I g her. She wasn’t looking at me but was instead staring at some children across the field pying football.

  I swallowed thickly, unsure of the appropriate respoo that fession.

  I had never really thought about it.

  There had been signs—obvious ohe way she sought me out, the way she lihe way she looked at me sometimes, like I was something worth keeping.

  But still… wasn’t it too soon?

  She had just broken up with her boyfriend not that long ago, and now what? I was a rebound?

  “Umm… I don’t know what to say…” I started hesitantly.

  I felt her whole body stiffen. Her hands gripped the edge of the seat so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

  “You just got out of a retionship, Astrid,” I said softly.

  “That’s not an answer, and you know it,” she replied, still not looking at me.

  “You’re vulnerable right now… and we haven’t even known each other that long.”

  I looked up at the sky. The clouds were starting to darken, casting long shadows over the field. Fitting.

  “I know how you make me feel. The question is… do you feel the same way?” she asked, her voice soft, almost fragile.

  I exhaled slowly, f myself to meet her gaze. “I’m not going to be your rebound.”

  Astrid inhaled sharply, like she’d just been spped. Her hands ched into fists on her p, her body trembling slightly.

  Then—

  “You’re such a fug jerk! Why would you even accuse me of that?!” she yelled, her voice filled with pain and anger.

  Her blue eyes trembled, tears threatening to spill over.

  “Well, yeah, I don’t know,” I admitted. “But it’s weird… I don’t know how you expect me to believe that you’re over Jared and suddenly into me. That’s literally a cssic rebound.”

  I tried to keep my voice calm, but there was an undeniable tension behind my words.

  “I was only with him because I didn’t want to be alone,” she said, her voice crag. “I thought he was first. He said all the right things, did all the right things. He was good-looking. He seemed ge…”

  She sniffled, trying to hold back her tears.

  I exhaled slowly, my gaze falling to the ground.

  “How do I know you want to be with me because you genuinely like me… and not just because you’re scared of being alone again?” I asked quietly, my voice barely above a whisper.

  Astrid was silent.

  For a moment, I thought she wasn’t going to answer.

  Then, slowly, she let out a hollow ugh—ohat didn’t match her usual smirk or pyful teasing.

  “You don’t know,” she murmured, shaking her head. “I don’t know.”

  Her fingers ched against the fabric of her skirt, her nails digging into the material as if she were holding herself together by force alone.

  “I’ve spent so much time surrounded by people, Henry,” she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. “So much time pretending I belonged, pretending that all those stupid, shallow friendships actually meant something. And you know what? They didn’t.”

  Her breathing was uneven, shaky.

  “But then you came along,” she tinued, looking up at me now, her blue eyes shining with uears. “And for the first time in a long time, I didn’t have to pretend. I didn’t have to try to be iing, or fun, or desirable. I could just exist—and you were still there.”

  Her lips trembled.

  “That means something to me.”

  My chest tightened.

  I swallowed hard, my hands g against my thighs.

  “Astrid…”

  “I don’t know how to prove it to you,” she admitted, voice breaking. “I wish I could, but I don’t have the right words, and I’m scared that no matter what I say, you’re always going to see me as someone looking for the person to tto.”

  I opened my mouth—then closed it.

  She exhaled sharply, turning away, wiping at her eyes. “God, this is humiliating,” she muttered under her breath. “I hate g in front of people.”

  I watched her, feeling that same pressure in my chest, that same strange ache I didn’t quite know how to name.

  This was Astrid.

  The same girl who had eaten my sandwid teased me relentlessly. The same girl who had draped herself over me like I was some kind of emotional support pillow. The same girl who had smirked at me and said, Maybe I do.

  But this wasn’t the same Astrid.

  Because now, she wasn’t hiding behind her usual bravado.

  She was raw. Open. Vulnerable.

  I wasn’t used to seeing her like this.

  I wasn’t used to feeling like this.

  So I did the only thing I could think of.

  I reached out and took her hand.

  Her breath hitched.

  Slowly, she turo look at me, her fingers still trembling slightly in my grasp.

  “I don’t kher,” I admitted, my voice quiet, steady. “I don’t know how this is supposed to go, or how I’m supposed to trust that this isn’t just some temporary thing for you. But…”

  I swallowed.

  “I want to find out.”

  Astrid stared at me, eyes searg mine, like she was trying to figure out if I was serious.

  Then, finally, she let out a breathless ugh, shaking her head.

  “You’re such a pain in the ass,” she muttered.

  I smirked. “So I’ve been told.”

  She rolled her eyes, but her grip on my hand tightened—just slightly.

  “So… what now?” she asked, her voice softer now, hesitant.

  I exhaled, gng up at the sky, the storm clouds slowly rolling away.

  “We take it slow,” I said simply.

  Astrid tilted her head, watg me carefully. “Slow, huh?”

  I nodded. “No rushing. No expectations. Just… seeing where this goes.”

  She hummed thoughtfully.

  Then, before I could react, she leaned in aed her head against my shoulder.

  My body stiffened for a sed before I slowly rexed.

  Astrid let out a deep, shuddering sigh, like she was finally letting herself breathe.

  “Slow sounds good,” she murmured.

  I didn’t say anything.

  I just sat there, letting the weight of her presetle against me.

  ***

  The walk bae was quieter than usual.

  Not awkward—just… different.

  Astrid stayed close beside me, her shoulder occasionally brushing against mine. She didn’t grab my arm like she usually did. She didn’t tease me or try to get a rea.

  She just was.

  And I let her be.

  The air was cool, the remnants of the earlier clouds leaving a dampness in the breeze. We passed by empty storefronts, the occasional streetmp flickering on as the sky darkened.

