Arista's POV
Kaelor's house was quieter than I expected.
Not empty—just calm. The kind of calm that made you hear your own thoughts louder than usual.
I checked the time on my phone. 6:02 PM.
I was late by two minutes. Typical.
"You're on time," Kaelor said from the doorway before I could apologize.
I blinked. "That's new."
He shrugged. "Time works differently here."
That made me smile—just a little.
His house wasn't extravagant, not the way people imagined when they thought of Kaelor Han. It was neat, minimal, lived-in. A place where someone existed, not just stayed.
We stood awkwardly for a second.
"So," I said, clearing my throat, "hosting and a performance. Great planning by the school."
He gave a dry laugh. "They like throwing people into fire and calling it leadership."
We moved to the living room. There was space cleared already. He'd prepared. That thought warmed something inside me.
"What kind of performance?" I asked.
"Nothing dramatic," he said quickly. "Maybe a simple spoken intro, coordinated lines. We don't need to impress—just survive."
I nodded. "Survival I can do."
As we started practicing lines, something strange happened.
The noise in my head slowed down.
No Derek. No apologies. No past. No fear.
Just words. Timing. His voice next to mine.
At one point, I messed up a line and groaned. "I sound ridiculous."
"You don't," Kaelor said immediately.
I looked at him. "You don't have to lie."
"I'm not," he replied, steady. "You sound… confident. Even when you don't feel like it."
That hit too close.
I looked away, suddenly aware of how safe I felt standing there. Too safe.
We practiced again. And again.
At some point, my shoulders dropped. My breathing evened out. I hadn't realized how tense I'd been until it faded.
"Can we take a break?" I asked.
He nodded. "Water?"
"Yes, please."
While he went to the kitchen, I sat on the couch, staring at the ceiling. My phone buzzed—Meera—but I ignored it.
For once, I didn't want noise.
Kaelor returned and handed me the glass. Our fingers brushed.
Just for a second.
But it was enough to send something electric through me.
"Thanks," I murmured.
He didn't move away immediately.
"You were shaken today," he said quietly.
I froze. "Was I?"
"Yes."
I exhaled. "Some things don't disappear just because time passes."
He understood that too well.
We sat there in silence—not awkward, not heavy. Just… present.
"I'm glad you came," he said.
"So am I," I admitted.
And that scared me more than anything else.
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Kaelor's POV
She looked lighter here.
Not happy. Not carefree. But less burdened.
And that mattered.
Watching Arista relax in my space felt unreal—like something fragile I shouldn't touch too hard.
When she messed up lines, when she laughed softly under her breath, when she went quiet staring at nothing—I noticed everything.
Too much.
"You don't have to push yourself," I told her when she went silent again.
She glanced at me. "I'm not. This is… easy."
Easy.
That word echoed.
Things were never easy with her. That's what made this moment dangerous.
We practiced once more, standing closer now, coordinating cues. She smelled like something familiar—home, maybe. Or safety.
I hated how much I needed that.
"Tomorrow," she said, "everything's going to be chaotic."
"Yes."
"But right now," she added, softer, "this feels calm."
I nodded. "Then let's keep it like this. Just for today."
She smiled. A real one.
And for the first time in a long while, I felt like I wasn't just surviving school days.
I was living one.