Chapter 6

Chapter 1

By the time they got back to Kai’s house, the afternoon sun was beginning to set.

The backyard was already filling up.

James was somehow carrying three bags of chips and still complaining.

Mateo was setting up speakers.

Mia was arguing with Nolan.

Nolan was arguing back.

And Kai was standing in the middle of everything pretending he had the situation under control.

He didn’t.

Not even a little.

“Finally!”

Kai hurried over the second Daniela parked.

“What took so long?”

Nevaeh climbed out of the passenger seat.

“The universe hates me.”

“That’s dramatic.”

“You sent me shopping with her.”

Kai grinned.

Daniela immediately pointed at him.

“Don’t smile like that.”

“What?”

“You know what.”

Kai looked entirely too pleased with himself.

Suspicious.

Very suspicious.

Nevaeh grabbed two bags and headed inside without another word.

Daniela watched her disappear.

Then followed everyone into the backyard.

At first everything felt normal.

Music.

Food.

Laughter.

The usual chaos.

James was already telling another ridiculous story.

Mia looked seconds away from hitting somebody.

Nothing new.

Yet something felt…

Off.

Daniela couldn’t figure out what.

Not immediately.

It wasn’t until almost an hour later that she realized.

Nevaeh.

At the grocery store she’d been different.

Still sarcastic.

Still stubborn.

Still Nevaeh.

But different.

She’d smiled more.

Talked more.

Laughed more.

There’d been moments when she’d seemed…

Comfortable.

Now?

Now she looked exhausted.

Not physically.

Socially.

The kind of exhaustion that came from being around too many people for too long.

She sat in a chair near the edge of the group, nursing the same drink she’d had for nearly thirty minutes.

Mostly listening.

Rarely talking.

Every smile looked smaller.

Every laugh disappeared quicker.

And every few minutes she seemed to drift farther away from the conversation.

Daniela found herself watching.

Again.

Which was becoming a serious problem.

“You’re staring.”

Daniela nearly dropped her drink.

Kai sat down beside her.

Wonderful.

Another observant person.

“I wasn’t.”

“You were.”

“I wasn’t.”

“You literally were.”

Daniela looked away.

Across the yard, Nevaeh had her chin resting on her hand while James dramatically acted something out.

Everyone else was laughing.

Nevaeh wasn’t.

Not because she was upset.

Just because she looked tired.

Really tired.

Kai followed her gaze.

“Oh.”

Daniela immediately regretted existing.

“Oh what?”

Kai shrugged.

“She’s probably out of social battery.”

Daniela frowned.

“What?”

Kai looked confused.

“You know.”

“No.”

Kai blinked.

Then blinked again.

“You actually don’t know?”

Daniela crossed her arms.

“Know what?”

Kai pointed toward Nevaeh.

“She’s like that.”

“Like what?”

“When she’s tired.”

Daniela looked back.

Nevaeh was barely talking now.

Mostly listening.

Mostly observing.

Almost frowning.

The complete opposite of Daniela.

If Daniela was a firework—

Nevaeh was a dying candle.

Kai laughed softly.

“When we were kids she’d disappear halfway through family gatherings.”

Daniela looked over.

“Disappear?”

“Literally.”

“What do you mean literally?”

“I mean we’d spend an hour looking for her and find her reading in somebody’s bedroom.”

Daniela laughed.

“You’re joking.”

“I’m not.”

“That’s insane.”

“That’s Nevaeh.”

Across the yard, Nevaeh rubbed her eyes.

A small gesture.

One nobody else seemed to notice.

But Daniela did.

For some reason.

And suddenly the grocery store made more sense.

The smiles.

The conversation.

The way she’d seemed lighter earlier.

Maybe that wasn’t the real surprise.

Maybe this was.

Maybe this was the version most people never paid attention to.

The quieter version.

The one who got overwhelmed.

The one who ran out of energy.

The one who sat at the edge of conversations instead of in the middle.

Daniela couldn’t stop looking.

Because for the first time…

She wasn’t seeing the girl who constantly argued with her.

She was seeing someone else.

Someone who looked strangely lonely despite being surrounded by friends.

Someone who seemed to carry the weight of every interaction.

Someone who looked like she wanted to go home.

The realization hit unexpectedly.