  It felt strahis shift between us.

  Not bad.

  Just… uncharted.

  Astrid broke the silence first.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever taken things slow before.”

  I g her. “Yeah?”

  She nodded, stuffing her hands into her hoodie pockets. “Everything’s always been fast. Flirting, dating, breakups. It’s like… I don’t know. I get swept up in it. I dive in headfirst without thinking.”

  She exhaled sharply. “And then, by the time I realize I’ve made a mistake, it’s already too te.”

  I hummed. “Yret being with Jared?”

  She scoffed. “Please. Of course I do.”

  I smirked. “That bad, huh?”

  Astrid rolled her eyes. “Not at first. Like I said before—he seemed nice. Said all the right things. But the sed I stopped giving him all of my attentio bored. And I let him.”

  Her lips pressed together in a thin lihat’s isses me off the most. Not even that he cheated—just that I let myself ighe red fgs.”

  I frowned slightly. “You ’t bme yourself for someone else being an asshole.”

  She let out a humorless ugh. “Maybe. But I do anyway.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that.

  So I didn’t say anything at all.

  For a while, we just walked.

  Then, after a long pause, she murmured, “You wouldn’t do that, would you?”

  I turned my head slightly. “What?”

  “Hurt someone like that.”

  I blinked. “Astrid—”

  “I mean it,” she said, looking up at me, something real in her expression. “You wouldn’t… use someone, would you?”

  I exhaled, shoving my hands into my jacket pockets. “No. I wouldn’t.”

  She studied me for a sed, her lips parting like she wao say something.

  But instead, she just nodded.

  “…Yeah. I didn’t think so.”

  We kept walking.

  After a few minutes, I realized we were nearing her house.

  We stopped in front of the familiar driveway, the porch light casting a dim glow over the steps.

  Astrid lingered, shifting on her feet like she wasn’t ready to go i.

  I raised an eyebrow. “You good?”

  She let out a small breath. “Yeah… just don’t really wanna be alht now.”

  I hesitated. “…Wao stay for a bit?”

  She blinked up at me, surprised.

  Then, slowly, she smiled.

  “Nah,” she murmured. “You’d just get fy and steal my bs again.”

  I smirked. “No proof of that.”

  Astrid ughed softly, shaking her head.

  Then, to my absolute surprise, she took a step forward and—

  Hugged me.

  I froze.

  Astrid had touched me before—draped herself over me, stolen my space, leaned against me like I was her personal furniture.

  But this?

  This was different.

  This wasn’t teasing.

  This wasn’t her trying to get a rea.

  This was just… her.

  I hesitated for a sed before slowly, carefully, ing my arms around her iurn.

  She sighed against my chest, her grip firm but unhurried, like she was grounding herself.

  “…Thanks,” she murmured.

  I swallowed, my voice quieter than usual. “For what?”

  Astrid exhaled. “For not being like them.”

  I didn’t know how to respond to that.

  So I just held her a little tighter.

  Astrid didn’t let ght away.

  her did I.

  She stayed pressed against me, her grip firm but not desperate, her fingers loosely curled into the fabriy jacket. I could feel the slow, steady rhythm of her breathing against my chest.

  It felt… fortable.

  Like maybe, just maybe, this wasn’t somethi all.

  Like maybe we’d been moving toward this moment all along.

  Eventually, she sighed and pulled back slightly, her arms loosening arou she didn’t step away pletely.

  She looked up at me, her blue eyes searg my face for something I couldn’t quite name.

  “…This is weird, isn’t it?” she murmured.

  I smirked. “You are weird.”

  She let out a breathy ugh, rolling her eyes. “Shut up.”

  I shrugged. “You’re the one who keeps ging to me.”

  She hummed, tilting her head. “Yeah… but you don’t stop me.”

  I didn’t have a respoo that.

  Because she was right.

  I could’ve pushed her away—made some sarcastient, told her to stop h like I always did.

  But I didn’t.

  I just let her be here.

  Astrid exhaled, tug a strand of hair behind her ear before finally stepping back, breaking the space between us.

  “I guess I should go inside,” she murmured, but she didn’t move.

  I nodded. “Yeah.”

  Silence.

  She rocked ba her heels, looking at me expetly.

  I frowned. “What?”

  Astrid smirked. “Aren’t you gonna say something cheesy? Like goodnight, Astrid or sleep well?”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Since when do we do that?”

  She shrugged. “Sinow.”

  I sighed dramatically. “Fine. Goodnight, Astrid.”

  Her smirk widened. “See? That wasn’t so hard.”

  I rolled my eyes, turning to leave. “Yeah, yeah.”

  But before I could take a step, she grabbed my sleeve, stopping me in pce.

  I gnced back at her, eyebrows raised.

  She hesitated for half a sed.

  Then—without any warning—she leaned in and pressed a quick kiss against my cheek.

  It wasn’t dramatiot drawn out or overly emotional.

  Just a soft, fleeting moment—there, then gone.

  By the time I fully registered what had happened, she was already at her front door, her fingers gripping the handle as she looked over her shoulder at me.

  I stared at her, pletely thrown off.

  Astrid smirked.

  “Sleep well, Henry.”

  Then, before I could say a single word, she disappeared inside, shutting the door behind her.

  I stood there for a moment, the cool night air suddenly feeling warmer than before.

  My hand twitched at my side, still aware of where she had grabbed me.

  I exhaled, running a hand through my hair.

  This girl was going to kill me.

  Shaking my head, I finally turned and started walking home.

  And for some reason—

  I was smiling.