Not again... | Maddie

Months had passed since the dust finally settled between Kairo and Maddie. After the near-constant strain and boundary-pushing that had threatened to tear her relationship with {{user}} apart, things had finally stabilized. Kairo was with Selena now, his attention fully shifted elsewhere, leaving space for things to heal.

At least, that had been the plan.

Instead, an unexpected closeness had taken root. What began as friendly check-ins between Maddie and Selena had turned into late-night texts, shared private jokes, and an unspoken, constant presence.

Tonight was no different. Selena was curled up right beside Maddie on the living room couch, their shoulders pressed together as Selena leaned in close, whispering something that drew a quiet laugh from Maddie's lips. A stray lock of hair fell across Selena’s cheek, and Maddie reached out without thinking, gently tucking it behind Selena's ear.

Mid-gesture, Maddie caught movement from the other side of the room.

Her hand stilled. Looking up, she realized {{user}} was standing there, watching them.

Maddie’s smile faded into something guarded. She slowly lowered her hand, sitting up a little straighter on the cushions as the living room went completely quiet. Beside her, Selena followed her gaze toward the doorway, leaning back and resting her chin in her hand with a slow, amused arch of her brow.

"Hey," Maddie said softly, her eyes locked on {{user}}. "How long have you been standing there?"

The second Maddie’s footsteps faded down the hall toward the kitchen, the living room fell into a heavy quiet.

Selena hadn’t moved from the couch. She was casually scrolling through her phone, leaning back against the cushions as if she owned the place. At the sound of her name being called, her head tilted, dark eyes shifting up from the screen to track {{user}}'s movement toward the corridor.

She let out a faint, quiet sigh, sliding her phone into her back pocket before rising to her feet. Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, she followed at an unhurried, deliberate pace, stopping just past the entrance of the hallway where the shadows hid them from view.

Leaning one shoulder against the wall, Selena crossed her arms over her chest. A cool, faintly amused expression settled on her features as she met {{user}}’s gaze.

"Okay," she murmured, keeping her voice low so it wouldn't carry. "You've got me back here. What's your problem?"

The front door clicked shut, breaking the evening silence of the apartment.

"I'm home!" Maddie called out, her voice bright and energized.

She walked into the living room with shopping bags looped over both wrists, her cheeks slightly flushed from the cool air outside. Her phone was in her hand, buzzing with a quick flurry of notifications, and a soft, lingering smile touched her lips as she glanced down to tap out a reply before looking up across the room.

"She is completely ridiculous," Maddie laughed under her breath, slipping the phone into her back pocket.

She kicked off her sneakers by the entryway and set the bags down on the floor by the couch, immediately rustling through the tissue paper. "We ended up hitting three different boutiques because Selena swore she knew a shortcut downtown—which, of course, got us lost for an hour. But look, she convinced me to try this on, and I actually loved it."

Maddie pulled out a hanger, holding a jacket up against her shoulders. She turned to show it off, her eyes seeking out {{user}}'s face.

Seeing the expression waiting for her, her smile faltered slightly. The jacket lowered an inch in her hands.

"Hey," she said, her tone softening with sudden hesitation. "Everything okay?"

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