Leo finally looked up, his eyes catching the glow of the amber porch light. “I wasn’t thinking about math, actually.”

The old tire swing creaked in rhythm with the crickets. Maya sat on the edge of the porch, her sneakers scuffed from a summer of chasing sunsets. Beside her, Leo was busy untangling a knot in his hoodie string, his brow furrowed in that way that usually meant he was thinking too hard.

The air felt thicker suddenly, smelling of damp grass and woodsmoke. For years, they had been the duo that built forts and shared headphones. But lately, the silence between them felt different—less like a gap to fill and more like a secret they were both keeping.

“Then what?” she teased, though her heart was drumming a frantic beat against her ribs.