They met after school, like always.

Jordan was already waiting by the stone benches near the front steps, sneakers scuffing against the ground, hands shoved into the pockets of his jacket. He spotted Arya weaving through the crowd and smiled or at least, tried to.

It didn't reach his eyes. Arya felt it before she even got close enough to touch him.

But she pushed it down.

Buried it under the excitement bubbling in her chest because they were together. Because they chose to be.

Still.

She slowed a little as she approached, like something heavy had grabbed the hem of her shirt.

Jordan lifted a hand half-heartedly in greeting. Arya bumped his shoulder lightly with hers, the way she always did, and usually he would have leaned into it, teased her, thrown his arm around her neck.

Today, he just smiled and said, "Hey."

Arya tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, studying him without trying to look like she was studying him. "Hey yourself," she said brightly.

They started walking toward the edge of campus, where the city stretched open and the sky looked too big for the buildings.

It should have been easy.

It always was with him.

But every few steps, Arya felt the crack in the air widen. Small, stupid things.

The way Jordan kept glancing at his phone but never texting. The way his laugh didn't quite land when she joked about their disastrous dodgeball match last week.

The way he kept his hands buried deep in his pockets instead of reaching for her.

Arya forced herself to keep talking, to keep smiling.

They passed a bookstore, and Jordan slowed for a second, staring blankly at the window display.

"Remember when we talked about breaking in there for the free books?" Arya joked, bumping his hip.

Jordan snorted but it sounded wrong. Forced. "Yeah. Total criminal masterminds."

She waited for him to riff off the joke, to tease her the way he always did. He didn't.

They kept walking.

Arya bit the inside of her cheek so hard she tasted blood.

The silence stretched between them, fraying at the edges.

Jordan's shoulders were hunched tighter than usual. Like he was bracing for a hit.

Arya hugged herself loosely, pretending she was cold even though she wasn't.

She didn't know what she was doing wrong.

She didn't know why it felt like he was already half a step away, slipping out of reach, like sand through her fingers.

The fear flickered low in her stomach old, familiar, bitter.

Not again.

Please not again.

Jordan slowed outside an old convenience store, kicking at a loose pebble.

"Hey," he said, voice too soft.

Arya looked up at him, heart hammering too hard in her chest.

But he just jerked his chin toward the street.

"Want to grab a soda or something?"

It was such a normal thing to say.

Arya smiled and it didn't quite fit her face either. "Yeah," she said. "Sure."

They went inside, the fluorescent lights buzzing overhead, the world too bright and too fake.

They picked out two drinks, hers a root beer, his a plain lemonade and Jordan paid before she could argue.

It was normal.

It was fine.

It was everything they usually did.

But somewhere deep in Arya's chest, something tiny and fragile had already started to splinter.

They walked back out onto the sidewalk, sipping their drinks.

Jordan's hand brushed hers once by accident.

Neither of them reached for the other again.