HAPPY FRIENDSHIP ANNIVERSARY

Amelia stood by the window, arms folded loosely, her eyes tracing the dark outline of the trees swaying just beyond the lodge.

She didn't hear the footsteps at first, soft and deliberate.

But when she turned, Eli was already there, standing in the doorway as though the moment had summoned him.

Neither of them spoke right away.

"I thought you wouldn't come," she said quietly.

"I almost didn't," he replied. "But… here I am."

She nodded slowly, her expression unreadable. "Is everything okay?"

He stepped inside, leaving the door half open behind him.

The room felt small, too small for everything he wanted to say, yet too vast for the silence stretching between them.

"I just…" he paused, then sighed. "I wanted to see you."

Amelia looked at him.

Her gaze met his, calm but searching, and in that stillness, something shifted.

It wasn't loud. It was the kind of ache that comes from things long left unsaid.

Eli's eyes held hers. There it was, something quiet but undeniable.

"You've been different lately," she said, voice soft. "Quieter. Avoiding things. Avoiding me."

He didn't deny it.

"I didn't mean to," he said, stepping closer.

"It's just been... hard. I didn't want to bring any more weight into this trip."

Amelia's lips parted slightly. "Eli, if something's wrong, you don't have to carry it alone."

"I know," he said. "But it's not something I can fix with a few words."

Their eyes met again, and that's when he saw it. Something flickered there, right beneath her composed exterior.

A trace of confusion, maybe fear, but also… hope? It was subtle, fleeting, but real.

A crack in her guard that mirrored his own.

He took a breath. Say it, something in him screamed. Tell her. This is your moment.

But his voice failed him.

So instead, he took a slow step closer, and she didn't move away.

They stood that way, inches apart, the air between them charged, humming with everything they hadn't said for years.

"If I told you everything," he whispered, "I'm not sure what it would change."

Amelia blinked. "Then don't say it yet," she said, her voice almost a breath. "But don't lie to me, either."

He nodded slowly.

And though he didn't speak the truth aloud, he knew she had seen it, clearly, deeply, in his eyes.

They stood there, Eli and Amelia, caught in the soft shadows of the room, suspended between silence and something that almost felt like a confession.

His gaze was fixed on hers, and hers… wasn't looking away.

The air between them trembled.

And then.

"Okay, what is going on?"

The voice broke through the quiet like a snap of cold air. Both Eli and Amelia turned at once.

Kai stood in the hallway, arms crossed and brows furrowed, staring at the two of them with a mix of curiosity and growing confusion.

His eyes bounced from Amelia to Eli and back again, trying to make sense of the scene he'd walked into.

"Wait… Eli and Amelia?" Kai asked, blinking. "Or is it Nora and Eli? I— I'm lost.

Someone help me out here."

Amelia took a step back, suddenly aware of the proximity.

She cleared her throat, smoothing the hem of her sleeve as she looked down briefly.

"Shut up, Kai," she said, her tone not unkind but definite. "We're friends. That's all this is."

Kai tilted his head. "Didn't look like 'just friends'."

"It's not what it seems like," she added quickly. "Moreover, I've been distant from him lately.

Too distant.

This was just…" She paused, eyes flicking toward Eli, "a moment. Clearing things up, I guess."

Eli remained silent, his jaw clenched, gaze dropping to the floor.

Kai raised his hands in mock surrender. "Alright, alright.

I didn't mean to barge in on a UN-level peace talk." He grinned a little, then took a step back.

"I'll give you two a minute, unless you're done?"

"We are," Amelia said, her voice crisp.

Kai lingered for a second, then gave Eli a long, unreadable look before disappearing back down the hallway.

When the silence returned, it didn't feel like before.

It was heavier. A little colder. The moment they had shared had been real, raw even, but now reality had reentered the room.

"I should go," Eli said after a beat, eyes fixed on the door now. "It's late."

Amelia nodded. "Yeah. Sure."

He walked past her, careful not to brush against her shoulder as he left.

He lingered for another moment, then quietly left the room, the truth still unspoken... but no longer entirely hidden.

Amelia stood still for a long time after he disappeared.

He had looked into her eyes and seen something he couldn't name. And maybe, just maybe, she had seen something in his too.

But that didn't make anything easier.

Not yet.

Who Do You Hold?

Later that night, as the group settled into their corners of the house, Eli stepped out to the porch for some air.

The stars were out, quiet, distant witnesses to the tangled storm inside him.

Footsteps creaked behind him.

"You always step out when your thoughts get loud," Kai said casually, leaning against the railing beside him.

"That's how I know something's up."

Eli said nothing, eyes still on the night sky.

Kai exhaled slowly. Then, without looking at him, he asked quietly, "Hey.

Tell me… who do you care about?"

Eli blinked.

"I mean it," Kai continued, folding his arms.

"You've been like this the whole trip, tugging in two directions. One second, it's Amelia.

Then it's Nora. Then you're gone, then you're back. What are we watching? A season finale?"

Eli gave a quiet, humorless laugh. "It's not that simple."

Kai finally turned to him, tone softening. "I didn't say it was. I'm not judging you, Eli.

But I'm asking because I care.

We all do. And more importantly... You can't keep dragging your own heart around like it's some unfinished draft."

Eli looked down at his hands.

"I thought... if I liked Nora, it would erase what I felt for Amelia. Make it easier."

"And did it?"

Eli shook his head slowly. "No. Nora is incredible.

"She's bright and warm and honest. But when I look at her, I'm not looking for her.

I'm... looking through her. For someone else."

Kai was quiet for a moment. "And Amelia?"

"She's always been there," Eli said softly. "Even when she wasn't close, she was present.

I thought I had moved on. But the second I looked into her eyes again, it all came rushing back."

Kai nodded. "Then why are you hiding from her? From all of us?"

"Because I don't want to break what we have," Eli said, voice cracking slightly.

"If I say the wrong thing, everything shifts. And maybe not in a good way."

Kai gave a small, understanding smile. "Eli, not choosing is still a choice. And it can hurt more than being honest."

Eli leaned back, the weight of the truth finally pressing down on him.

"I think," he whispered, "I already chose a long time ago.

"I just didn't dare to admit it."

Kai placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Then stop running, bro. Not from her, not from yourself."