"Fine."
The word left Tyler's mouth quietly, almost lost beneath the sounds of the rooftop. For a second, he wondered whether anyone had actually heard him.
Then the table went strangely still.
Chris froze with his fork halfway to his mouth. Noah had stopped with his drink near his lips. Kai turned toward Tyler, one eyebrow raised as though trying to figure out what had suddenly become important enough to interrupt lunch. Even Amaya looked up from her food.
Luna lowered her novel.
That caught Tyler's attention more than anything else.
She had spent most of lunch buried in that book, occasionally eating without taking her eyes off the page. If she had finally decided to close it, then whatever was happening had officially become more interesting than the story.
Across the table, Clara had stopped writing. Her pen remained against the notebook, but she wasn't looking at the page anymore.
She was looking at Tyler.
Eris sat beside her with the kind of calm expression that told Tyler exactly what had happened.
She had pushed him into this.
Now she was leaving the rest to him.
Tyler swallowed and glanced around the table. For years, he had imagined having a conversation like this. He had imagined Clara confronting him, imagined himself explaining everything, imagined all the possible ways the conversation could go.
None of those versions had prepared him for sitting across from her with half their friends watching.
For one brief moment, an easy escape presented itself.
He could change the subject.
He could stand up and leave.
He could pretend that the word fine had meant nothing.
Then Clara's eyes met his again.
She wasn't angry. She wasn't accusing him of anything.
She simply looked uncertain.
Waiting.
Tyler placed both hands against the edge of the table.
"There is something I need to say to you."
Clara blinked.
"To me?"
"Yeah."
Chris immediately turned toward Noah.
Noah's mouth opened.
Chris shook his head.
"Don't."
"I wasn't going to say anything."
"You were."
"I wasn't."
"You absolutely were."
Kai rubbed his forehead. "Both of you, stop."
Chris closed his mouth and picked up his fork again.
Tyler appreciated the intervention more than he could say.
He turned back toward Clara.
"I owe you an apology."
Her eyebrows lifted slightly.
"For what?"
Tyler hesitated.
"You know."
"I don't."
The simple answer caught him off guard.
He nodded slowly.
"That's actually part of the problem."
Clara's pen finally left the page.
Tyler looked down at the table for a moment, gathering his thoughts before forcing himself to continue.
"I've treated you badly for the past few years."
Something shifted in Clara's expression.
"I avoided you. Whenever you came near me, I acted distant. I made it seem like you'd done something wrong, even though you hadn't."
He paused, letting the words settle.
"I made things uncomfortable for you without ever telling you why."
Clara didn't interrupt.
"I know that was childish."
Tyler shook his head.
"Actually, childish is probably too generous. It was stupid."
Eris glanced at him.
Tyler didn't usually speak about himself that harshly.
Clara noticed too.
"Why are you saying this now?"
"Because I should've said it a long time ago."
He looked down at his hands.
"And because you didn't deserve any of it."
Clara lowered her gaze.
For years, she had tried to find some explanation for Tyler's behavior. She had replayed conversations in her head, wondering whether she had said something wrong or embarrassed him somehow. Every time he became distant, she had searched for a reason.
There had never been one she could find.
Now he was telling her she had done nothing.
It should have made everything simpler.
Instead, it created another question.
Clara set her pen on top of the notebook.
"Did I do something?"
"No."
The answer came instantly.
She looked at him.
"Then why?"
Tyler opened his mouth.
Nothing came.
The real answer was tangled up with memories he couldn't explain, feelings that belonged to a life Clara knew nothing about, and things he wasn't ready to put into words.
He couldn't tell her that.
Not here.
Not now.
So he gave her what he could.
"Some things from before middle school affected the way I looked at certain situations."
Clara frowned.
"Like what?"
"Personal things."
"That doesn't really explain anything."
"I know."
Tyler rubbed his thumb along the edge of the table.
"I can't explain everything right now."
Her expression fell slightly, and Tyler caught it.
"But I don't want you thinking it was because of you."
Clara remained quiet.
"Whatever I was dealing with," Tyler continued, "I allowed it to affect the way I treated people. That's my fault. Not yours."
She looked down at her notebook again, her fingers resting lightly against its edge.
Then she asked the question Tyler had been expecting.
"Did you actually dislike me?"
Tyler looked directly at her.
"No."
There was no hesitation.
Clara's eyes lifted.
"You didn't?"
"No."
"Then what was it?"
Tyler leaned back slightly, searching for a way to explain something he had barely understood himself.
"Frustration."
"Frustration?"
"Yeah."
He glanced toward the rooftop railing.
"And stubbornness."
Clara waited.
Tyler gave her a tired smile.
"And not knowing how to deal with my own feelings."
Her expression softened, though the confusion remained.
"I didn't know what to do with them," he continued, "so I did the stupidest thing possible. I avoided the person I was having trouble dealing with."
Clara stared at him.
Then she shook her head.
"You could've just talked to me."
"I know."
"You could've asked me something."
"I know."
"You could've told me you were upset."
"I know."
"You could've acted like a normal person."
Tyler nodded.
"I know."
Clara's mouth twitched.
She was fighting a smile.
"You're not even going to argue?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because you're right."
Across the table, Chris and Noah exchanged a look.
Chris leaned slightly toward him.
"This is painful."
Noah nodded solemnly.
"Very."
