As Harrison stepped into the common area, the hum of conversation paused just long enough for eyes to flick his way.
Kai, who was sprawled across the couch with a bowl of chips, sat up sharply.
"Where did you disappear to?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.
Then, without skipping a beat, he added, "And… where's Amelia?"
Harrison cleared his throat, running a quick hand through his hair.
"I, uh… stepped out to take a call." His voice was calm, casual. Too casual.
Kai raised a brow, leaning forward like a detective closing in.
"She still in her room?"
"Probably," Harrison replied, glancing away toward the kitchen like it held the answers to everything.
He had just reached for a glass of water when Kai squinted at him.
There was a pause.
"Wait a second…" Kai said slowly, tilting his head.
Harrison froze mid-sip.
"Why are your lips so shiny?"
Now Lena looked up from her phone.
"Yeah... kind of red, too."
Eli's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly, but he said nothing.
Harrison blinked, heartbeat in his throat.
"Dry air. Must be the lip balm I used earlier."
He gave a short laugh that sounded suspiciously close to a choke.
Kai leaned back with a smirk that said he didn't believe a word.
"Sure. Right. Must be very moisturizing."
Harrison escaped to the far end of the table, muttering something about needing water.
The room didn't push further, at least not aloud, but the glances exchanged were louder than words.
The tension was thin and crackling.
And upstairs, behind her door, Amelia sat still on the bed, fingers brushing her lips.
Amelia Rejoins the Group
The hallway felt colder than it should have, or maybe it was just the aftershock of everything that had happened.
Amelia pressed her fingers to her lips again before tucking her hair behind her ear and stepping into the common area.
The chatter dulled the moment she entered.
Lena gave her a gentle smile, but Kai was the first to speak, loud, as usual.
"Ah! Sleeping Beauty joins us.
Or should I say, freshly kissed beauty?"
He wiggled his eyebrows playfully.
Amelia paused mid-step, heartbeat skipping.
"What?" she asked, too quickly.
Harrison stiffened from where he sat at the far end of the table, not daring to look up.
Kai leaned back, arms stretched across the couch.
"Nothing! Just... Harrison came down here looking a little too moisturized if you know what I mean."
The group laughed lightly, except Eli.
Amelia found an empty seat, eyes flicking toward Harrison once, and then away.
"I just needed a moment to clear my head," she said.
Her voice was soft but steady.
Nora reached out and touched her hand under the table, a silent I'm here.
But everyone could feel it; something unspoken danced thick in the air.
Eli Confronts Harrison
Later, as the others got busy preparing a game, Eli caught Harrison slipping out to the balcony for air.
He followed silently, closing the sliding door behind him.
Harrison turned at the sound.
His shoulders tensed when he saw who it was.
"Can we talk?" Eli asked.
"Sure." Harrison folded his arms, pretending to be calm.
There was a long pause before Eli spoke again.
"You kissed her, didn't you?"
Who? Harrison asked.
No accusation in the tone, just quiet heartbreak.
Harrison exhaled slowly.
I don't know what you're talking about.
Eli nodded, looking out at the darkened sky.
Harrison hesitated, eyes dropping to the floor.
She's trying not to hurt anyone, so let's not make things hard for her."
Eli turned to him, his voice firmer now.
"But she already is."
The weight of those words hung between them.
The silence was thicker than anger; it was the ache of two people who loved the same woman, and couldn't change the truth of the moment that passed.
"We both care about her," Eli said.
"So don't mess with her heart unless you're ready to give her yours."
Then he walked away, leaving Harrison alone in the chill of the night.
"Must You Say Everything You See?"
The laughter from the living room had died down into quiet banter and the hum of a slow playlist.
Amelia rolled her eyes.
"Must you say everything you see, Kai?"
"He leaned forward, elbows on knees, voice playful and dramatic.
"I don't just see, I observe. I analyze. I report."
He mimed scribbling on a notepad.
"Observation: Amelia returns from a suspiciously long 'moment alone.' Evidence: flushed cheeks, faint smile, and..."
"...Harrison looking like he forgot how to breathe."
Amelia crossed her arms, trying to mask her nerves.
"Seriously? I was just in my room. Alone. Nobody kissed anybody."
Kai gasped, clutching his chest.
"The full denial. This is getting juicy."
Amelia stepped closer, lowering her voice.
"Kai."
