Chapter 86 Chapter Eighty-Two
Omniscient Narrative
Dinner felt different.
Not awkward, no, just... charged in a quiet way, like everyone could sense something had shifted but didn't know how to name it yet.
Demi sat at the table with Chris beside him, their knees brushing occasionally under the wood.
Each time it happened, Demi felt a small jolt of awareness, not quite nerves, not quite comfort, something in between.
And his family noticed.
Of course they did.
His oldest sister watched them with narrowed eyes that weren't suspicious so much as curious.
His mother smiled politely at Chris, the way she always did, but her gaze lingered a second longer than usual.
His brother and younger sister exchanged a look that said we'll ask later without actually saying it.
Chris handled it well.
He answered questions easily, about school, about the upcoming graduation, about what he wanted to do afterward.
He laughed at the right moments, helped clear plates without being asked, thanked Demi's mom for the food like it genuinely mattered to him.
Demi watched him from the corner of his eye, a strange mix of gratitude and guilt settling in his chest.
This should've felt wrong.
Instead, it felt... kind.
After dinner, they drifted back upstairs, not needing to say it out loud.
Demi's room welcomed them back with the same quiet it had earlier, but it no longer felt suffocating like it did earlier.
The curtains were still half-drawn, the light still soft, but the heaviness had eased.
They sat on the floor this time, backs against the bed.
Chris stretched his legs out in front of him. "Your family's intense," he said lightly.
Demi smiled. "Yeah. But you know they mean well."
"They really do," Chris said. "You're very lucky."
Demi nodded slowly. "I know."
The word lucky tasted strange in his mouth. He was lucky in ways that mattered deeply, just not in the one place his heart kept wandering back to.
Chris leaned his head back against the mattress. "You okay?"
Demi hesitated, then shrugged. "I think I will be."
Chris glanced at him. "Not right now, though."
Demi huffed softly. "No. Not right now."
Chris didn't push further. He just shifted closer until their shoulders touched, solid and grounding.
They stayed like that for a while, talking about nothing important.
A show Chris had started watching-Abbott academy-.
They talked about a teacher Demi couldn't stand
About plans that existed only vaguely, safely far in the future.
And yet-
Every so often, Demi's thoughts drifted.
Alex's laugh.
Alex's temper.
Alex's voice saying words Demi wished he could forget.
The ache flared and faded, never fully gone.
Chris seemed to sense it, like he always did. "You don't have to be happy for this to be real," he said quietly.
Demi glanced at him. "I was wondering when you'd say something like that."
Chris smiled faintly. "I know you."
That should've scared him.
Instead, it comforted him.
Later, when Chris stood to leave, there was a moment of hesitation at the door.
"So," Chris said, hands shoved into his jacket pockets. "Tomorrow?"
Demi nodded. "Tomorrow."
Chris paused, then added, "And, Demi? If this ever feels like too much, you tell me. No disappearing. No pretending."
Demi met his eyes. "You too."
Chris smiled. "Deal."
When the door closed behind him, Demi stood there for a long moment, hand still on the knob.
The house was quiet again.
He went back to his room and sat on the bed, staring at the space Chris had occupied just minutes ago. It felt strange, new, but not empty.
And yet, his chest still tightened when he thought of Alex.
"I'm trying," Demi whispered to the room. "I really am."
He lay back and closed his eyes, letting exhaustion pull him under.
Across town, Alex lay awake.
He hadn't heard anything concrete, no words, no confirmation, but something felt off in a way he couldn't explain.
Like the air had shifted and left him behind.
He stared at his ceiling, chest heavy, an image he couldn't shake forming unbidden in his mind.
Demi laughing with someone else.
Demi leaning into someone who wasn't him.
The thought hurt more than Alex was prepared for.
He didn't understand it.
He just knew it felt like he was losing something, again, without knowing how or why.
He wanted Demi back.