Without thinking — without permission — Ling kissed her.
It wasn't gentle.
It wasn't soft.
It was sudden, desperate, full of everything Ling refused to say out loud.
Rhea froze, shock stealing her breath. For half a heartbeat, she kissed back — not with hope, but with memory.
Both of them breathing hard. Hearts racing. Everything messy and wrong.
Then Rhea heard it.
Whispers.
Gasps.
Phones shifting.
The weight of eyes.
Reality crashed in.
Rhea pulled back sharply, shoving Ling hard in the chest. "Have you lost your mind?"
Ling staggered half a step, stunned.
Rhea wiped her mouth angrily, shame and fury flooding her face. She looked around — students staring, watching like it was entertainment.
"This is exactly who you are," Rhea said, voice shaking but loud enough to hurt. "You don't care who's watching. You don't care what it costs."
Ling tried to speak. "Rhea—"
"No," Rhea snapped. "Don't."
She backed away, hands clenched at her sides. "Don't touch me like that again."
Ling stood frozen, chest heaving, anger and something dangerously close to regret battling inside her.
Rhea turned away, shoulders stiff, walking fast down the corridor — not running, not breaking — holding herself together by force.
Ling watched her go.
Around them, the corridor buzzed with murmurs, students unsure whether to breathe again.
Rina appeared at Ling's side quietly. "That… was a mistake."
Ling didn't answer.
Her fingers curled into fists.
She told herself the same lie again — the one she was clinging to like armor.
It meant nothing.
It was mistake.
But her lips still burned.
And Rhea didn't look back even once.
Ling realized it the moment Rhea walked away.
A mistake.
A loud, irreversible one.
She didn't follow immediately. She stood there, breathing uneven, hands trembling for the first time in a long time. Then she turned sharply and headed to the lockers — because she knew. She always knew where Rhea would go when she needed to put herself back together.
The locker room was quiet.
Too quiet.
Rhea stood there already, back to Ling, stuffing her things into her bag with stiff, mechanical movements. Her shoulders were tense. Her hands weren't steady.
Ling stopped a few steps behind her.
For once, she didn't announce herself.
"Rhea," Ling said quietly.
Rhea didn't turn. "Go away."
Ling swallowed. Her pride fought her. Lost.
She stepped closer and held out her hand.
The ring lay in her palm.
Bent. Familiar. Heavy.
"I didn't mean to steal it," Ling said, voice low, stripped of its usual sharpness. "And what happened outside—" she paused, jaw tightening, "—that shouldn't have happened."
Rhea's fingers froze on the zipper of her bag.
Slowly, she turned.
Her eyes were red — not dramatic, not loud — just exhausted.
She looked at the ring. Then at Ling. Then away again.
"You already did it," Rhea said flatly. "Meaning doesn't change that."
Ling's hand stayed extended. "Take it."
Rhea laughed once, breathless. "You kissed me in front of everyone and now you're returning this?"
Ling flinched. "That's not what this is."
"Then what is it?" Rhea asked quietly. "An apology? Or damage control?"
Ling's throat tightened. "It's me fixing what I shouldn't have touched."
Rhea stared at her for a long moment, eyes searching — for love, for reassurance — for honesty.
"You don't get to decide when you care," Rhea said. "And when you don't."
Ling's voice dropped. "I know."
Silence stretched between them.
Finally, Rhea reached out and took the ring — not gently. Not angrily. Just… decisively.
"There," Rhea said. "Done."
She slipped it into her bag and zipped it shut.
Ling watched her hands, then forced herself to meet Rhea's eyes. "What I said earlier—"
"Don't," Rhea interrupted immediately. "If you explain, you'll justify it. And I don't want to hear you justify hurting me again."
Ling nodded once. That hurt more than shouting would have.
"I won't touch you again," Ling said. "Unless you ask."
Rhea's expression flickered — just for a second — then hardened.
"I won't."
She slung her bag over her shoulder.
"You don't get to undo things just because you felt guilty after," Rhea said quietly. "Some damage stays."
Ling stood there quiet.
The ring was no longer in her pocket.
But the weight didn't leave.