Her tone was firm this time.
"Drop it."
He blinked, then softened.
"Okay, okay. I'm just teasing."
He raised his hands in surrender.
"But for the record... you're glowing."
Then, with a wink,
"If no one kissed you, then maybe the room did."
She cracked a reluctant smile despite herself.
As she turned to sit beside Lena, Kai added under his breath with a grin,
"Secrets don't stay secrets long in this group."
Amelia shot him one last look, equal parts warning and amusement, before diving into the evening's next distraction.
"The Look in Your Eyes"
Later that evening, the group had scattered, some heading to the game room, others lounging on the porch.
Amelia, needing air, slipped quietly onto the back patio.
The night was still, the stars a soft dusting above her.
She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to steady her breath.
The way his lips had felt.
The way her body had reacted. The way she had said no, but her heart still whispered maybe.
"Couldn't sleep?"
His voice was low, almost a whisper against the hush of the night.
She turned sharply.
Harrison stepped out from the shadow of the doorframe, hands in his pockets, gaze intense.
Amelia swallowed.
"Needed a breather."
He nodded and walked closer, slow but sure, like he wasn't going to let her run this time.
"Me too. Too much pretending going on in there."
She let out a soft laugh, dry, guarded.
"We're all pretending a little."
He stopped in front of her. Just close enough.
"But you weren't pretending earlier. Neither was I."
Her breath caught.
"Harrison…" she warned, voice shaky.
He leaned in slightly, his voice dipping into her space.
"You told me to stop. I did. But Amelia…"
He looked at her.
"…you didn't want me to. And I saw it. I still see it now."
Her eyes flickered with a thousand emotions: longing, guilt, fear.
He stepped even closer, brushing his fingers gently down her arm, stopping at her wrist where her pulse was racing.
"Say the word and I'll walk away. But don't lie to me."
Amelia closed her eyes, struggling.
"I can't hurt him. I can't hurt either of you."
"And what about hurting yourself?" he asked softly.
Silence hung between them.
Then, impulsively, dangerously, she lifted her eyes to his.
Their foreheads are nearly touching now.
"You make it hard to breathe, Harrison."
"And you make it impossible to stop," he whispered.
He leaned in again, this time slower, gentler, as if asking permission without saying it.
Their lips brushed in a breathless kiss, softer than the one before, but just as charged.
And just as she melted into him, the sound of the patio door creaked open behind them.
They jolted apart.
"Oh—sorry!" It was Lena, backing away quickly. "Didn't mean to interrupt."
Amelia flushed deep red, turning away.
"It's fine.
" I was just heading inside."
"Take your time," Harrison said, eyes still on her as she walked past him.
And though they said nothing more, the air between them was no longer pretending.
Amelia's Private Thoughts – "The Space Between Yes and No"
Amelia lay in bed, eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling, as if the stars behind the drywall might offer answers.
Her fingers lightly grazed her lips, still tingling.
That kiss... again. No, not just a kiss. It was more. Too much. Too real.
Her breath trembled as she turned to her side, hugging the pillow close to her chest like it might hold her together.
"Harrison…"
His name felt like heat behind her ribcage.
There was something about him.
The way his eyes saw right through her, how his voice lowered when he was close.
The way his touch wasn't just about skin; it lit fires underneath it.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
It feels like him.
All of it. The ache.
The way I want him.
The way I lose my breath. I want him. I think… I love him. Maybe I always did.
But then… Eli.
Her chest tightened with guilt.
Eli had been steady. Safe. Gentle in the way he cared.
Always there, always understanding, never rushing.
But maybe that was it.
He's never touched me like that.
Never looked at me like I was the only oxygen in the room.
He cares. I know he does. But I don't feel that fire.
That ache.
Her heart twisted.
Is it wrong?
To want more than kindness? To want that spark, the kind that leaves your whole body singing?
Tears threatened behind her eyes, unspilled.
"I don't want to hurt Eli," she whispered into the darkness.
"But I'm already hurting myself trying to love him the way he loves me."
A soft breeze moved through the crack in her window.
Outside, the world was sleeping. Inside, she was unraveling.
Harrison makes it impossible to ignore how I feel.
And maybe... it wasn't just about touch.
Maybe it was the way he saw her. The way he wanted all of her, even the confused, messy, unsure parts.
She turned again, curling deeper into the bed.
