Every seat filled, every inch stuffed with bags, jerseys, and bodies. Voices were loud, laughter echoing down the aisle as I stood there, clutching my folder to my chest, trying not to get in the way.
“Find a seat, Campbell!” the coach shouted from the front.
Right. A seat.
I glanced around. Nowhere.
The only space left was—
My stomach dropped.
Joshua.
He sat right at the back, the entire row to himself and duffle bags that were piled up beside both sides of him, leaving little to no space, headphones on, hood half up and long legs stretched out. Everyone else was paired, sleeping, or already settled. He was the only one with space. Barely.
And he saw me.
I knew he did. His eyes flicked up for a second, quick but sharp, before going back to whatever he was looking at.
I hesitated. My body screameddon’t do it, but logic whisperedhe’s the only one you know. And that the only space left was that little micro area next to him.
I started walking down the aisle, careful, clutching my folder tighter as the bus engine rumbled beneath me.
“Let’s move, boys!” the coach called from the front.
I froze, mid-step, then the bus jerked forward.
Everything happened too fast.
My balance slipped. Folders flying out of my hand, and before I could even gasp, I stumbled right into him.
Hard.
“Shit,” he muttered, hands instinctively shooting out to steady me. One on my waist. One on my thigh where my knee had landed on his lap.
I froze. Completely froze.
So did he.
The air felt different now, thick, heavy, silent despite the surrounding noise.
My pulse was racing, my face burning as I scrambled to pick up my folder, to move, to do something.
“Careful,” he said lowly, his voice barely audible over the chatter, but it still sent a shiver down my spine.
I nodded quickly, not trusting my own voice, not that it would come out even if I tried.
There was nowhere else to go, nowhere else to sit. The bus was already moving.
So… I stayed.
Awkwardly, hesitantly, I sat beside him, half on the seat, half pressed against the pile of bags that boxed us in.
His knee brushed mine, just barely.
And even though neither of us said a word, the silence between us was loud enough to drown out the whole bus.
The bus jolted again, turning sharply down the road. I barely had time to catch my breath when the coach’s voice cut through the noise.
