Chapter 9

Chapter 2

The day had started badly.

And somehow managed to get worse.

Nevaeh had overslept.

Spilled coffee on her favorite  shirt.

Got stuck in traffic.

Had an awful shift at work.

Then one of her sisters called halfway through her break with some drama that somehow became her problem.

Again.

By the time she got home, she was exhausted.

Mentally.

Physically.

Emotionally.

Just tired.

The kind of tired that made every sound feel too loud.

Every conversation feel too long.

Every inconvenience feel personal.

Unfortunately—

Kai chose that day to text.

KAI:
Diner. 7.

NEVAEH:
No

KAI:
Yes

NEVAEH:
No.

KAI:
Already told everyone you’re coming

NEVAEH:
I hate you

KAI:
❤️

At 7:18, Nevaeh walked into the diner.

Immediately regretting it.

The booth was already full.

Kai.

Amanni.

Mateo.

James.

Mia.

Nolan.

And—

Daniela.

Of course.

Because apparently the universe enjoyed testing her patience.

“Look who finally showed up,” Kai said.

Nevaeh slid into the booth beside Amanni.

“I’m leaving.”

“No you’re not.”

“Watch me.”

“You ordered fries.”

Nevaeh looked at the basket in front of her.

Traitor.

For a while, things were fine.

Normal.

The group talked.

Laughed.

Argued.

James somehow managed to drop a straw into his drink and splash himself.

Nobody felt bad.

Not even a little.

The conversation jumped from topic to topic.

Movies.

Work.

Music.

Random nonsense.

Then Daniela started talking about something that had happened during a KATSEYE rehearsal.

Everyone listened.

Even Nevaeh.

At first.

Daniela was animated when she talked.

Using her hands.

Making everyone laugh.

Telling the story dramatically.

The group was eating it up.

And normally?

Nevaeh would’ve just listened.

Maybe rolled her eyes.

Maybe made a comment.

But today…

Everything felt irritating.

The noise.

The lights.

The chatter.

All of it.

Daniela finished the story.

Everyone laughed.

And before Nevaeh could stop herself—

“Do you ever stop talking about yourself?”

Silence.

The kind of silence that arrives instantly.

Heavy.

Sharp.

The entire table froze.

Nevaeh immediately knew she’d crossed a line.

But it was too late.

The words were already out.

Daniela blinked.

Once.

Twice.

“Excuse me?”

Amanni turned slowly toward Nevaeh.

Oh no.

Kai looked horrified.

Mateo stared at the table.

Nolan suddenly found the ketchup bottle fascinating.

Nevaeh looked down at her drink.

Then back up.

Too stubborn to back down now.

“Nothing.”

“No.”

Daniela sat up straighter.

“Clearly it wasn’t nothing.”

“Forget it.”

“No.”

The smile Daniela had been wearing was completely gone now.

“Say it.”

The diner suddenly felt smaller.

Hotter.

More crowded.

Nevaeh sighed.

“You somehow make every conversation about yourself.”

Nobody moved.

Nobody breathed.

James looked like he wanted to teleport away.

Daniela laughed once.

A short laugh.

Not a happy one.

“That’s not even true.”

Nevaeh shrugged.

“Okay.”

The way she said it made Daniela’s jaw tighten.

That cold little okay.

Like she’d already decided she was right.

Like the conversation wasn’t worth having.

Daniela hated that.

“Okay?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s your argument?”

Nevaeh looked away.

“Whatever.”

And that—

That made it worse.

Because now Daniela felt dismissed.

Attacked.

Embarrassed.

In front of everyone.

For no reason.

“You’re unbelievable.”

Nevaeh laughed.

A humorless one.

“Sure.”

Daniela stared at her.

Waiting.

For an explanation.

An apology.

Anything.

Nothing came.

So she fired back.

Without thinking.

Without stopping herself.

“At least I actually participate in conversations.”

The words landed hard.

Much harder than Daniela intended.

Nevaeh froze.

Just for a second.

But everyone saw it.

Amanni especially.

Because she knew exactly where that hit.

Nevaeh wasn’t quiet because she hated people.

She was quiet because opening up was hard.

Because she never knew what to say.

Because she’d spent years convincing herself nobody wanted to hear it anyway.

And now that insecurity was sitting in the middle of the table.

Exposed.

Daniela saw the reaction.

Immediately regretted it.

But it was too late.

The damage was done.

Nevaeh looked at her.

Really looked at her.

And whatever hurt had flashed across her face disappeared.

Replaced by anger.

Cold anger.

“At least people know me before deciding they like me.”

The entire booth went silent.

Even the noise from the diner seemed distant.

Daniela’s stomach dropped.

That one hurt.

A lot.

Because it wasn’t about KATSEYE.

Not really.

It was about the fear Daniela never talked about.

