Finn leans closer. “You want to go upstairs?”
I consider it for half a second, because it would be easy, go upstairs, close the door, pretend the world outside doesn’t exist, pretend none of this is happening, pretend I’m still passing through.
But then the door swings open again, and everything changes.
Ivy walks in like a force of nature, her friends in tow and chaos following close behind. She spots me immediately, locks on, and moves.
“Oh, absolutely not,” she says, sliding into the space beside me like she’s claiming territory. “Why do you look like someone just told you you’re not allowed to have feelings?”
I blink.
“I… what?”
She gestures vaguely. “That face. That is a ‘people are being weird about something I didn’t ask for’ face.”
I stare at her. “…that’s exactly what face it is.”
“I know,” she says. “I’ve made it before.”
Olivia appears on my other side, calm and warm and somehow immediately grounding. Delaney and Sloane follow, forming a quiet, unmistakable wall around me.
“What’s going on?” Olivia asks gently.
I hesitate, because saying it out loud makes it bigger, but they’re all looking at me like I don’t have to filter it, like I don’t have to minimize it.
“People are talking,” I say finally. “About me. About… us.”
Ivy snorts.
“Yeah,” she says. “They’re jealous.”
I choke on my drink. “That is not helpful.”
“It’s true,” she shrugs.
Lani leans over the counter. “It is. Also, people love drama. This is premium content.”
Sloane smiles softly. “They’ll get bored.”
Delaney nods. “Or distracted. Or both.”
Olivia’s gaze stays on mine. “But that doesn’t make it feel good right now.”
“No,” I admit.
Ivy leans in slightly. “Listen to me. This town talks. That’s part of the deal. But it also chooses.”
I frown slightly. “Chooses what?”
“Who belongs,” she says simply.
My heart skips a beat or two.
“You think I belong?” I ask, before I can stop myself.
She doesn’t hesitate. “Yes.”
“You’re allowed to live your life,” Lani adds. “Even if it’s… unconventional. Look at Ivy, Olivia, Delaney, and Sloane! Nothing you’re doing is actuallythatunconventional here. It’s just a new love story for everyone to latch on to.”