And with it came something uncomfortable.

Concern.

Nope.

Absolutely not.

Daniela immediately sat up straighter.

No.

Not concern.

Definitely not concern.

Nevaeh was fine.

Probably.

Most likely.

Hopefully.

Daniela took a sip of her drink.

Then nearly choked when she noticed Nevaeh standing up.

The girl quietly excused herself from the group and disappeared inside the house.

Nobody seemed surprised.

Nobody stopped her.

Which somehow made Daniela more curious.

Five minutes passed.

Then ten.

Nevaeh didn’t come back.

Daniela found herself glancing toward the back door.

Then again.

Then again.

What was she doing?

Why did she care?

She didn’t.

Obviously.

She was just…

Observing.

That’s all.

Perfectly normal.

Completely normal.

Across the yard, Kai caught her looking toward the house for the fourth time.

A grin slowly appeared on his face.

Daniela immediately pointed at him.

“Don’t.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You were about to.”

Kai laughed.

Daniela hated that laugh.

Because somehow it felt like he knew something she didn’t.

Thankfully, he remained clueless.

Because if Kai had looked just a little closer—

If he’d paid just a little more attention—

He might’ve noticed the truth.

Daniela wasn’t wondering where Nevaeh went.

She was wondering why seeing her leave had made the party feel slightly less interesting.

And that was a question she definitely wasn’t ready to answer.

Ten more minutes passed.

Nevaeh still hadn’t come back.

Not that Daniela was counting.

She absolutely wasn’t.

Definitely not.

James suddenly stood on a chair.

“ATTENTION EVERYONE.”

“Oh no,” Mia muttered.

“Oh yes.”

“Nolan, get him down.”

“I’m curious where this is going.”

“That’s the problem.”

James ignored all of them.

“I have an announcement.”

Mateo sighed.

“We’re listening.”

James pointed dramatically at the grill.

“Kai has burned the burgers.”

Kai looked offended.

“I did not.”

“You absolutely did.”

“They’re fine.”

“They’re charcoal.”

The group dissolved into laughter.

Even Daniela laughed.

For a moment she managed to get distracted.

Managed to stop thinking about—

The back door opened.

Daniela’s eyes immediately moved toward it.

Against her will.

Like a reflex.

And there was Nevaeh.

She stepped back outside carrying a hoodie.

Which immediately explained everything.

The second she sat back down, she pulled it on.

Despite the warm weather.

Despite the fact that she’d looked perfectly comfortable earlier.

The hoodie swallowed her whole.

Almost like armor.

Daniela frowned.

Weird.

Very weird.

Something about it bothered her.

Not because of the hoodie.

Because of the timing.

Earlier Nevaeh had seemed more confident.

More relaxed.

Now it felt like she’d hidden herself again.

The thought shouldn’t have mattered.

Yet somehow it did.

“Earth to Daniela.”

Daniela blinked.

Mateo was looking at her.

“What?”

“You keep zoning out.”

“No I don’t.”

“You absolutely do.”

“I was listening.”

Mateo nodded.

“Then what was I talking about?”

“…”

“Exactly.”

Daniela threw a napkin at him.

Unfortunately for her, James immediately noticed.

“Oh my God.”

No.

Whatever James was about to say—

No.

“I’ve figured it out.”

Mia groaned.

“Nobody wants to hear this.”

“I’ve figured it out.”

Mateo covered his face.

Nolan looked delighted.

Kai looked confused.

Daniela already regretted being alive.

James pointed dramatically.

“Daniela is secretly plotting my murder.”

The table went silent.

Then Mia blinked.

“That’s it?”

“Yes.”

Everyone immediately returned to their conversations.

James looked personally offended.

“You guys don’t care?”

“No.”

“Not even a little?”

“No.”

“Wow.”

Nevaeh actually laughed.

A real laugh.

Small.

Brief.

But real.

Daniela heard it.

And without meaning to—

Smiled.

The laugh disappeared almost immediately.

But it had happened.

And somehow Daniela felt weirdly accomplished.

Like she’d witnessed something rare.

What was wrong with her?

Seriously.

What was actually wrong with her?

The night continued.

The group moved from food to drinks.

From chairs to standing around the fire pit.

The conversation shifted every thirty seconds.

As it always did.

