Wild Reverie is on stage, Roman commanding the room with an ease that makes it look effortless, Creed in control behind him, Ezra quieter but no less present, the music building and breaking in waves that feel like they’re pulling the whole place along with them.
It feels like a promise.
Like something opening.
And without really thinking about it, I step forward into it.
“Hey, there.” Finn’s voice slides in beside me like it belongs there.
I turn, already smiling, because he has that effect on me, whether I want him to or not.
“You’re late,” he says.
“I didn’t have a time to be here.”
“Exactly,” he replies. “Late.”
I roll my eyes, but I’m still smiling. “Hi.”
“Hi,” he echoes, softer now.
His gaze flicks over me quickly, not obvious, but thorough enough that I feel it. The quiet check-in, the unspokenare you okay?
“I’m good,” I say, just as quietly.
“I know,” he answers, like he actually does.
And maybe he does.
He takes my hand then, easy, warm, and certain, and pulls me further into the room like this is exactly where I’m meant to be.
Zane is there before I even realize I’m looking for him.
Or maybe he’s just always been close enough that I didn’t need to.
I feel him before I see him, that presence that has become something my body recognizes instinctively now.
“Hey,” he says.
“Hey.”
His eyes move over my face, not searching for cracks, just… checking. Reading. Making sure I’m really here.
“How are you?” he asks.
I breathe in, let myself feel it fully before I answer.
“I think…” I say slowly, “I think I’m actually good.”
His shoulders ease, just slightly.
“Yeah?” he murmurs.
“Yeah.”
His hand brushes mine, fingers sliding lightly over my knuckles in a touch that’s soft enough to miss if I wasn’t paying attention.
I am.
