Social sin

"I'm tired of pretending everything's fine," Ava whispered, her voice cracking like the edges of a broken mirror. She stared at the floor, unwilling to meet his eyes, afraid they'd see too much.

"You're not the only one running from shadows, Ava," Liam said softly, his voice carrying a weight she hadn't expected.

She looked up, startled by the vulnerability in his expression. His confident façade-the charm, the easy smiles-had been stripped away, leaving the raw edges of a boy fighting battles he couldn't name.

"You don't understand," she said, shaking her head. "This isn't just about being hurt or scared. It's... everything. My mom, my dad, me. It's like I'm standing in quicksand, and no matter how hard I fight, I keep sinking."

Liam stepped closer, his movements careful, deliberate. "And you think I don't know what that feels like? My whole life has been about being what everyone else wants. My dad wants me to follow in his footsteps, my mom just wants peace, and I'm stuck trying to figure out where I fit in all of it."

Ava's breath hitched. She hadn't expected him to understand, not really. But now, standing there, she saw the fractures in him too.

For a moment, they just stood in silence, the distance between them shrinking, not physically, but in a way that mattered more.

Liam finally broke the quiet. "You don't have to go through this alone, Ava. Not anymore."

The words hit her like a wave, powerful and overwhelming. She didn't know how to reply, so instead, she reached for him, her hand brushing his. It was a small gesture, but it carried the weight of everything she couldn't say.

And in that moment, surrounded by the chaos of their lives, Ava and Liam found a fragile refuge in each other-a fleeting calm in the eye of the storm.