Ash stared at the empty bowl in his hands, the faint warmth of the porridge still lingering in his fingers.
He exhaled slowly.
"Don't be a coward," he muttered to himself.
Then he stood.
With quiet steps, he made his way out of the room. The soft clink of porcelain echoed faintly as he placed the bowl in the sink.
He turned.
There she was.
Celeste sat curled up on the couch, one leg tucked under her, remote in hand, eyes fixed lazily on the TV screen. She wore a loose black hoodie, probably his, with her hair now down—soft waves falling over her shoulder. Her posture looked relaxed, but he could tell she was waiting.
Without a word, Ash walked over and sank onto the far end of the couch.
Like a quiet puppy who knew he'd done something wrong.
"I'll tell you now," he said.
Celeste didn't turn her head. But her body shifted slightly. Her grip on the remote loosened.
She was listening.
Ash took a breath. Then began.
"It was getting dark when I left work that day. I was tired, sore, just ready to go home."
He shifted his hands, fingers loosely laced.
"Then Isadora is there outside of the building, waiting. Said she wanted to have dinner—just the two of us. She told me she'd be leaving the country in a few days and… she wanted to spend at least one evening together."
Ash's eyes dropped to the floor.
"I didn't think much of it. She's my friend. Has always been. And she was leaving soon, so I said yes. Just dinner."
Celeste shifted slightly, but said nothing.
Ash continued.
"Dinner was fine. Casual. I didn't notice anything strange. But when we were leaving… she stumbled a little. Said I was still so gentle. Said that's why she liked me back then."
He looked down at his lap.
"And then… she kissed me."
His voice barely lifted above a whisper.
"She grabbed my collar and kissed me out of nowhere. I didn't kiss her back. I didn't push her away fast enough either. I just… froze. I swear to you, Celeste—I didn't want that kiss. I didn't even like it. I was just too shocked to move."
He turned toward Celeste again, his voice steadier now.
"I'm sorry I didn't push her away fast enough. I should've. I should've stopped it immediately."
He went on to tell her how he kept it all to himself after that. Not out of guilt—but fear.
"I didn't tell anyone. Not even Rowan. I just… kept going. Work. Sleep. Routine. I thought if I stayed silent, maybe it'd go away."
He gave a bitter smile.
"But it didn't. She messaged me days later. Asked to meet."
Ash recounted what happened in the park. How Isadora apologized—how she remembered she kissed him. That she liked him. That she didn't want to hear him say no while sober.
"And I told her the truth. That I care about her, but not that way. That she deserves someone who doesn't hesitate."
He glanced down.
"Then she asked me to walk away. Not to look back."
He paused.
"I didn't. I walked away."
Ash's voice was quiet now—lower, but steadier than before.
"And that night, when I walked away from the park…"
His grip on her hand tightened slightly.
"I saw you."
Celeste turned her head toward him. Their eyes met.
"You were stepping out of Liam's car," he said. "He was smiling. You were smiling. You waved at me like everything was normal, like nothing had happened."
He looked down, ashamed.
"I just stood there. Watching you go. You didn't even see how frozen I was. And I told myself I had no right to be mad."
Celeste's lips parted slightly.
Ash chuckled bitterly.
"But I was. I was jealous. God, I was so jealous it made me feel stupid."
Her eyes blinked, taken aback—not because she didn't expect it, but because it sounded so… honest.
"I told myself it was dumb. That Liam was just a friend, a schoolmate. That you'd laugh if I got upset over something like that. But I hated that it wasn't me making you laugh that night. That it wasn't me driving you home."
"The fact that I hurt you and still had the audacity to feel jealous..." he added, voice low and bitter, "I don't even recognize myself anymore."
He turned toward her again, breathing in, afraid to blink.
"I missed my chance. And I was the only one to blame."
A beat of silence passed between them.
Then Celeste slowly pulled her hand out of his—and cupped his face instead, making him look at her directly.
"There's... one thing I need to know," she said, her voice low but clear.
Ash swallowed.
"...Anything."
Her thumb gently brushed his cheek.
"I want to hear it."
He blinked.
"Mm?"
"I want to hear that you already have feelings for me. That you also like me. Not just those little glances. Not just the blushing." She leaned in closer. "I want to hear it—coming from you—that you like me."
He blushed
.
Ash's breath trembled as he looked her straight in the eyes.
"I don't like you," he said softly.
Celeste blinked—confused, already halfway ready to throw a pillow at him.
But then he smiled, just a little.
"I don't just like you, Celeste," he said. "I love you."
There was silence.
Celeste stared at him like he'd just dropped a piano from the ceiling.
Her brain stopped.
Then her face turned scarlet.
"I—what?! You—!" she stammered, completely losing her cool. "You can't just—say that! What the hell, Ash?!"
"I meant it," he replied, still earnest, still soft. "I love you."
Her whole body went rigid.
It wasn't that she didn't feel the same.
She did.
She'd loved him before he even realized it.
But hearing it like that—so sudden, so real, so cheesy—was just too much for her dignity to handle.
"You—" she sputtered, flustered. "You cheesy little—!"
And then flick!—her finger landed right in the middle of his forehead. Hard.
Ash yelped.
"Ow!"
"You can't just say that like we're in a drama!" she scolded, hiding her burning face behind her sleeve, completely losing her cool. "You can't just drop a bomb like that with your dumb face and expect me not to combust!"
Ash chuckled, rubbing the spot she hit.
"But you do love me, right?" he asked, half-teasing.
Celeste groaned into her hands.
"Unfortunately," she muttered.
Ash laughed again.
Celeste peeked at him through her sleeve, then sighed.
"Next time," she said with a pout, "give a girl a damn warning before you say things that make her want to explode into butterflies."
___________