Chapter Text
August 27, 2026
The walk home felt different.
The same sidewalks stretched beneath her feet. The same late-August breeze drifted through the trees. Sprinklers hissed across freshly cut lawns while porch lights flickered on one by one as the sun settled lower behind the hills.
Everything looked exactly the same. Yet somehow, nothing was.
Her lips still tingled. She smiled before she even realized she was doing it.
She kissed Coley. Not in secret. Not hidden from the world. She chased her. She chose her.
The thought made her stomach flip. Half excitement. Half terror.
“What did I just do?” she whispered to herself, laughing under her breath.
A passing car rolled by, music spilling from its open windows. Sonya shoved her hands into the pockets of her skirt and kept walking, replaying the last five minutes over and over in her mind.
The look on Coley’s face when she’d turned around. The surprise. The relief. The kiss.
And then…
“Promise you’ll message me.”
“Promise.”
Sonya smiled again. She believed her.
Across town, Coley biked more slowly than usual. She kept touching her lips absentmindedly, as if making sure the moment had actually happened.
For weeks she’d prepared herself to let Sonya go. She convinced herself that leaving was the only way to stop getting hurt.
She did not expect footsteps behind her. She definitely didn’t expect Sonya to kiss her in the middle of the street.
A small laugh escaped her. She reached home just as the sky turned orange.
Curtis looked up from the porch, where he was tightening a loose screw on one of the steps.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
He noticed the smile immediately. “There it is.”
Coley blinked. “What?”
“I haven’t seen you smile like that for a while.”
She looked away, trying to hide it. “It was a good day.”
Curtis smiled to himself. “I’m glad.”
He didn’t ask questions. Not yet. Coley appreciated that.
Inside, she climbed the stairs to her room and closed the door behind her. Silence settled around her. For the first time in weeks, it didn’t feel lonely.
She sat on the edge of her bed and reached into her pocket. Her phone. She turned it over in her hands.
A promise. She made a promise. She smiled to herself.
“I said I would.”
Sonya laid flat on her bed, still fully dressed, staring at the ceiling with her phone resting on her stomach.
She’d checked the screen four times in ten minutes. Nothing.
“It’s been, like… twenty minutes.” She laughed at herself.
She tossed the phone beside her. Picked it back up. Locked it. Unlocked it.
“What if she forgot? No, she promised. What if she thinks I should text first? Oh my God.” She buried her face in a pillow.
For someone who had spent the entire summer pretending not to care, she suddenly cared a whole lot.
Her phone lit up. Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest. She grabbed it so quickly it nearly slipped out of her hands. One new message.
She stared at the notification for a second before opening it.
Coley:
hey
it's Coley
Sonya laughed quietly to herself.
Sonya:
finally
I know lol
Coley:
rude
I was trying to make a good first impression
Sonya couldn’t help smiling.
Sonya:
with "hey"?
Coley:
hey was just the introduction
you ruined my plan
Sonya laughed out loud.
Coley:
how's your night?
Sonya smiled before answering.
Sonya:
honestly?
pretty good
yours?
Coley:
i think this is the happiest i've been in a really long time
Sonya read the message twice. She didn't answer right away. Not because she didn't know what to say, but because she wanted to get it right.
Sonya:
me too
The conversation drifted after that. Somewhere between one conversation and the next, neither of them noticed how late it had gotten.
Coley:
we should probably sleep
Sonya:
probably
A minute has passed. Neither of them said goodnight. Neither of them wanted to be the first to end the conversation. Finally-
Coley:
goodnight, sonya :)
Sonya stared at the message. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
Sonya:
goodnight, coley
Sonya set her phone on her nightstand. Almost immediately, it buzzed again.
Coley:
one more thing
olive juice
Sonya:
olive juice too
For the first time in weeks, tomorrow wasn't something Sonya was afraid of. She couldn't wait to see Coley again.