Kai didn't even look at them.
"Stop listening."
Chris lowered his gaze toward his food.
"I'm suddenly very interested in my lunch."
Noah followed suit.
"Same."
A quiet laugh passed around the table, easing some of the tension.
Clara waited until it faded before looking back at Tyler.
"You know what was the worst part?"
Tyler's expression became more serious.
"What?"
"I didn't know what I'd done."
Something tightened in his face.
"I know."
Clara gave him a pointed look.
"You keep saying that."
"Sorry."
She looked down at her notebook.
"For years, I wondered if I'd said something wrong."
"You didn't."
"Maybe I had offended you."
"You didn't."
"Maybe someone told you something about me."
"No."
"Maybe you just didn't like me."
"Never."
The answer was immediate enough to make Clara stop.
She looked at him carefully.
"Never?"
"Never."
For a few seconds, the sounds of the rooftop seemed to recede behind them.
A breeze moved across the table and caught a few strands of Clara's hair. She tucked them behind her ear before looking back at Tyler.
"I really didn't understand you."
Tyler almost said I know.
He stopped himself.
Clara noticed.
"Don't say it."
A faint smile pulled at his mouth.
"Okay."
She lowered her eyes again.
"I was hurt."
Tyler's smile disappeared.
"I understand."
"Better."
Clara rested both hands over her notebook.
"I kept wondering what I'd done to make you act like that."
"You didn't do anything."
"Then you should've told me."
"I should have."
"You could've just said you needed space."
"I should have."
"You could've talked to me instead of avoiding me."
"I should have."
"You could've saved us both three years of this."
Tyler gave a small, embarrassed smile.
"You're right."
Clara stared at him.
"That's basically all you've said."
Tyler shrugged.
"Because I don't have a good argument."
That drew a quiet laugh from her.
"At least you're honest."
"I'm trying."
The last words came more quietly.
Clara noticed.
Her expression softened.
"I don't expect you to explain everything."
Tyler looked at her.
"You don't?"
"No."
She shook her head.
"If there's something you're not ready to talk about, fine. I won't force you."
Tyler didn't answer.
Clara waited a moment before continuing.
"But I do want one thing."
"What?"
"Stop acting like I did something wrong."
Tyler nodded.
"I can do that."
"And stop running away whenever I come near you."
He hesitated.
It sounded simple.
He knew it wouldn't always be.
Still, he nodded.
"I can try."
Clara gave him a small smile.
"That's better than nothing."
Something in Tyler's shoulders finally loosened.
The problem between them wasn't magically gone. There were still things he couldn't tell her, memories she didn't know existed, and questions that neither of them had answers for.
But at least she no longer had to carry the blame for something that had never been her fault.
Clara closed her notebook.
"I was genuinely confused, Tyler."
"I understand."
She immediately raised an eyebrow.
Tyler caught himself.
"Sorry. I understand."
"Good."
A small smile returned to her face.
"I was confused because everyone else seemed to get along with you."
She glanced around the table.
"Eris can argue with you one second and laugh with you the next. Chris can insult you and you insult him right back. Noah can annoy you all day and somehow you still tolerate him."
Tyler looked toward Noah.
"That's because Noah has an unusual talent for surviving."
Noah looked up.
"Hey."
A few people laughed.
Noah looked from one face to another.
"Why is everyone laughing?"
"Because he's right," Chris told him.
"Nobody asked you."
Clara smiled before looking back at Tyler.
"But whenever I came around, you changed."
Tyler nodded.
"I know."
Her expression immediately sharpened.
"You were about to say it again."
Tyler raised both hands slightly.
"I caught myself."
Clara laughed softly.
"You're hopeless."
"I've heard that before."
Eris quietly watched the exchange, her expression finally relaxing. She had spent years watching Tyler turn strange and distant whenever Clara came near. Now, for the first time, she could see the two of them talking without either one trying to escape the conversation.
Clara glanced at Eris, then back at Tyler.
"I don't hate you."
Tyler looked slightly surprised.
"I didn't think you did."
"Good."
She picked up her pen again.
"But I'm still annoyed."
"Fair."
Tyler accepted that with a small nod.
The rooftop settled back into its usual noise. Someone at the far end of the table was arguing about the party menu, Noah had already returned to eating, and Luna had quietly reopened her novel.
The tension between Tyler and Clara hadn't vanished completely.
But it had changed.
It no longer felt like a wall neither of them knew how to approach.
Clara looked at Tyler one last time.
"Just don't go back to how things were."
Tyler met her gaze.
"I won't."
She nodded.
"Then we're okay."
Tyler gave her a small smile.
"Okay."
Eris leaned back in her chair, satisfied.
Across the table, Chris nudged Noah.
"So..."
Noah looked at him.
"What?"
"Are they done?"
Noah glanced toward Tyler and Clara.
"I think so."
"Should we say something?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because you'll ruin it."
Chris looked offended.
"I have excellent timing."
Kai didn't even bother looking up.
"You have the worst timing in the entire class."
"Why is everyone against me today?"
"Because you're Chris."
Noah snorted.
Chris frowned.
"That's not an answer."
"It is," Kai replied.
Clara heard them and smiled into her lunch.
Tyler was about to say something when a quiet voice came from beside them.
"Just kiss already."
The words landed so casually that Tyler initially wondered whether he'd imagined them.