The dorms were quiet.
No classes. No noise. Just the occasional echo of footsteps down the hall or the hum of a microwave somewhere in the distance.
Emily sat on Riley's bed, her legs tucked underneath her, picking at a loose thread on the blanket. Her hoodie swallowed her hands, sleeves pulled over her fingers. She hadn't said much since she arrived. Neither had Riley.
But it wasn't awkward.
It was that weird, weightless kind of silence where nothing needs to be said—because everything's felt.
Riley was sitting across from her, legs crisscrossed, sketchbook in her lap. But she hadn't turned a page in twenty minutes. She was just... looking at her.
"Stop staring," Emily said without looking up.
"Then stop being so distracting," Riley shot back, voice barely above a whisper.
That made Emily look up—fast. Her face flushed immediately, eyes wide. "I'm not—"
"You are."
A beat.
Then they both laughed—quiet and breathless, like the sound itself might ruin everything if it got too loud.
Riley closed her sketchbook and set it aside. The mood shifted—still gentle, but heavier somehow. Her eyes stayed locked on Emily's, unreadable.
"I missed you," she said softly.
Emily's throat tightened. "You saw me yesterday."
"That's not what I mean."
There it was—raw, unguarded. The weight of every almost-kiss, every soft glance, every time they pulled away just a little too late.
Emily stood up like she couldn't handle the stillness anymore. She walked to the window, arms crossed, heart hammering.
"Riley…"
"Don't say you're confused," Riley said behind her. "Don't lie to me."
Emily turned slowly.
"I'm scared," she admitted. "Is that better?"
Riley stood too. "Yeah. Because so am I."
Another beat. The silence stretched thin between them like a thread about to snap.
Emily didn't know who moved first.
Maybe it was both of them.
All she knew was that one second she was frozen in place, and the next, Riley's lips were on hers—soft and hesitant and warm and everything. It wasn't perfect. It was a little clumsy. Emily's hand knocked over a water bottle. Riley laughed against her mouth.
But it was real.
And Emily didn't pull away.
She leaned in.
Pressed closer.
Fingers in Riley's hoodie, Riley's hands in her hair, like they were both afraid this would disappear if they let go.
When they finally broke apart, both breathing hard, Riley rested her forehead against Emily's and whispered, "So... still scared?"
Emily smiled.
"Terrified."