loving you in half measures

Ling doesn't do close. She does control. She does quiet mornings, flawless grades, and boundaries no one dares test. Raised between two cities and two parents who never looked back, she learned early: no one is coming to make you feel safe. You do that yourself.

Orm is light in motion. Brilliant, bold, and brighter than most people realize until it's too late. She didn't talk her way into the class-she earned it. And she earned her place next to Ling, even if that's not how Ling sees it at first.

They get paired for a project. It starts with silence. Then side glances. Then something that doesn't have a name until it's already too much.

"You didn't even ask me to stay," Orm whispers, like she's still hoping it's not the end.
Ling doesn't meet her eyes. "I was afraid if I asked, you would."

They fall. One first. One harder. And when the time comes to choose between love and the lives they dreamed of before they ever met, they don't know how to choose each other.

Maybe it's the wrong time. Maybe that's just what people say when love doesn't fit the way they need it to. Or maybe some hearts are meant to leave, only to find their way back.