(Heaven POV)
Hospitals are loud in a quiet way.
The machines never stop. The air never warms. Time doesn't move the way it should.
Heaven sat beside Zane's bed, fingers wrapped around his hand.
Cold.
Still cold.
Even now.
She told herself it was normal.
Shock. Exhaustion. Dehydration. Anything logical.
But logic didn't explain the way her chest felt like it was splitting open.
She hadn't realized when it started — noticing him.
Maybe it was the bus stop.
Maybe it was the umbrella.
Maybe it was the way he listened when everyone else talked.
Zane had always felt slightly... distant. Not in personality. In presence.
Like sometimes he wasn't fully there.
And she hated that thought now.
Because what if he wasn't?
She looked at his face.
Peaceful. Pale.
Too pale.
"You're not allowed to scare me like this," she whispered.
Her friends had stepped out to get water. The room was quiet except for the monitor.
Beep.
Pause.
Beep.
Longer pause.
Her stomach twisted.
Ever since the first time they walked together, she'd felt something shift. She just hadn't named it.
The way he looked at her like she mattered.
The way he held her umbrella carefully, like it was something fragile.
The way he said he was afraid of being forgotten.
She squeezed his hand.
"You won third place," she murmured. "You were amazing."
The monitor flickered.
The green line trembled.
And then—
It flatlined.
Just for a second.
Heaven froze.
The sound stretched into one sharp, continuous tone—
Then stopped.
The line dropped.
Silence.
No beep.
Her breath caught.
"Zane?"
The machines didn't start again.
The room felt... wrong.
Not empty.
Not silent.
Paused.
Like the world had taken a breath and forgotten to let it go.
And then—
The air shifted.
A faint draft brushed across her face, though the windows were closed.
The overhead lights flickered once.
Just once.
And the monitor—
Beep.
The green line jumped back.
Strong.
Stronger than before.
Zane inhaled sharply.
Like someone surfacing from deep water.
Heaven shot up. "Zane?!"
His eyes opened.
But for a split second—
They weren't focused.
They weren't confused.
They weren't even scared.
They were distant.
Like he was looking at something far beyond the ceiling.
Then they blinked.
And he was just Zane again.
"...Heaven?" he croaked.
Tears hit her before she realized she was crying.
"You idiot," she breathed.
He frowned weakly. "Did we win?"
She laughed through tears. "You got third."
"Oh." A faint smile. "That's... not bad."
The door burst open as nurses rushed in, confused about the monitor spike.
But Heaven didn't look away from him.
Because something was different.
Not dramatic.
Not obvious.
Just...
Different.
His hand wasn't cold anymore.
It was warm.
Warmer than hers.
(Back to Zane POV)
He remembered the sky.
That was the last thing.
Blue.
Endless.
And then—
Nothing.
But it hadn't felt empty.
It had felt...
Full.
Like standing at the edge of something vast.
Like someone had been there.
Not speaking.
Just waiting.
He looked at Heaven now.
Her eyes were red from crying.
Blue.
Ocean blue.
And something inside his chest beat—
Steady.
Too steady.
Stronger than it ever had.
He swallowed.
"I had the weirdest dream," he murmured.
Heaven leaned closer. "What was it?"
He hesitated.
"I don't think it was a dream."
The words slipped out before he could stop them.
A flicker passed through the lights again.
So faint no one else reacted.
Zane felt it.
Like a quiet echo in his ribs.
Like something had restarted.
But not in the same way.
Outside the window, the sky darkened slightly — though the forecast had promised clear weather.
And somewhere far beyond the hospital walls—
Something that had been silent for a very long time
had begun to notice him.
Zane didn't know what had happened on that field.
He only knew one thing
When his heart had stopped—
Something else had answered.