Chapter 3
Aurelle had always thought of herself as steady.
She was not the kind to waver, to linger, to lose herself in unnecessary thoughts. The world was straightforward, a sequence of actions and reactions, a rhythm she could follow with ease. And yet, for the past week, something had changed.
She had changed.
Or maybe, she hadn’t. Maybe it was Solenne.
It had been weeks, and Aurelle was still trying to understand what exactly had shifted. She started noticing small, almost imperceptible things that, on their own, didn’t mean much. But when put together, they created a picture she wasn’t sure how to interpret. The way Solenne’s laughter lingered in her ears longer than it used to. The way she’d catch herself looking for Solenne in a crowded room before realizing what she was doing. How her presence, once just another familiar constant in Aurelle’s life, had become something she was hyper aware of.
The way Aurelle’s own breath caught in her throat at seemingly insignificant moments—Solenne brushing a stray eyelash from her cheek, the warmth of her arm pressed lightly against hers in the cramped hallway, the way her name sounded when Solenne said it, like it was something worth holding onto.
Why silence between them, once so easy, now felt charged with something unspoken, something heavy and delicate all at once.
Why? Why was she suddenly so aware of every little thing about her?
The way she tucked her hair behind her ear absentmindedly, the way she chewed on the end of her pen when she was thinking, the way her gaze softened when she was looking at something—someone—she cared about.
She told herself it was nothing. That she was simply overthinking things. But the problem was, once she noticed it, she couldn’t ignore it. The warmth of Solenne standing too close. The way her eyes softened when they met Aurelle’s. How easy it was to find herself lost in the cadence of her voice. Aurelle had always been observant, but now, every little detail about Solenne felt magnified.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. She had known Solenne for years, had spent hours upon hours with her, had walked home with her more times than she could count. They had been best friends forever, their lives tangled together so seamlessly that there had never been a need to question it. But now, Aurelle found herself hesitating, second-guessing things she had never thought twice about.
And then there was the teasing.
It had started off as harmless fun, something they had grown used to over the years. Their friends had always poked fun at how inseparable they were, joking about them acting like a couple. Aurelle had rolled her eyes, laughed along, brushed it off as nothing. But lately, the teasing felt different—like there was something beneath it that made her stomach tighten. Before, it was easy to dismiss. Now, every comment made her pulse stutter,something about those words lingered, clung to her skin long after they were spoken.
Because what if?
She hated that thought. Hated how it wormed its way into her mind when she was lying in bed at night, staring at the ceiling, replaying every moment over and over again, searching for an answer she didn’t have. It made her restless, like she was standing on the edge of something she couldn’t name, something terrifyingly unfamiliar.
Something she knows, she’s not ready to face.
-
The laughter of their friends wove through the afternoon air, a familiar, easy sound, yet it carried something heavier now—something that settled deep in Aurelle’s chest, making her pulse uneven. They were all gathered near the lockers, loitering before heading home, their usual playful banter filling the space between them.
"Oh, look at them. Walking home together again," Carson crooned, leaning against the cool metal of the lockers with an exaggerated sigh. "At this point, it’s a daily romance movie screening. When do we get to the part where they confess?"
"The way they look at each other? It’s really like watching a romance movie unfold in real time," Lyra added, shaking her head with a knowing smile.
Aurelle exhaled through her nose, bracing herself, already knowing how this would unfold. It was always the same teasing, the same jokes. She opened her mouth, the denial forming on her lips like a reflex, but then—she hesitated. Because lately, that answer didn’t feel as simple as it used to. Before, she would have scoffed, rolled her eyes, and moved on without a second thought. But now, it’s … different. The weight of those words settled into her chest, heavy and unsettling.
She turned, just slightly, to steal a glance at Solenne. And then she saw it—
That flicker.
Something flickering in Solenne’s expression, brief and fleeting, like the last glow of a dying ember. It was hesitation, the kind that cracked through her usual effortless composure, the kind that made Aurelle’s breath catch in her throat.
Did she see it wrong? Had it always been there?
