𝐔𝐧𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞.

𝐊𝐀𝐏𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐋 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄

Maxine's POV

The next morning, after Damian's movie night, I awoke feeling strange and unusually calm. The weight still felt in my chest but not quite as heavy.

The events of the night were etched in my mind: Theo's quiet admission, Damian's oblivious warmth, and the knowing glances that passed between Jarvie and Savannah. For them

it is clear how much history Theo and I are working through without having to put words to it.

Still, it was progress. Awkward, messy, and incomplete, but progress nonetheless.

I spent the better part of the day at my desk, catching up on work and trying not to overthink things that happened the previous evening. The sun began to set when my phone buzzed.

It was a message from Theo.

Theo: Got a minute to talk?

I sat there frozen for a moment, my heart doing this uncomfortable flip. A part of me wanted to ignore it

let things settle naturally without diving headfirst into another emotional conversation. But another part-a stronger part-knew that wasn't fair to either of us.

Me: Sure. Call or meet up?

Her reply came almost instantly.

Theo: Meet me at the coffee shop near Damian's place?

I glanced at the clock. Already after six, but I agreed.

---

The coffee shop was quieter than usual when I arrived, its warm lights casting a golden glow over the tables.

Theo was already there, sitting by the window with a mug in front of her. She looked up when I walked in, offering a tentative smile.

"Hey," she said as I slid into the seat across from her.

"Hey."

For a moment, we just sat there, the silence between us both comfortable and charged.

"I didn't want to leave things hanging after last night," Theo said finally, her voice steady but quiet.

"You didn't," I assured her, though I wasn't entirely sure if that was true.

She looked down at her hands, tracing the rim of her mug. "I meant what I said last night. About regret. About hurting you."

"I know."

Theo looked up, her amber eyes locking with mine. "Do you, though? I mean, I've been apologizing in my head for so long, but what does that mean without showing you that I've changed?"

Her words struck me without warning. There was such a raw sincerity in them that it would be impossible to doubt her.

"I believe you," I said after a moment. "But I think it's going to take time for me to fully trust that."

Theo nodded, as if she'd expected nothing less. "I can live with that. As long as you're willing to let me try."

I sipped my coffee, letting her words settle. It was strange-hearing Theo speak like this, so open and vulnerable.

The Theo I remembered from college had always been so self-assured, sometimes to a fault. But this Theo? She felt. real.

"What made you come back?" I asked suddenly, the question slipping out before I could stop myself.

Theo sat back in her chair, contemplative. "Honestly? I couldn't stop thinking about you. About us. I kept wondering what could've been if I hadn't screwed everything up."

Her honesty took me aback, and for a moment, I didn't know how to react.

"You know," she went on, softening her voice. "It wasn't just guilt that made me come back. It was hope. Hope that maybe we could fix this.

I gazed at her, my heart a knot of confusing emotions.

"I don't know if we can ever go back to what we were," I admitted. "Too much has happened."

"I'm not asking to go back," Theo said quickly. "I just want a chance to be in your life again, in whatever way you'll have me.

Her words reminded me of what she'd said on Damian's balcony. They carried the same sincerity, the same vulnerability that was so unlike the Theo I used to know.

"Okay," I said finally. "We'll take it one step at a time."

A small smile broke across her face, and for the first time, I felt like we were truly on the same page.

---

A few days later, Damian planned another get-together, this one a casual hike at a nearby nature preserve.

She was determined to keep the squad together in every aspect, her energy seemingly as contagious as ever.

"Fresh air and exercise," she said in the group chat. "What more could you ask for?"

Jarvie immediately responded with "Snacks and no hiking."

We all came on Saturday morning despite his protests. Damian had his usual exuberant energy, leading the way with Harmony and Fleur following close behind.

Savannah and Jarvie were back of pack, bickering over something as minor as whose turn it was to hold the reins.

Theo and I walked together. Our step was a little slower than the rest. It was strange- comfortable yet tentative, like we were testing the waters of this new dynamic.

"Do you think Damian suspects anything?" Theo asked after a while, her voice low.

"Not yet," I said. "And I'd like to keep it that way."

Theo nodded. "Agreed. She doesn't need to get caught up in all this."

We fell into silence again, the sound of birds and the crunch of leaves beneath our boots filling the space between us.

"I missed this," Theo said suddenly, her voice breaking through the quiet.".

I looked up at her in surprise. "Missed what?"

"This," she said, waving a hand toward the trail ahead. "Being around you. Talking to you. It feels. normal again. Like it used to."

Her words pulled me on in a painful interplay of longing and caution.

"I missed it too," I said, that simple truth tumbling out before I could pull it back inside where it belonged.

Theo smiled, and for a moment, the years of hurt and distance between us felt smaller, less significant.

---

By the time we reached the end of the trail, Damian was waiting for us with her trademark grin.

"Look at you two, lagging behind like old friends catching up," she teased.

Theo and I exchanged a look and couldn't help but grin. Maybe, just maybe, we were on our way to being exactly that.