Lia..?

Amelia: "You always this charming or is it just me when I'm around?"

Justin: "Trust me, I save the good stuff just for you."

Author POV

The last few notes of the song drifted into silence, leaving only the hush of the room and their breathing.

Their hands lingered - fingers still barely interlaced, palms warm. But the spell had already begun to fade. Realization crept in, like a breeze slipping under the door, and suddenly, neither of them knew what to do next.

Amelia slowly pulled her hand away, gently, like the way you close a book you didn't want to finish reading.
Justin cleared his throat, took a step back, and scratched the back of his neck, eyes darting anywhere but hers.

They sat down - her on the edge of the couch, him beside her, but not too close. A space sat between them. Not cold. Just... uncertain.

The silence settled in.

And then - quietly, almost under his breath - Justin said,
"Thanks, Lia."

Amelia blinked. Once. Then again.
Her head turned sharply toward him.

Lia.
Did he just-?

Her heartbeat skipped - not out of romance, but genuine surprise. The guy who once sat at the farthest corner of class. The guy who barely acknowledged her "hi" in the first month. The same guy who kept conversations to a minimum and emotions locked up like they were state secrets - that guy just gave her a nickname?

"Lia?" she echoed, wide-eyed.

He looked at her, mildly alarmed. "Too much?"

She blinked again, trying not to grin like a maniac. "No-no, I just... I didn't think you even knew how to give nicknames."

Justin gave a short laugh, suddenly shy. "Neither did I, honestly. It just... came out."

Amelia turned to face forward again, trying to suppress the warmth blooming in her chest - but it was useless. Her cheeks were already glowing.

And for the first time that night, the silence between them didn't feel awkward.

It felt new. Like something had shifted.

A layer had peeled back.
And they were both still sitting there, beneath soft lighting, letting the moment quietly unfold.

Amelia sat back, her legs curled beneath her, the glow from the lamp casting a gentle halo on her skin. Her fingers absentmindedly brushed the edge of a cushion. She wasn't smiling anymore - not out of discomfort, but because something had settled inside her. A kind of stillness.

Justin leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, staring at nothing in particular.

"Hey," Amelia said softly, tilting her head toward him. "Can I ask you something?"

He glanced sideways at her. "Sure."

"You were so... distant before. In the beginning. Was it just me or... were you always like that?"

Justin exhaled, long and low. He didn't answer immediately. His hands clasped together, then unclasped.

"It wasn't you," he said finally, voice low. "I've always been like that. I guess I just-don't really know how to let people in. Not easily, anyway."

Amelia nodded slowly, eyes fixed on him. "But why? I mean... if you don't mind me asking."

He let out a soft, almost bitter chuckle. "It's stupid."

"Try me."

There was a pause. Then another breath.

"I think I just got tired of people leaving," he admitted, almost in a whisper. "Family. Friends. It always starts off good. Then something changes, and one day they're gone. And I hate how much that messes with your head - the way you start questioning if maybe you weren't enough."

Amelia's expression softened. She turned fully toward him now, legs crossed, hands clasped in her lap.

"You are enough," she said, her voice quiet but firm. "I don't even need to know your whole past to say that."

Justin looked at her - really looked this time. His usual wall of indifference had cracked. And behind it was someone more raw, more real than he usually allowed the world to see.

"Thanks," he said. Not the casual kind. The kind you only give when someone touches a nerve you didn't think they'd ever find.

Amelia hesitated, then added, "I used to think I was too much."

Justin frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged. "Too loud. Too emotional. Too talkative. I tried dimming myself down just to fit. And then people got bored of the dimmed version too. So I started thinking... maybe there's just no version of me that's right."

They sat with that silence again. Only this time, it was filled with understanding.

Justin reached over, fingers brushing hers - not grabbing, not demanding. Just a soft presence.

"I like this version," he said. "The one sitting here. Talking to me like this. You don't need to dim anything."

Her throat tightened unexpectedly. She swallowed hard and nodded once.

And there they sat. Not lovers. Not strangers. Just two people cracking open their worlds just enough to be seen - and maybe, just maybe, understood.

Justin POV

The clock didn't tick, but her phone did.

Lia's fingers, still resting loosely against mine, instinctively reached for her phone to check the time - just a glance. But it was enough to change the air around us.

10:02 PM.

Her shoulders lifted with a breath she didn't want to take.

"I should go," she said softly, not moving yet.

I blinked, as if waking from something. "Yeah?"

She nodded, her voice a little lower this time. "Yeah... it's late. I didn't even realize."

None of us moved.

The room, which had been glowing just moments ago with music, laughter, and quiet honesty, now felt dimmer. Not colder. Just... softer. As if it knew the evening was winding down too.

Lia slowly stood, brushing down the fabric of her outfit, then looked around once again. "This was... really nice, Justin," she said sincerely. "The lights, the music... all of it. I didn't think you had this side."

I stood too, one hand sliding into my pocket, the other awkwardly gesturing to the candles. "I wasn't sure I did either."

She gave me a warm smile - the kind that reached her eyes and lingered there. "I mean it. Thank you. I really needed a night like this."

I looked at her and glanced once at the clock hanging on the wall in front of me. It was actually late... I shouldn't let her go... alone. I know it's safe out there. But I still can't trust anything, when it's Lia. Scratching the back of my neck, I started, "I could um.... I could drop you at the dorm... Only if you don't mind..."

She paused.

Something about the way I said it - maybe unsure, hesitant, but genuine - made it impossible to say no. She didn't even want to.

"You sure?" she asked, though the words were already fading on her lips.

