I glance back at the stage, at him. I can hardly breathe. “I...”
“He feels the same, Nova. I’d bet on it,” she says firmly.
“I don’t know. I’ve never thought of him like that before, and I don’t think he has either.”
Aurora tilts her head. “Never? Not once? You’re sixteen. It’s normal to think about sex, you know.”
Heat floods my face. “Sex?”
She grins, amused by my horror. “Yes, sex. You’ve never thought about him that way? Or any guy, really?”
“I... I don’t know. I’ve never been interested. Guys always seemed boring. The only person I ever kissed was Vincent, and that was two years ago—it lasted two seconds. What if this isn’t love? What if it’s just because he’s... attractive now?”
Aurora hands me my phone after stopping the video, her eyes soft. “Okay. Then answer this: how long have you been feeling butterflies whenever he’s around?”
I bite my lip. “...Since he came back. He’s always felt like home to me, but now—I can’t even be near him without shaking. I stopped sleeping over two months ago. The last time I stayed at his place, I couldn’t sleep a minute because I was so nervous. He sleeps without a shirt because of the heater, and...” I trail off, groaning.
“And...?” Aurora presses.
“I don’t want to see him that way. I don’t want to reduce him to that. But when I do... I can’t stop imagining what it would feel like to touch him. To have him touch me.”
Aurora bursts into laughter. “Nova, that’s not a bad thing. That’s attraction. It doesn’t mean you’re objectifying him—it means youwanthim. That’s part of love. It’s normal. And honestly? It sounds like you’re already in deep. I’ve always thought he was crazy about you. You just needed to wake up to it yourself.”
I shake my head, whispering, “He already has so many problems.”
Aurora squeezes my shoulder. “And you could be the one thing that makes them easier. The tension between you two? You could cut it with a knife. Trust me—you’re not imagining it. And if you ever need advice, I’m here. We’re friends, right?” Her voice softens at the end, almost shy.
I smile and hug her tight. She stiffens for a moment, then melts into it, her taller frame folding around me. And I realize how much I love being held.
Vincent’s voice booms through the mic, pulling us apart. Both of us blink in confusion. The setlist should’ve ended and the drive-in movie should be starting soon, but the boys are back at their instruments.
“Straight Punch has one last song for you tonight!” Vincent shouts into the mic, grinning as the crowd roars. “It’s an original, and we hope it makes you believe in epic love! It’s calledNow Our Voices Align!”
He gives a small nod to the others, then begins to pluck the strings. For just a second, his gaze finds me again, and that little smile returns. A smile that only belongs to me.
I've got something in this melody....
You talk in ways I don't quite get,
But when you smile, I feel something set
In motion, quiet but so real-
A spark I've tried so long to feel.
If you could hear this melody,
Behind each word I don't say,
You'd maybe feel the heart of me
In every note I play.
We move like chords no one can hear-
So close but somehow still apart
Your smile, it echoes in my ear