The fear that people liked the idea of her more than the actual person.

And Nevaeh had somehow hit it perfectly.

Nobody knew what to say.

Not Kai.

Not Mateo.

Not Amanni.

Not anyone.

For a long moment, the two girls just stared at each other.

Then Nevaeh stood.

“I’m going home.”

“Nevaeh—” Amanni started.

“No.”

Her voice wasn’t loud.

That made it worse.

She grabbed her jacket.

Then walked away.

The bell above the diner’s door jingled.

And she was gone.

Nobody spoke for several seconds.

Kai looked miserable.

James looked terrified.

Mateo looked exhausted.

Mia slowly leaned back.

Nolan stared out the window.

And Daniela sat there.

Heart pounding.

Still angry.

Still hurt.

Still replaying every word.

Part of her wanted to chase after Nevaeh.

Another part wanted to stay angry.

So she did neither.

And somehow…

That felt even worse.

Because for the first time since they’d started getting along a little—

Neither of them knew how to fix it.

And neither was willing to be the first to try.

The drive to Nevaeh’s apartment was painfully quiet.

Kai sat behind the wheel.

Daniela sat in the passenger seat.

Neither spoke for the first five minutes.

The diner’s argument kept replaying in Daniela’s head.

Every word.

Every expression.

Every look.

Especially the look on Nevaeh’s face after she’d said:

“At least I actually participate in conversations.”

Daniela gripped her sleeve.

She hadn’t meant it like that.

At least…

Not completely.

But she’d still said it.

And she couldn’t take it back.

Beside her, Kai sighed.

A long one.

The kind that came from deep in the soul.

“This is bad.”

Daniela looked out the window.

“Yeah.”

“Kai?”

“What?”

“Does she do this often?”

“What?”

“Get that angry.”

Kai was quiet.

“Not really.”

Daniela frowned.

Because somehow that made her feel worse.

A few minutes later they arrived at Nevaeh’s apartment.

The lights were on.

Good sign.

At least she was home.

Kai climbed out first.

Daniela followed.

The walk to the door felt much longer than it actually was.

Kai knocked.

No answer.

He knocked again.

Still nothing.

Then—

The door flew open.

And there she was.

Nevaeh.

Still wearing the same clothes from the diner.

Arms crossed.

Expression already annoyed.

The second she saw them, her face somehow got worse.

“Go away.”

“Hi to you too.”

“Seriously, Kai.”

“We just wanted to check on you.”

“I’m fine.”

Daniela almost laughed.

Not because it was funny.

Because that was the biggest lie she’d heard all day.

Kai clearly agreed.

“Nevaeh.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not.”

“I’m fine.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

Daniela stayed quiet.

Watching.

Listening.

Feeling increasingly like she shouldn’t be here.

Eventually Nevaeh stepped aside.

Reluctantly.

“Five minutes.”

Kai immediately walked inside.

Daniela followed.

The apartment was cleaner than most museums.

Everything in its place.

Everything organized.

Everything neat.

It looked exactly like Nevaeh.

Comfortable.

Calm.

Usually.

Tonight it felt tense.

Like the apartment itself was irritated.

Nevaeh dropped onto the couch.

Kai sat across from her.

Daniela stayed near the kitchen doorway.

Not wanting to intrude.

Not wanting to leave.

For a moment nobody spoke.

Then Kai finally broke.

“What is with you today?”

The question hung in the air.

Nevaeh looked away.

Immediately.

A bad sign.

Kai noticed too.

“What?”

Nothing.

Silence.

“Nevaeh.”

Still nothing.

“Seriously.”

Her jaw tightened.

Daniela felt her stomach twist.

Because suddenly Nevaeh looked less angry.

And more exhausted.

Like she hadn’t slept in days.

Like she was carrying something heavy.

Something nobody else could see.

Kai’s voice softened.

“What happened?”

Nevaeh laughed.

A short laugh.

One without any humor.

“Nothing happened.”

“Clearly something happened.”

“No.”

“Then why are you acting like this?”

The room went quiet.

Very quiet.

And then—

Nevaeh looked at him.

Actually looked at him.

And for the first time all evening…

Daniela saw something crack.

Just a little.

“What do you mean why?”

Kai blinked.

“What?”

“You really don’t know?”

“No.”

Nevaeh shook her head.

Slowly.

Almost disappointed.

And suddenly Daniela felt like she was overhearing something she wasn’t supposed to.

“Of course you don’t.”

Kai frowned.

“Nevaeh.”

“No, seriously.”

She stood.

Started pacing.

Something she almost never did.

“Why would you know?”

“Know what?”

“Anything.”

Kai looked genuinely confused now.

Which only seemed to make things worse.

“You have your friends.”

“What?”

“You have James.”

“Nevaeh—”

“You have Mateo.”