I shrugged, casual on the outside, but she could see the hope in my eyes. "Yeah. I mean, unless you have a secret jet waiting outside."

"Oh come on, Justin," she started rolling her eyes and hiding a giggle. "Let's go."

She gave one last glance at the apartment as she picked up her bag - the flickering candles, the playlist still quietly humming in the background, the memory of the dance still hanging somewhere in the corners of both our minds.

Author POV

As they stepped out of Justin's apartment, the night wrapped around them - cool, quiet, and just a little magical. The stars above blinked through thin clouds, and the lamplights on campus bathed the sidewalk in soft, golden pools.

After slipping into his jacket, Justin grabbed his keys and confidently walked down the hallway with Amelia beside him. The silence between them was calm, humming with everything left unsaid but understood. He led the way to the parking lot, his fingers casually spinning the keys - just a touch of swagger.

"I'll drop you off," he'd said. Smooth. Simple. Easy.

But as they stepped into the dim, empty parking lot...
his stride slowed.
Then stopped.

The spot where his car usually sat - a little crooked, always slightly dusty - was... empty.

He blinked once. Then again.

Gone.

Then he realized-the boys took the car, already.

Justin let out a long, barely-audible sigh. Then turned to Amelia, completely mortified.

"Okay... this is officially embarrassing," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm so sorry - the boys took the car. Party or snack run or both, I don't even know anymore."

He looked at her, guilt splashed all over his face.

"So... now what do we do?" he asked, voice small for the first time that evening.

Amelia just blinked at him.
Then smiled.

A real one - warm, amused, kind.

"Guess we walk," she said, gently tugging her bag higher onto her shoulder.

Justin looked relieved; yet regretted for the inconvenience. Then he glanced at her feet. She was wearing heels, the one that could make her tired just within ten steps. Without a second thought, he said, "Wait here. I'll be right back."

Before Amelia could comprehend, Justin was already running towards the stairs. He reached his floor real quick, picked up a pair of suitable shoes for her and headed down to the ground floor.

"Here!", he started. " Please wear this, you might strain your ankle by wearing those heels for the walk."

Amelia stared at him and the white shoes he had in his hand. Without blinking.

How could he notice so much?

Amelia couldn't help but nod her head and was about to take the shoes from his hand-but Justin was already down on his knees preparing to take off the heels. She was surprised-and stumbled only to throw her hands on his shoulders.

"I can do it, Justin. Please don't trouble yourself."

Holding a quiet and sincere tone, he looked up to her and said, "You spent the whole evening walking around in these. This was the least I could do."

Amelia's eyes softened and she slowly took her feet out of the heels. Justin carefully placed the heels besides him and slowly slid her feet into the shoes. They were definitely oversized but soft, comfortable, and oddly... safe.

Justin stood back up slowly, with the heels in his hands and eyes sweeping over her with a soft kind of pride.

"There," he said, hands on his hips. "Perfect."

And so, beneath the mellow glow of the streetlamps and the soft hum of a quiet campus night, they started walking - not because they had to...

But because neither of them really wanted the night to end just yet.

He walked with Amelia - like a silent protector, not out of pride, but instinct. There was something unspoken in the way he moved - how his eyes briefly scanned their surroundings, how his pace adjusted with hers, how his shoulder always remained just slightly in reach.

His presence felt steady, like someone who wouldn't think twice before stepping in front of whatever might come.

And even though Amelia didn't say it, didn't show it-she noticed.

And she felt safe.

They were already walking-quiet steps over fallen leaves and gravel paths. Campus was mostly asleep, windows dim and still. Only the occasional flicker of light from a dorm or the rustle of a breeze in the trees reminded them the world was still turning.

Neither of them rushed. They didn't need to.

Amelia folded her arms loosely, the cool breeze brushing over her skin. "It's nice," she said after a moment. "This... walk."

Justin glanced over. "Yeah. It is."

They fell into a rhythm - not just in steps, but in presence. The kind of rhythm that doesn't need music or conversation to feel real. It was the silence between two people who had shared a soft evening, and now carried it like a fragile secret between them.

"I'm glad I came," she said quietly. "Tonight. I didn't know I needed it until I was already there."

Justin looked down, the corners of his mouth twitching. "Me too."

When her dorm came into view, something in Amelia's chest deflated - not in disappointment, but that strange heaviness you get when you don't want something good to end just yet.

They reached the steps.

"Well," she said, turning to him, "this is me."

Justin gave a small nod, like he wasn't quite ready to let her go either. "Thanks for coming over. I wasn't sure how tonight would go."

She smiled up at him, soft and real. "You did great, Justin. Seriously. You even lit candles. I mean... who are you?"

He laughed under his breath, eyes briefly dropping before finding hers again. "I don't know," he said, voice quiet. "But I think I kinda like who I was tonight."

That made her pause - really pause.

She looked at him for a moment longer, then softly said, "Goodnight, Justin."

"Goodnight, Lia." He said handing over the pair of heels to her.

That nickname again.

She gave him one last look, then climbed the stairs slowly. Halfway up, she turned back. He was still there, watching her, hands in his pockets, that quiet look on his face like maybe, just maybe, he'd finally found something he didn't want to lose.

And neither of them could say it aloud -but they both knew it.

Oh my, I couldn't stop myself imagining Amelia and Justin walking together like this 😩 It was such a wholesome moment ❤ And wait, did you like the nickname Justin gave to Amelia!?! I was practically in delusion while writing that part 😌 Let me know in the comments if you liked the nickname 👀

Please vote and comment if you liked this chapter. The next chapter will be updated soon. Take care, cuties 💙

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