What We Left Unsaid | r.g.

After he tried to convince her that art wasn't a real future, Clara Hartwell told herself to erase Ryland Grace from her life entirely.
And she almost succeeded.
Now, years later, they're teaching at the same middle school. Her with paint-covered hands and carefully rebuilt confidence. Him with nervous rambling and an apology he's never stopped carrying.
Grace knows he doesn't deserve a second chance.
But every late night in her classroom, every sarcastic argument in the hallways, and every accidental touch makes him want one anyway.
And the more they try to ignore the tension between them, the more impossible it becomes to pretend there's nothing left.

A Project Hail Mary fanfiction. This story is WITHOUT the astrophage. This will have sexual themes; reader discretion is advised.