A few days later:

This kiss was getting out of hand.

It started slow, soft, teasing touches, the ghost of a smile against each other's lips.

Arya's fingers curled into the front of Jordan's T-shirt, bunching the fabric like she needed to anchor herself.

Jordan let out a low noise in the back of his throat, one hand sliding under the hem of her top, brushing warm circles against her waist like he still half-thought she might vanish if he touched her too hard.

Then Arya tilted her head, deepening the kiss, and everything snapped.

Jordan backed her into the kitchen counter, chasing the taste of her, something sweet and reckless and addictive.

His hands gripped her hips, pulling her closer until there was no space left between them.

Arya gasped softly against him, and Jordan swallowed the sound like he couldn't bear to let it go.

The world blurred out at the edges.

It was messy.

It was desperate.

It was them.

And just when it seemed like the kiss might spiral past the point of no return—

"OH MY GOD."

Sky's voice shattered the moment, shrill and horrified.

Arya jolted, smacking her head lightly against the cabinet. Jordan caught her instinctively, arm tightening around her waist as they both turned, blinking, to see Sky frozen in the hallway like he'd witnessed a crime scene.

"GET A ROOM," Sky shouted. "GET A HOTEL. GET A DIFFERENT COUNTRY."

Arya buried her face in Jordan's chest, laughing breathlessly.

Jordan groaned, glaring over Arya's shoulder as Sky made a dramatic retreat, muttering about emotional damage.

Arya looked up at him, still smiling, still bright, and Jordan felt it hit him somewhere he couldn't name.

They grinned at each other, no words needed.

That was when everything shifted.

⸻

Later, it was Jordan waiting by Arya's locker after school, tapping out a nonsense rhythm against the metal only she would recognise.

Arya spotted him, grinned like he was the best thing she'd seen all day, and chucked a water bottle at his head.

Jordan caught it one-handed, threw it back, and they left together, shoulders brushing the whole way out.

⸻

Another afternoon, it was Arya dragging Jordan into a bookstore.

She spent half an hour arguing with him over which horror novels were actually worth reading. Jordan bought both their picks just to see her triumphant smile.

They ended up sprawled across a booth in a coffee shop, Arya doodling hearts and swords into the corners of Jordan's notebook while he tried to look annoyed and failed miserably.

Some nights, it was Arya dragging Jordan to her hockey practices, and Jordan pretending to be half-asleep on the bleachers, even though he was secretly watching her every move on the ice.

Other nights, it was Jordan bribing Arya into helping him with "top secret tech projects" which mostly meant Arya stealing his snacks and teasing him mercilessly.

And sometimes, it was even quieter than that.

Late-night drives with the windows down, neon lights reflecting off the dashboard, the kind of silence that never felt heavy, only full.

Neither of them said it, but somehow they both knew — this was different. This mattered.

⸻

It happened slowly.

It happened like breathing.

Until it felt impossible to remember a time they weren't this... tangled, intertwined, inevitable.

⸻

One evening back at the Phantom House, exhaustion caught up to them.

Jordan collapsed on the couch first, sprawling across the cushions without shame. Arya wandered in a few minutes later, dropped next to him like she belonged there, and tucked herself against his side without thinking.

Jordan adjusted without opening his eyes, dragging her closer, until her head fit perfectly against his chest, her hand resting right over the beat of his heart.

From the kitchen, the others watched quietly.

Tessa leaned over to Naomi, grinning.

Dominic nudged Tyler, who smirked knowingly.

Declan gave Bennett a look.

Davina and Daphne exchanged a satisfied smile.

"They're disgusting," Tessa said under her breath.

"They're kind of perfect though," Naomi admitted softly.

Jordan shifted in his sleep, tucking Arya even closer.

Arya burrowed into him, smiling faintly.

And that was the thing they didn't need to say it.

They didn't need to explain it.

Some people just found each other.

And when they did, the world bent a little to make room.