Chapter Fourty five

The sun filtered through the leaves of the school's willow tree, painting dappled patterns on the grassy slope where I and Ariana sprawled. Laughter erupted from between us, a sound as natural as the rustling leaves in the breeze. Our bond, once playful and teasing, had deepened since my confession.

I guess the vulnerability I had shown, the whispered admission of my feelings for Nico, had become a bridge, a foundation for something stronger.

"See, I told you Nico wouldn't bat an eye at a little competition," Ariana chuckled, nudging me playfully. "With eyes like yours, girl, you could have the whole football team chasing butterflies."

I blushed, a warm flame dancing across my cheeks. "Not the whole team, Ari. Maybe the quarterback, if he wasn't such a jerk." I teased.

Claire sprawled across the grass with a book precariously balanced on her stomach and snorted. "Yeah, Nico's got charm, I'll give him that. But don't let him make you forget our resident brooding poet, now."

Ever since