"I'm scared."
Of what choosing would do.
Of what staying silent might destroy.
Of whom she'd lose, because no matter what, someone would get hurt.
But right now?
Right now… her heart whispered one name.
Harrison.
Quiet morning, just outside the breakfast table. Birds chirp.
Most of the group is inside. Lena and Amelia linger near the garden path.
Lena:(arms folded, eyebrow raised)
"Okay, so… tell me I was hallucinating last night."
Amelia:(blinks, confused)
"What do you mean?"
Lena:(steps a little closer, voice lowered)
"Don't play innocent with me. I saw you and Harrison. The way you looked at each other?
The way he followed you?" (leans in slightly)
"Was it just my eyes… or did I almost witness you two kissing?"
Amelia:(heart skips, eyes dart away)
"Lena…"
Lena:
"Don't 'Lena' me. Something happened, didn't it?"
Amelia:(softly, almost a whisper)
"It wasn't supposed to. I just—he came to check on me, and we started talking and then…" (her voice trails off)
Lena:(gently, but firm)
"And then your lips found each other like magnets."
Amelia:(embarrassed, cheeks flushed)
"Okay—yes. We kissed. Again. But it's complicated."
Lena:(softens a little)
"You think?" (sighs) "Amelia, I'm not judging you.
I just… I've seen the way Eli looks at you.
And I know what Harrison feels is real, too. But this? This triangle you're in?
It's sharp on all sides."
Amelia:(voice cracking slightly)
"I know. That's why I've tried so hard not to choose".
I don't want to hurt anyone, Lena.
But my heart, it keeps pulling me toward Harrison, and I don't know how to stop it."
Lena:(steps closer, gently touches her arm)
"Maybe… you're not supposed to stop it. Maybe you're just supposed to be honest about it.
With them. And with yourself."
Amelia:(eyes glossy)
"What if I break everything?"
Lena:(softly)
"Keeping it hidden might break it faster."
Amelia:(nodding slowly)
"Yeah… I guess it's time I stopped hiding."
Late afternoon. Amelia stands under the shade of a tall tree, away from the others.
She's holding her phone, clearly composing a message she can't bring herself to send.
Footsteps crunch the gravel behind her. She turns. It's Harrison.
Harrison:(voice low, unreadable)
"You've been avoiding me."
Amelia:(startled, trying to stay calm)
"I haven't. I've just been… thinking."
Harrison:(takes a few slow steps closer)
"Thinking if that kiss was a mistake… or if you just regret how far it almost went."
Amelia:(clutches her phone tighter)
"Harrison, please. I need space to figure this out. I haven't even talked to Eli yet."
Harrison:(leans slightly forward, voice intense)
"You don't need to talk to Eli to know what you feel when I touch you." (steps even closer)
"Your body already told me."
Amelia:(her breath catches, eyes flick to his lips then away)
"That's not fair…"
Harrison:(softly, stepping even closer, now only inches away)
"What's not fair is pretending this thing between us isn't real.
What's not fair is me watching you pretend that kiss didn't leave you breathless."
(Amelia looks away, but Harrison gently lifts her chin.)
Harrison:(whispers)
"Look at me. You're not the only one who's scared. But I'm done hiding."
Amelia:(heart racing, eyes finally locking with his)
"I don't want to hurt anyone, Harrison…"
Harrison:(leans in, barely touching her forehead with his)
"You already are, Amelia. Especially yourself."
(His hand slides gently to the back of her neck.
She doesn't pull away.
Their lips meet again, softly at first, then with rising urgency.
She melts into him, hands clinging to his shirt, his arm wrapping firmly around her waist.
The kiss deepens, breath stolen. Heat surges.)
(Suddenly, her phone falls to the ground with a soft thud. They pause, lips inches apart.)
Amelia:(voice shaking, breathless)
"This… this isn't helping…"
Harrison:(his forehead resting against hers)
"Then tell me to stop."
She doesn't. For a long second, they stay there, suspended in quiet yearning, until they hear approaching footsteps in the distance.
Amelia pushes away, panicked, running her fingers through her hair.)
Amelia:
"I can't do this right now. I need to breathe."
Harrison:(quietly)
"I'll wait, Amelia. But not forever."
Tonight I want to see you in my room, before you go to bed, please
(He picks up her phone, hands it to her gently, and walks away, leaving her trembling and torn.)