Chapter 5

watching megan sleep was… disorienting. calm, even, soft in a way that made daniela’s chest tighten without warning. this wasn’t supposed to happen. she was straight. she had always been straight. she liked guys. she liked chaos, teasing, control. she wasn’t… her.

and yet, here she was, heart thudding, stomach twisting at the sight of megan curled slightly on the edge of the bed. every subtle movement—the rise and fall of her chest, the tilt of her head, the faint furrow in her brow as she slept—was pulling something unfamiliar in daniela, something electric and confusing.

she tried to reason it away. it was just exhaustion. it was just proximity. it was just… teasing that had carried over into something that felt bigger than it should. and yet, the thought that it wasn’t just that made her shiver.

megan was calm, unaware. the room was quiet, safe, ordinary, and yet nothing about this felt ordinary. daniela had never felt this vulnerable. had never wanted someone like this, not just close, but near, fully, entirely. she hated the confusion, hated that part of her wanted to inch closer, to feel more, to notice more.

it was frustrating, terrifying, exhilarating. it made her question everything she thought she knew about herself. she couldn’t label it. she couldn’t control it. she only knew that megan existed in this quiet, sleeping form, and it was impossible not to notice, impossible not to feel.

daniela’s hands tightened in her lap, tension coiling in her shoulders. she couldn’t act. she wouldn’t. but thinking about megan like this—soft, unguarded, so unlike the megan she sparred with on stage—was unraveling her, piece by piece.

she hated it. and yet, she couldn’t stop.

haha… something’s happening soon…

word count: 278

-drqstclii