“Okay—”

“You have everybody.”

Kai stood too.

Now worried.

Actually worried.

“What’s this really about?”

For a second Nevaeh didn’t answer.

Then she laughed again.

That same broken laugh.

And Daniela suddenly got a horrible feeling.

The kind that told her she was about to hear something important.

Something painful.

“You know what?”

Nevaeh said quietly.

“What?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Nevaeh.”

“It doesn’t.”

“It clearly does.”

“No.”

Her voice cracked slightly.

Just enough.

“Because nobody notices anyway.”

Silence.

Kai froze.

Daniela froze.

The entire room froze.

Nevaeh looked away immediately.

Like she regretted saying it.

Like the words had escaped by accident.

And suddenly—

Everything clicked.

The diner.

The attitude.

The anger.

The exhaustion.

All of it.

Not because Nevaeh hated Daniela.

Not because she wanted to start a fight.

Because she’d been hurting all day.

And nobody had seen it.

Not Kai.

Not Amanni.

Not anyone.

Until she’d finally exploded.

Kai looked stunned.

“Nevaeh…”

She shook her head.

“No.”

“Hey.”

“No.”

“Nevaeh.”

Her eyes were shiny now.

Not crying.

Not yet.

But close.

Dangerously close.

And for the first time since arriving—

Daniela felt awful.

Not angry.

Not offended.

Awful.

Because suddenly she remembered every mean thing she’d said.

Every assumption she’d made.

Every time she’d thought:

She’s just being difficult.

When really…

Maybe she wasn’t.

Maybe she was just tired.

Maybe she was hurting.

Maybe she’d needed someone to notice.

And Daniela hadn’t.

For the first time all night…

Daniela wished she’d never opened her mouth at that diner.

Because standing here now—

Watching Nevaeh try so hard not to fall apart—

The fight didn’t feel satisfying anymore.

It just felt sad.

Nevaeh rubbed at her eyes quickly.

Like she was angry at herself for even letting the emotion show.

“I’m tired.”

Her voice was smaller now.

Not weak.

Just exhausted.

The kind of exhausted that sleep couldn’t fix.

Kai looked like he wanted to say something.

A hundred things, probably.

But for once he didn’t.

Instead he just nodded.

“Okay.”

The apartment fell quiet.

No arguments.

No sarcastic comments.

No jokes.

Just silence.

Heavy silence.

The kind that settled over everything.

After a moment, Nevaeh looked toward the door.

A clear hint.

She wanted to be alone.

Kai understood immediately.

He always did.

“Come on,” he said quietly to Daniela.

Daniela nodded.

Neither argued.

Neither pushed.

They simply headed for the door.

As Kai stepped into the hallway, Daniela glanced back.

Just once.

Nevaeh was standing by the couch now.

Arms wrapped around herself.

Looking smaller than usual.

Not physically.

Just…

Different.

The confident girl who beat everyone at the arcade.

The girl who threatened to bury James in the sand.

The girl who always had a sarcastic comeback.

Gone.

At least for tonight.

And for some reason, that hurt.

The door clicked shut.

Leaving Nevaeh alone inside.

For several seconds neither Daniela nor Kai moved.

Then—

“She’s been doing that a lot lately.”

Daniela looked up.

Kai was staring at the floor.

“What do you mean?”

He sighed.

“Nothing’s wrong.”

Daniela frowned.

“What?”

“That’s the problem.”

He shoved his hands into his pockets.

“Nothing huge happened.”

His voice was quiet.

“She’s just been carrying everything herself for so long that now she thinks that’s normal.”

Daniela’s chest tightened.

Because somehow…

That sounded exactly like Nevaeh.

The ride home was silent.

Again.

But this time Daniela wasn’t replaying the fight.

She wasn’t replaying her own words.

Or Nevaeh’s.

She was replaying the look on Nevaeh’s face when she’d said:

“Nobody notices anyway.”

And no matter how hard Daniela tried—

She couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Later that night, Daniela lay awake in bed.

The city lights shining faintly through her window.

Sleep refused to come.

Every time she closed her eyes—

She saw Nevaeh.

Standing in that apartment.

Looking exhausted.

Looking hurt.

Looking like she’d finally reached her limit.

Daniela groaned and buried her face in a pillow.

This was ridiculous.

She should be asleep.

She should be angry.

Instead—

She felt guilty.

And somehow…

That was worse.

Her phone lit up on the nightstand.

A message from Kai.

KAI:
She’s okay

Daniela stared at the text.

For a long moment.

Then typed back.

DANIELA:
Good.

She hit send.

The screen went dark.

But even after that…

Even after midnight came and went…

Daniela still couldn’t stop thinking about her.

And for the first time—

That realization scared her a little.

“Why can’t I stop thinking about her?”