It was Sunday evening when the doorbell rang again.
Grace wasn't expecting anyone.
She was sitting on her bed, headphones on, pretending to do homework.
Her mom called from the hallway, "Grace? Someone's here."
"I'm not coming!" she shouted back automatically.
A pause.
"It's Theo."
Her heart stopped.
Just for a second.
She pulled off her headphones slowly.
Theo?
He hadn't texted.
He hadn't called.
He just… came.
She walked to the living room, face neutral.
Theo was standing near the door, hands in his pockets.
He looked unsure.
That was new.
"Hi," he said.
"Hi."
Silence.
Grace's mom smiled politely. "You two can talk in her room."
Grace hesitated.
Then nodded.
Inside her room, the air felt heavier than usual.
Theo stayed near the door at first.
"I didn't know if I should text," he said. "So I just came."
Grace crossed her arms lightly. "Why?"
He blinked.
"Why?"
"Yeah. Why are you here?"
He hadn't prepared for that.
"I just… I feel like you've been avoiding me."
Grace didn't laugh.
Didn't argue.
Just looked at him.
"I haven't."
"You have."
"You just started noticing."
That made him frown.
"What does that mean?"
Grace exhaled slowly.
"It means I stopped being the one who starts everything."
Theo stared at her.
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about how I was always the one texting first. Calling first. Waiting first." Her voice stayed calm. Too calm. "And when I stopped, nothing happened."
Theo's expression shifted.
"That's not true."
"It is."
Silence filled the room.
He looked around, uncomfortable.
"I thought you just didn't want to."
Grace smiled faintly.
"That's the problem. You thought. You didn't ask."
That hit.
Harder than he expected.
"I didn't know you felt like that," he said quietly.
"I know."
Not angry.
Not dramatic.
Just tired.
Theo took a step closer.
"And now?"
Grace hesitated.
Because part of her wanted to say something else.
But she didn't.
"Now I'm just… focusing on people who show up."
He swallowed.
"And I don't?"
She didn't answer.
Because silence is sometimes clearer than words.
The conversation didn't explode.
There was no shouting.
No dramatic confession.
Just two people realizing they'd slowly stepped out of sync.
When Theo left, it felt unfinished.
And maybe that was worse.
Monday came.
And something changed.
Grace didn't sit in the middle of the big circle anymore.
She sat slightly off to the side.
Still with Zoey. Still with Ella.
Still laughing at Dylan and Ethan's jokes.
Still helping David with homework.
Still talking to Julian quietly between classes.
But she stopped trying with Lucy.
Stopped explaining herself.
Stopped filling silence.
When Zara spoke, Grace didn't compete.
She simply didn't engage.
Lucy noticed.
At first, she thought Grace was being distant on purpose.
Then she realized…
Grace wasn't trying at all anymore.
Not with her.
Not with Theo.
Not with Adrian or Nate either.
If they spoke to her, she answered politely.
But she didn't lean in.
She didn't wait.
She didn't watch.
Julian noticed the difference immediately.
"You're serious," he said one afternoon.
Grace nodded.
"I'm not fighting for space anymore."
Zoey squeezed her hand under the table.
Ella leaned against her shoulder.
Dylan and Ethan kept things loud and easy.
David made sure she was included without making it obvious.
And Theo?
He felt it.
Every time he walked into class.
Every time she laughed at something Dylan said but didn't look at him.
Every time she left without waiting.
It wasn't anger.
It was absence.
And absence is louder than arguments.
Lucy watched too.
But this time…
Grace wasn't shrinking.
She was choosing.
And somehow, that made everything more unstable.