild pounding of his heart under her palms.
Feliz [broken whisper]
“I can’t.”
A sound escaped him—half groan, half prayer.
And then—
Sly [low, rough]
“Feliz…”
He said her name like it meant everything.
Like it was a secret he had no right to speak.
Slowly, deliberately, he pressed his lips to her forehead.
Not a kiss of hunger.
But something softer. Something that unraveled her completely.
Gentle.
Devastating.
When he pulled back, his gaze searched hers—raw, pleading, uncertain.
Sly [voice thick]
“I’m not good for you.”
Her chest tightened.
Because she knew.
And she didn’t care.
Feliz [soft, fierce]
“Neither am I.”
Silence wrapped around them—
Heavy.
Electric.
Inevitable.
---
FLASH!
A bright light from the hallway suddenly lit up the glass panel on the studio door.
Lia [outside, loud voice]
“Feliz! You left something at the printer!”
Feliz [instantly pulling away, standing up too fast]
“Coming!”
She grabbed the unfinished sketch beside her and practically fled to the door.
Leaving Sly still seated, lips parted, heart racing.
- Writer
