"What's up?" Derek's voice was carefully neutral.
Aaron looked between us, his jaw working. "I've been hearing things. Rumors. About you two."
The world tilted. I felt Derek's entire body tense beside me.
"What kind of rumors?" I asked, proud that my voice didn't shake.
"That you're spending a lot of time together. That you're acting... differently." Aaron's eyes narrowed. "Max says I'm being paranoid. That you're just friends helping each other through recovery. Tell me he's right."
The question hung in the air. One word from either of us and everything would explode.
Derek opened his mouth, and I saw the war playing out on his face. The desire to finally tell the truth. The loyalty to his best friend. The love for me.
"Max is right," Derek said, and I felt something inside me crack. "We're friends. That's all."
Aaron studied us for another long moment, then nodded slowly. "Okay. Good. Because Sebastian was just telling me some pretty specific things. About seeing you two in the studio late at night. About the way Derek looks at you."
"Sebastian needs to mind his own business," Derek said, his voice hard.
"Maybe. Or maybe he's actually looking out for the team." Aaron crossed his arms. "Look, I don't want to be that guy. The overprotective brother who thinks no one's good enough for his sister. But if something was going on between you two, it would be complicated in ways I don't think either of you has thought through."
"Nothing's going on," I said, hating every word. "Can we please just drop this and enjoy the party?"
"Fine." But Aaron didn't look convinced. "Just... be smart. Both of you. Oh, and your phone... your music sucks."
Derek took his phone back with a tense smile, as Aaron walked away, leaving us standing there in loaded silence.
"I should go," I whispered.
"Rosie..."
"I can't do this right now." I turned away before he could see the tears forming. "I'll see you later."
I made it to the bathroom before the tears fell, locking myself in and trying to breathe through the panic. We couldn't keep doing this. Living in constant fear of being discovered. Lying to everyone we cared about.
Something had to give.
And I was terrified of what would break when it finally did.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
DEREK
The Halloween party felt like it was closing in on me. Every conversation, every laugh, every casual touch between friends felt loaded with danger. I kept catching glimpses of Rosie across the room, her sparkly disco costume catching the light, her forced smile as she talked to Nova and Ivy, and wanting nothing more than to go to her.
But I couldn't. Not with Aaron watching. Not with Sebastian lurking like a predator waiting to pounce.
"Dude, you're staring again," Max muttered beside me, dressed in a zombie costume that was more funny than scary.
"I'm not staring."
"You absolutely are. And so is Aaron." Max took a sip of his beer. "This is getting out of hand."
"I know." I forced my eyes away from Rosie. "We're going to tell him. After Westpoint."
"That's what you said last week. And the week before that." Max's voice was gentle but firm. "At some point, you're going to have to stop hiding."
"We're not hiding. We're being strategic."
