HAPPY FRIENDSHIP ANNIVERSARY

 Heartbeats in the Dark

The house was still.

Only the distant sound of waves and the occasional creak of old wood filled the air.

The others had gone to bed hours ago, but Eli couldn't sleep.

Neither could Amelia.

She stood by the window in the upstairs hallway, wrapped in a blanket, watching the moonlight stretch thin across the grass.

Her eyes, heavy and thoughtful, didn't blink when Eli approached.

"You okay?" he asked gently, voice hushed as if the night might shatter if he spoke too loudly.

She nodded, not turning. "Yeah. Just thinking."

He hesitated. "You've been doing that a lot lately."

She gave the faintest of smiles. "It's the kind of place that makes you remember things you thought you'd forgotten."

Silence bloomed between them.

"Like what?" Eli asked, stepping closer. Not too close, but just enough to feel the thread that had once tethered them tugging again.

Amelia finally looked at him, eyes softer now.

"Like the nights we used to talk on the dorm roof. When you'd rant about the future and I'd tell you to stop overthinking."

Eli chuckled. "And you'd fall asleep halfway through my big speeches."

"You were so dramatic back then," she teased, a hint of the old ease slipping through.

He looked at her, really looked at the way the moonlight caught in her hair, how her fingers clutched the edge of the blanket like she was holding herself together.

And then softly, cautiously, he asked:

"Why didn't you ever tell me you broke up after school?"

Her gaze dropped. "Because I didn't want to look... lost."

"You? Amelia?" Eli shook his head. "You were the most sure of us all."

"That was the mask," she said. "I didn't want to admit that everything I planned didn't go the way I thought it would."

A long breath. Then:

"I guess I got tired of people expecting me to be fine all the time."

The words sat heavy in the space between them.

Eli stepped closer, not saying anything, just letting her hear the steady rhythm of his breathing.

Then she asked, almost too softly:

"Do you... Like Nora?"

Eli's jaw tightened. He didn't look away.

"I thought I did," he confessed. "Still might. But sometimes I wonder if I like the idea of her more than the reality."

Amelia's eyes didn't move from his.

"And me?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Eli's heartbeat thudded in his chest, too loud in the silence. He took a step forward, now inches away from her.

The blanket slipped slightly from her shoulders.

"I don't know what we are anymore," he murmured. "But I do know that whenever I'm near you... It feels like home."

Neither of them moved. The air thickened, pulsed.

And then Amelia stepped back, gently, shaking her head with a sad smile.

"I'm scared, Eli. I don't want to break something that's already cracked."

Eli nodded, swallowing hard. "Me too."

"They stood in silence, hearts loud in the hush of the dark, both knowing something had changed, but not yet ready to touch it.

Not yet.

Nora Sensing the Tension (Next Morning)

Nora stood in the kitchen, barefoot, a steaming mug of tea cradled in her hands.

The morning sunlight spilled gently across the countertop, casting golden shadows, but the air felt strangely quiet.

When Eli walked in, her eyes followed him.

He offered a small, tired smile, but something in it felt...

off.

"Rough night?" she asked casually.

He paused before replying. "Couldn't sleep. Too much on my mind."

She tilted her head. "Want to talk about it?"

He hesitated. "Maybe later."

Nora nodded slowly, sipping her tea.

But her gaze lingered on the stairway, where she'd seen Amelia come down earlier, hair messy, blanket wrapped tight, eyes refusing to meet hers.

They hadn't said a word to each other.

Something was shifting.

Nora could feel it, not in words, but in the way Amelia avoided Eli's gaze.

And how Eli seemed half-present, like his thoughts were tugging him elsewhere.

And she couldn't help but wonder:

Was it about her, or someone else?

 Kai Confronting Eli

Later that day, the two of them stood by the edge of the cliff near the trail, watching the waves crash against the rocks below.

Kai kicked at a loose stone.

"You good?" Kai asked.

Eli nodded, hands in his pockets. "Yeah."

Kai turned. "No. You're not."

Eli let out a breath. "It's complicated."

"Is it about Nora?" Kai asked, eyes narrowing. "Because Lena thinks you're into her.

But you've been spending all your late nights and quiet moments with Amelia."

Eli didn't answer right away.

Kai continued, voice lower, more careful. "Look, man… if you're confused, figure it out. But don't drift through this like it doesn't matter."

"I'm not trying to hurt anyone," Eli said, voice quiet.

"Then don't," Kai replied, his gaze hardening. "These people… we're not just a group. We're family.

Don't be the reason it breaks."

Eli stared at the horizon, wind tugging at his shirt, thoughts louder than the sea.

Outside the Cabin – Dusk Settling

A breeze rustles the trees. The group has thinned out for the evening.

Eli spots Lena alone by the edge of the porch, sipping from a mug. His footsteps are firm.

Eli:

(tight, controlled)

"Why did you tell Nora I liked her?"

Lena:

(blinks, surprised)

"What?"

Eli:

"You told her. Or said something that made her think I have feelings for her. Why would you do that… without even talking to me first?"

Lena:

(puts her mug down, voice low)

"Eli… I didn't mean to put anything. It just came out. You've been acting differently around her. People notice."

Eli:

"That doesn't give you the right to say something I haven't even figured out for myself."

Lena:

(frustrated)

"I was trying to protect everyone.

From mixed signals.

From assumptions. From you not saying anything while tensions keep building."

Eli:

(steps closer, tone sharper)

"You think you were protecting everyone? What you did just made it worse.

Nora looked at me like I was hiding something… and maybe I was. But that was mine to share."

Lena:

(quietly)

"I know. I crossed a line. But I was scared, Eli. I've seen this before, where silence turns into secrets, and secrets ruin everything."

Eli:

"You should've asked. You know I've been wrestling with this, between the past, with Amelia… and now this confusion with Nora."

Lena:

(nods, soft regret)

"I'm sorry. I should've talked to you first. I didn't mean to speak for your heart."

Eli:

(exhales deeply)

"I just wish people would stop deciding what I feel before I even know what I feel."

Lena:

(softly)

"Then maybe it's time you figure it out… before we all get hurt."