At some point Nolan started telling a story about a terrible date.

Nobody believed half of it.

Especially Mia.

“You are literally making this up.”

“I’m not.”

“You are.”

“I’m not.”

“You are.”

“I have witnesses.”

“Paid actors.”

Nolan gasped.

“I can’t believe you’d accuse me of such a thing.”

“I can.”

Everyone laughed.

Except Nevaeh.

Not because she wasn’t listening.

Because she’d gone quiet again.

The kind of quiet that wasn’t awkward.

Just distant.

Daniela noticed.

Again.

The firelight flickered across Nevaeh’s face.

Her chin rested on her hand.

Her eyes followed the conversation.

But she wasn’t really part of it anymore.

Like she’d drifted somewhere else.

Daniela found herself wondering what she was thinking about.

Which was new.

Usually she didn’t care what Nevaeh thought.

Usually she actively avoided wondering.

Yet tonight—

Every little thing felt important.

The way she smiled.

The way she sat.

The way she disappeared into her own head.

The way—

“Daniela.”

“Hm?”

Kai looked concerned.

“You okay?”

The entire group looked over.

Wonderful.

Fantastic.

Exactly what she wanted.

Attention.

“Yeah.”

“You sure?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

Mateo smirked.

“You’ve been weird all night.”

Daniela immediately pointed at him.

“Don’t start.”

“I’m not starting anything.”

“Good.”

“I just said you’ve been weird.”

“That’s starting something.”

Nevaeh glanced over.

Their eyes met.

Just for a second.

Then Nevaeh looked away first.

Daniela’s stomach immediately betrayed her.

Again.

At this point it deserved jail time.

The conversation moved on.

Thankfully.

But Daniela couldn’t.

Because now she was trapped with a realization she didn’t want.

Earlier she’d thought seeing a different side of Nevaeh would make things easier.

It didn’t.

It made things worse.

Much worse.

Because before, disliking Nevaeh had been simple.

Easy.

Comfortable.

Now every time she looked at her—

There was more to see.

And every new thing made it harder to fit Nevaeh into the box she’d built for her years ago.

The sarcastic girl.

The cold girl.

The judgmental girl.

Those labels didn’t feel quite right anymore.

And Daniela hated that.

Because understanding someone was dangerous.

It made it harder to stay angry.

Harder to stay annoyed.

Harder to pretend they didn’t matter.

Across the fire pit, Nevaeh suddenly stood.

Amanni looked up.

“You leaving?”

Nevaeh hesitated.

Then nodded.

“Getting tired.”

James gasped dramatically.

“It’s only ten.”

“It’s ten-thirty.”

“Exactly.”

Nevaeh rolled her eyes.

Kai smiled.

“Text me when you get home.”

“I live five minutes away.”

“Text me anyway.”

Nevaeh groaned.

But nodded.

Then she started saying goodbye.

One by one.

Mateo.

Amanni.

Mia.

James.

Nolan.

And then—

Daniela.

The last person.

For a moment neither spoke.

The group conversation faded into the background.

Just slightly.

Not enough for anyone else to notice.

“You leaving?”

Nevaeh nodded.

“Yeah.”

A beat.

Then another.

Daniela had no idea why she suddenly felt disappointed.

None.

Not a clue.

“It was…”

Nevaeh looked surprised.

Daniela immediately regretted opening her mouth.

“It was what?”

“…a decent party.”

Nevaeh stared.

Then laughed.

Actually laughed.

“A decent party?”

“I’m trying to be nice.”

“That’s your version of nice?”

“Don’t push it.”

The corner of Nevaeh’s mouth lifted.

And suddenly Daniela forgot whatever point she was trying to make.

Because there was that smile again.

The real one.

The dangerous one.

The one she was starting to like a little too much.

“Goodnight, Daniela.”

“Night.”

Nevaeh turned and headed toward the gate.

And Daniela watched her leave.

Again.

This time she didn’t even try pretending she wasn’t.

Because one terrifying realization had settled into her mind.

The party hadn’t gotten more interesting when Nevaeh arrived.

It hadn’t gotten better when she laughed.

Or when she smiled.

Or when she talked.

The party had simply become easier to enjoy whenever she was around.

And that thought?

That thought was becoming impossible to ignore.