Solenne had always been composed, always quick with a retort, a smirk, an easy confidence that never wavered. But for a split second, before she could mask it, there was something else in her expression. A hesitation. A moment where as if the teasing reached her, where it settled beneath her skin and made her pause.
But before Aurelle could even process the thought, Solenne let out a soft chuckle, shaking her head with feigned amusement. “If this is a romance movie, I hope it’s not a tragic one.” she states, while grinning.
Jaime wiggled her eyebrows. “Oh, please. You two are endgame. It’s written in the stars.”
Solenne let out a breathy laugh, tilting her head slightly. "Aurelle and I are cosmic now? That’s a new one."
Soleil leaned in, her eyes glinting with mischief. "You’re literally named Astra. And she’s Nyx. The stars and the night. If that’s not fate, I don’t know what is."
Mavis, never one to miss an opportunity, smirked. "Honestly, I think they skipped straight to the domestic stage. At this point, they’re basically married."
"Married, huh? Should I be expecting a ring soon, Aurelle? Because if so, I have very high standards." Solenne mused, voice carrying that teasing tone they all knew too well.
The group erupted into laughter, but Aurelle barely heard it. Her ears rang, her mind replaying that brief, fragile moment. Had she imagined it? Had she only seen what she wanted to see? No—no, it had been there. That flicker of something just beneath the surface, like the briefest moment of hesitation before stepping into unknown waters.
Aurelle could feel her own pulse in her fingertips, a rhythm she couldn’t quite steady. She had a response ready, one of her usual scoffs, a dismissive remark, but it stuck in her throat. Instead, she forced a smirk, tilting her head just slightly, eyes narrowing. "You’re awfully demanding for someone who hasn’t even proposed back. Should I be expecting a grand gesture from you instead?"
Solenne faltered.
It was so brief—so fleeting—that anyone else would’ve missed it. But Aurelle saw it. That flicker again, that split second of uncertainty, the way Solenne’s lips parted slightly before she caught herself, before the teasing mask slipped effortlessly back into place.
Solenne clicked her tongue, shaking her head with an exaggerated sigh. "I suppose if I must. But only if you’re worthy."
The others laughed again, completely oblivious to the way something in the air had changed, something taut and fragile stretched between them.
Aurelle forced herself to chuckle, playing along, but as they started walking toward the school gates, her thoughts unraveled, spiraling down a path she wasn’t sure she was ready to tread. Because for the first time, it wasn’t just about the teasing anymore. It wasn’t just a joke.
And that terrified her.
Something had changed. She didn’t know what, she didn’t know when, but she knew it was there. And for the first time in her life, she didn’t have an answer.
As they stepped out into the cooling afternoon air, she stole another glance at Solenne, trying to decipher the puzzle unraveling in front of her. And in that moment, Solenne—walking beside her, seemingly unbothered—was also lost in thought, her own heart unsteady, trying to understand why, for the first time, she had hesitated.
-
Solenne had always liked to notice things.
She noticed the way light filtered through the classroom blinds, slanting in golden ribbons against the wooden desks. She noticed the way the wind played with the ends of Aurelle’s hair when they walked home, how the strands caught the sunlight, burning gold for just a second before the breeze carried them away. She noticed the way Aurelle’s hands twitched when she was lost in thought, as if her mind was moving too fast for her body to keep up.
Solenne had always liked to notice things.
But lately, the things she noticed felt different.
The shift was undeniable.
Solenne had felt it creeping in over the past few weeks—slow, subtle, like the changing of seasons. It wasn’t something she could name, but she felt it in the way her heartbeat stumbled when Aurelle looked at her a certain way. In the way she caught herself staring, memorizing the curve of Aurelle’s lips when she spoke, the way she pushed her hair behind her ear when she was thinking. It wasn’t a sudden storm, but rather a quiet unraveling, a soft redrawing of the lines that had always defined her and Aurelle.
At first, she ignored it, convinced that it was just her mind playing tricks on her. The way her eyes lingered a little too long, the way her heart stuttered at the sound of Aurelle’s voice. That she had always been this aware of Aurelle, always noticed the way her voice dropped when she was tired, always knew how to interpret the smallest shift in her expressions. She told herself that it was nothing more than a passing whim. But whims didn’t last weeks. They didn’t settle deep into her bones and make a home there.
