Chapter 82 One Month of Almost
Luna’s POV
One month later…
You’d think everything would feel normal by now. But it didn’t.
But it also wasn’t chaos anymore. It was something in between. Something quieter and something that almost felt like peace…but not quite.
I leaned against the railing at the back of the school field, watching the late afternoon sun stretch across the grass. Students were scattered everywhere, while some laughing, some arguing, some just existing like nothing in the world had ever gone wrong.
I envied that. A little….Okay… a lot.
“Skipping again?” a voice came from behind me. I didn’t turn around.
“Taking a break.” A soft scoff followed. “From what? Breathing?”
I smiled slightly. “From people.”
Kai stepped up beside me, resting his arms on the railing like he belonged there. Like he belonged next to me. Which… he kind of did now.
At least… More than before.
“You’ve been doing that a lot lately,” he said.
“So have you.” I said.
“Difference is,” he replied, glancing sideways at me, “I’m not pretending it’s accidental.”
I sighed. “Fair enough.”
Silence settled between us. It was comfortable and familiar. And that was the weird part. A month ago, everything between us had been tension and almosts and unspoken things.
But now? It was still all of that. Just… softer, deeper and more dangerous.
Because now we knew what was there. We just hadn’t decided what to do about it.
“You’re thinking again,” he said.
“You say that like it’s a crime.” I said.
“With you? It usually leads to trouble.” He scoffed.
I nudged him lightly. “Rude.”
“Accurate.” He replied.
I rolled my eyes, but the small smile stayed and that was another thing that had changed. Smiling around him didn’t feel like effort anymore.
It just… happened.
“How’s training?” he asked after a moment.
I shrugged. “Better.”
“Better how?” he asked.
“I don’t accidentally knock things over with my mind anymore.” I said.
“That’s an improvement.” He replied.
“Bare minimum,” I corrected.
Then he smirked. “Still counts.”
I glanced at him and he looked… okay. Better than before.
The shadows that had clung to him after everything that happened…they hadn’t disappeared completely, but they weren’t as heavy anymore. Because he was sleeping again and talking more.
Actually laughing sometimes and every time he did…Something in my chest eased.
“You?” I asked. “Any… weird episodes?”
He shook his head. “No voices. No blackouts. No surprise possession attempts.”
“Good.” I said.
“Yeah.” He replied back.
A pause followed afterwards and then….
“…doesn’t mean I trust it.” He added.
My fingers tightened slightly around the railing. “Me neither.”
Because whatever that thing had been…it hadn’t felt random, It hadn’t felt like a one-time event and It had felt like a warning. And I couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t over.
Not really.
“You still feel it sometimes?” he asked quietly.
I hesitated. Then nodded. “Not like before,” I said. “Just… faint.”
“Same.” He said.
That didn’t make me feel better. But it made me feel less alone, then we fell into silence again. The kind that didn’t need filling. It was the kind that said more than words ever could. “You’ve been avoiding me,” he said suddenly.
I blinked. “I have not.”
“You have.” He said.
“I’ve been busy.” I replied.
“With what?” he asked.
“…things.” i replied instantly. He raised an eyebrow. “That’s not an answer.”
“It’s an answer.” I said.
“It’s a bad one.” He hesitated.
I exhaled. “Okay, fine,” I admitted. “Maybe a little.”
“Why?” he asked.
There it was. The question I’d been dodging for weeks. I didn’t answer immediately. Because the truth? It wasn’t simple.
“I don’t know what this is,” I said finally.
His gaze didn’t leave mine. “Neither do I.”
“That’s the problem.” He said. “Or the point.”
I frowned slightly. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“It does,” he said. “We’re figuring it out.”
“By not talking about it?” I asked.
“By not forcing it.” He replied.
I hesitated. Because part of me understood that. But another part… The part that overthought everything…it wanted clarity, wanted answers and it wanted something solid.
“And if we get it wrong?” I asked quietly.
His expression softened slightly. “Then we deal with it.”
“That’s your solution to everything.”
“So far, it’s working.” He said.
I huffed a small laugh. “Barely.”
“Still counts.” He said.
I shook my head, but I couldn’t argue with that. Because despite everything…
We were still here. Still standing and still… us and whatever us meant.
“I’ve just…” I trailed off. I said.
“Just what?” he asked.
I looked away, watching the wind ripple through the field.
“I’ve never had something this… uncertain before.”
“Yeah,” he said quietly. “Same.”
That surprised me and i glanced back at him. “Really?”
He nodded. “I don’t do uncertain.”
I smiled slightly. “Could’ve fooled me.”
“Trust me,” he said. “This is new.”
That made something in my chest soften, because for once.. I wasn’t the only one unsure. We were both in it together. And somehow…That made it less scary.
“Hey,” he said after a moment.
“Yeah?”
He hesitated and then…“Come here.”
My heart skipped. “…why?”
“Just do it.”
I narrowed my eyes slightly. “Suspicious.”
“Always.” He said.
I rolled my eyes…but stepped closer anyway slowly and carefully. Like it mattered, because it did. He didn’t hesitate this time and his hand found mine. It was warm, steady and familiar. My breath caught slightly. Not because it was unexpected. But because it felt… right. Too right.
“You’re overthinking again,” he murmured.
“I’m not…” I replied.
“You are.” He said.
“…okay, maybe a little.” I hesitated.
He smiled faintly. “Just a little?”
“Shut up.” I Said.
He chuckled softly.And then…He didn’t let go. Not immediately and not awkwardly. It was just… naturally.
Like it wasn’t a big deal and like it didn’t change anything. Except…
It did.
Because standing there….Hand in hand…watching the world move around us…
It didn’t feel like uncertainty anymore. It felt like something real.
Like something growing and something we didn’t have to define yet. And maybe….
That was okay. For now. “Luna,” he said quietly.
“Yeah?” I answered.
He looked at me.Not teasing and not guarded. But just… honest.
“We’ll figure it out.”
I held his gaze and then nodded. “Yeah,” I said softly.
“We will.” He replied.
And this time…I actually believed it.