The day after their return from the hot springs passed slower than any of them expected. Amara had barely stepped out of bed, her ankle wrapped in a bandage, though the swelling had started to ease. She kept sighing at intervals, a mix of regret and embarrassment painted across her face whenever the hot spring incident crossed her mind.
Elle had allowed her to rest in her room, arranging extra pillows and a blanket for comfort. For the most part, the group had taken it upon themselves to keep her company. Meals were delivered straight to the room, and the atmosphere quickly shifted from tense recovery to lively chatter.
"Honestly, Amara," Noah grinned, leaning against the armrest of Elle's couch, "the way you bolted after your phone—priceless. One second you're running like lightning, and the next—bam! Down goes the brave heroine, defeated by… her own ankle."
The room erupted with laughter. Elle pressed her hand lightly over her mouth to contain hers, while Lena nearly doubled over. Even Kai chuckled under his breath.
Amara groaned, covering her flushed face with a cushion. "Why must you remind me every five minutes, Noah? Haven't I suffered enough humiliation already?"
"You call this humiliation?" Noah teased, his grin widening. "Trust me, I'm being merciful. If I were cruel, I'd have reenacted the entire scene with sound effects."
Amara threw the cushion at him, missing by inches. Her foot kept her from getting up and chasing him, but the glare she shot could have burned through steel. "You're lucky I can't walk properly right now, or you'd be done for."
"Oh no, I'm shaking," Noah said dramatically, pretending to shield himself. "Save me, Elle. She's out for blood."
The group's laughter grew louder, echoing off the hotel room walls. It felt good to laugh after the awkwardness of the previous day, and even Elle—who rarely let her emotions show—found herself relaxing. When she laughed, genuinely and without restraint, Kai found his gaze drifting to her again and again. Something in the softness of her smile, in the way her grey eyes lit up, kept pulling him in.
He tried not to make it obvious, but Elle caught his gaze once. She brushed it off with a polite nod, mistaking his attention as nothing more than friendly warmth.
Not everyone in the room shared that sentiment. Giselle sat on the edge of the bed, her arms loosely crossed, her smile never quite reaching her eyes. She watched Kai steal glances at Elle, watched how naturally Elle's laughter blended into the group, and felt an invisible wall rise between herself and the others.
When the conversation shifted to card games and snacks, Giselle rose suddenly. "I think I'll step out for a while. Clarisse's group is hosting a little get-together tonight. I promised I'd stop by."
"You're leaving already?" Lena asked, her brows furrowing.
"I'll be back later," Giselle replied, her tone light, though the faint edge of annoyance lingered beneath it. She smiled quickly, excused herself, and was gone.
Lena's gaze followed her, unease settling in her chest. Something between them had shifted, and no matter how much she wanted to bridge the gap, Giselle only seemed to drift farther away.
The rest of the evening continued in warmth. They played cards, shared snacks, and made up silly punishments for whoever lost a round—usually targeting Noah, much to Amara's satisfaction. As the hours slipped by, Amara was able to walk short distances with help.
That night, while stretching her recovering foot, she announced, "You know what? Tomorrow we should do something different. A camping trip—by the cliffside. I heard the view of the sea is incredible from there. We can make a bonfire, barbecue…"
Her eyes sparkled with the idea, and the others quickly caught on to her excitement.
"It sounds nice," Elle agreed softly. "I'll ask Vincent if his group would like to join. It will be safer, too, with more people."
When she approached Vincent the next morning, his calm smile hid his surprise. He agreed without hesitation, and arrangements were made.
By late afternoon, cars lined the winding path toward the cliffs. The campsite was expansive, overlooking the sea. The sound of waves crashing below blended with the salty breeze, and the wide stretch of open ground was perfect for tents and bonfires.
Everyone moved into their roles. Kai carried supplies close to Elle, his presence shadowing her as naturally as breath. She didn't mind, taking his quiet assistance as nothing more than good-natured friendship. Vincent, however, noticed. His gaze lingered from a distance, jaw tightening ever so slightly as Kai kept within Elle's orbit.
Giselle and Clarisse stuck together, preparing food at one end of the camp. Lena tried to approach Giselle, her voice low with guilt.
"I shouldn't have left you behind at the hot springs. I thought you were coming with us… I didn't mean to—"
Giselle didn't look at her. "It's fine," she cut in, her words sharp. She focused on skewering vegetables, ignoring Lena's pained expression.
Lena swallowed hard, guilt gnawing at her. She wanted to explain that things had changed the moment she'd started spending time with Elle and Amara that Giselle had been the one to distance herself -but the words never left her tongue. Instead, she stayed near, caught between the two friendships, belonging fully to neither.
The barbecue began under a darkening sky. The flames flickered high, the scent of grilled food mingling with laughter and chatter. Noah sat close to Amara, pretending to guard her so she wouldn't strain her ankle.
"Really, I'm not a child," Amara huffed, reaching for her plate.
"No one said you were," Noah replied, smirking. "But considering you nearly broke your foot chasing a phone, I'm not taking chances."
Laughter rippled through the group. Someone called out, "Are you two dating or what?"
Both Amara and Noah froze, eyes wide.
"What? No!" they said at once, their voices overlapping.
But the teasing didn't stop, and though they denied it with flustered faces, the blush that crept up Amara's cheeks and the unusual warmth in Noah's chest betrayed them both. Something unspoken lingered in the air between them, delicate but undeniable.
As the night deepened, tents were pitched, and the group gradually dispersed into smaller circles of conversation. The sea sang below the cliffs, its waves illuminated by the silver glow of the full moon.
Elle couldn't sleep. Long after the laughter had faded into muffled murmurs and the fire had burned low, she slipped out of her tent. The cool night wrapped around her, the salty breeze lifting strands of her hair as she walked toward the edge of the cliff.
She stood there silently, the moonlight casting her figure in silver. Her grey eyes reflected the restless sea, unreadable and distant. With her hair dancing in the cold wind, she looked both ethereal and untouchable, like a secret the night itself longed to keep.
Footsteps approached from behind. Elle didn't flinch. Somehow, she already knew someone had followed her.
Turning slightly, she met Vincent's piercing blue eyes. For a moment, neither of them spoke. Something stirred in his gaze—longing, curiosity, something even he couldn't name. He quickly composed himself, letting the flicker vanish as a small, controlled smile replaced it.
Elle offered one of her own, soft and faintly mysterious. Then they both looked away, their eyes returning to the vast sea.
The silence between them wasn't heavy. It was steady, almost fragile, as though words might shatter it. The waves continued their eternal rhythm, filling the void neither felt the need to break.
After a while, Vincent moved closer. Without a word, he slipped off his jacket and draped it gently over Elle's shoulders.
The unexpected warmth startled her more than his presence had. She glanced up at him, an unfamiliar tightness blooming in her chest. It wasn't discomfort—just something she couldn't define. Something she had never felt before.
Vincent looked ahead, his expression unreadable. Elle adjusted the jacket around her and turned her eyes back to the sea. For the first time in a long while, she didn't feel entirely cold.
They stayed that way, side by side under the silver moon, saying nothing at all.
And the night kept their secret.
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