She had always known Aurelle. Known the steady weight of her presence, the quiet strength in her silence. But now, everything about her was something to be noticed. The way she would tilt her head ever so slightly when she was listening, the way her fingers tapped against her thigh when she was lost in thought, the way her lips pressed together when she was holding back a laugh. Things Solenne had seen a thousand times before, and yet now, they felt new. Important. Different.
And she didn’t know why.
It was ridiculous.
She had known Aurelle forever. There was nothing new about her. Nothing unfamiliar. And yet, every time she looked at her now, it felt like seeing her for the first time.
Like noticing the way the light in her eyes softened when she was amused. Like realizing that Aurelle’s presence wasn’t just comforting but necessary, like something Solenne had built into the foundation of her world without even realizing it.
She didn’t understand it. And that frustrated her more than anything.
It was maddening, not knowing. The feeling of standing on the edge of something unnamed, something vast and consuming, yet just out of reach. Like standing in the eye of a storm, knowing something was coming but unable to move. It left her restless, searching for an answer she wasn’t sure she was ready to find.
And then the teasing.
Their friends had always joked about them, had always thrown around playful remarks about how they were practically a couple. Before, it had been nothing but noise, something to roll her eyes at, to toss back a witty remark in response. But now… now the words stuck to her skin, heavy, making her pulse quicken in ways she couldn’t explain.
Aurelle had been different. Not in the way she acted, but in the way she reacted. The way her eyes darted away too quickly, the way her voice caught when she denied it, the way her cheeks burned red at the smallest provocation.
Solenne had always loved teasing Aurelle. Loved the way she could make her flustered with a well-placed comment, the way her ears turned pink when she was embarrassed. But lately, it felt different. The teasing didn’t feel as innocent as it once had, and didn't feel like a game. Because every time she said something, she found herself holding her breath, waiting for a reaction she didn’t understand.
Solenne had always been good at understanding things—how people worked, how emotions tangled and unraveled, how to read the world around her with ease. But this? This shift, this weight in the air between her and Aurelle? She didn’t understand it at all.
And she hated not understanding.
She had caught herself staring more times than she could count. Caught herself hesitating before speaking, caught herself feeling something strange and unfamiliar settle in her chest whenever Aurelle was near.
And it wasn’t just her.
She knew Aurelle felt it too.
The tension in her shoulders, the way she hesitated before meeting Solenne’s eyes, the way she lingered just a second too long whenever they said goodbye. It was there. Solenne could see it, feel it.
But neither of them said anything. Neither of them acknowledged the shift.
-
They both felt it, circling around them like an unspoken truth neither was ready to face.
Aurelle noticed the way Solenne lingered just a second longer when they parted ways. The way her fingers would brush against her wrist before she let go. The way her gaze would flicker to Aurelle’s lips when she thought she wasn’t looking. And she told herself it was nothing, that it was all in her head. But it was.
Solenne noticed the way Aurelle had become quieter around her, more hesitant. The way she would open her mouth like she wanted to say something, only to shake her head and stay silent. The way she always seemed hyper aware of where Solenne was, how close they were standing. And she told herself it didn’t mean anything. But it did.
And so, they continued on, moving around each other like planets caught in the same gravitational pull, orbiting closer, closer, never colliding, never daring to name whatever was changing between them.
-
That night, Aurelle lay in bed, staring at the bracelet on her wrist—the one Solenne had bought for her, the one she hadn’t taken off since. She ran her fingers over the woven threads, over the small charm of a crescent moon. It was just a bracelet, just a simple, thoughtful gift from a friend. And yet, she found herself gripping it tightly, as if it held the answer to something she wasn’t ready to ask.
At the same time, Solenne sat by her window, absentmindedly tracing the edge of her own bracelet. The threads shimmered in the dim light, the tiny star charm cool against her skin. She exhaled softly, pressing her forehead against the glass, wondering why something so small felt so heavy.
Maybe one day they would understand what had changed between them.
But for now, all they could do was wait, caught in the space between knowing and not knowing, in the quiet, unspoken something that stretched between them.