Steven’s POV

  At the door, I pulled the key out and unlocked it.

  The click sounded final. Important.

  I stepped aside. “After you.”

  Aqua hesitated for half a second—then stepped inside.

  For a second, I thought of Aqua’s serious face at the café—how she’d gone still, like she’d heard something no one else did.

  Like she’d felt eyes on her, even though she’d said it was nothing.

  She’d brushed it off so fast I’d almost believed it didn’t matter… except now, standing in her apartment, I got the same prickle at the back of my neck.

  A stupid, paranoid kind of feeling.

  I glanced toward the window without meaning to. Nothing. Just sun and glass and quiet.

  Then Aqua moved—soft, careful—and the moment slipped out of my head like it had never been there.

  The apartment was already lit by the afternoon sun pouring through the windows. It had an open layout: a small kitchen with white cabinets and a simple island, a living area with a soft blue sofa and matching armchair, a round wooden table near the window. Everything was clean. Neutral. Calm.

  Move-in ready.

  Aqua didn’t say anything at first.

  She just… walked.

  Slowly.

  Her fingers brushed the back of the sofa, then the edge of the kitchen counter. She touched the lampshade like she expected it to disappear. Ran her hand over the dining table, the rug, the wall near the window.

  Like she was grounding herself in it.

  Watching her was… kind of incredible.

  She looked like someone who’d never been allowed to exist in a space without rules—who was only now realizing this one belonged to her.

  I sat down on the sofa, giving her room, pretending not to stare.

  I failed.

  Eventually, she came to sit beside me. Close—but not pressing. Just… there.

  “I like it,” she said softly. “It feels… like a place where I can finally be my full self.” She swallowed, like the words cost her something. “No more rules.”

  Something tight in my chest cracked open—because she didn’t sound spoiled or picky. She sounded relieved.

  And somehow, hearing that made it easier for me to breathe too.

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  “I’m glad,” I said. “It’s… quiet. I figured you might like that.”

  She nodded. “I do.”

  She glanced at me then, her expression shy but warm. “Thank you for today, Steven. For showing me around. For helping me.”

  My ears heated instantly.

  “Oh—yeah,” I said too fast. “Of course. It just… felt right.”

  A small silence settled between us. Not awkward. Just full.

  I swallowed, suddenly aware that if I didn’t say it now, I might lose my nerve completely.

  “So, um…” I rubbed the back of my neck. “Did you have a good time today?”

  Aqua looked at me like she was glad I asked, then smiled. “Yes. I had a very good time. I saw so many new things today.”

  “Cool. That’s nice.” I tried to gather myself for what I wanted to say next.

  “Tomorrow… if you want… we could go out again? Like—actually go out. Not errands. A date.”

  Wow. Nailed that, Steven. Real smooth.

  My ears burned.

  Aqua looked down at her hands, fingers fiddling with the hem of her dress. For a second, I thought I’d messed everything up.

  Then she looked back up.

  “I would like that,” she said softly. “Very much.”

  My brain… stopped.

  Like, fully stopped.

  “Oh,” I said stupidly. “You—yeah? You would?”

  She smiled. “Yes.”

  I stood up so fast I almost tripped over the coffee table.

  “Cool. Great. Awesome,” I said, like I’d rehearsed it in the mirror and still failed. “I’ll—uh—I’ll pick you up. Tomorrow morning. Nine-thirty?”

  I pointed to the clock on the wall like it was official evidence.

  She nodded, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. “I’ll be ready.”

  I walked to the door on autopilot, opened it, then turned back.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said, trying desperately to sound normal.

  “Tomorrow,” she echoed.

  The door closed softly behind me.

  I made it exactly five steps down the hall before whisper-shouting:

  “Yes!”

  I practically floated down the stairs and all the way home.

  ---

  By the time I got home, the afternoon had softened toward evening.

  Mom was in the living room folding laundry.

  “Oh good,” she said with a smile. “Everything went well?”

  “Yeah,” I said. “Really well.”

  I tried not to smile like it was the best day I’d ever had.

  “And you left Fang on the roof,” she added lightly. “So I put him back in his tank.”

  I winced. “Sorry. Thanks, Mom.” I kissed her forehead as I headed upstairs, straight into my room.

  Fang’s tank was glowing faintly in the corner.

  “Hey, buddy,” I murmured, crouching down. “Sorry I ditched you earlier.”

  He shifted slightly along his branch, tongue flicking out once, slow and curious.

  I sat on the floor in front of the tank, resting my arms on my knees.

  “You’re not gonna believe today,” I said quietly. “The girl I met today, by the shore… her name’s Aqua.”

  Fang’s eyes followed me.

  I went on. “I know, right? Her name’s Aqua—and I found her by the water. Interesting irony.”

  He flicked his tongue again.

  “She’s… different,” I said, searching for the right word. “Really kind. Really calm. Almost like she doesn’t even realize how strong she is.”

  I leaned back against the bed frame.

  “She’s rich. Like… yacht-rich,” I added with a small laugh. “But she doesn’t act like it. It’s more like she’s never lived a normal life before. Never got to choose things for herself.”

  Fang shifted again, scales catching the lamp light from over his tank.

  “She ran away from her older brother,” I said softly. “He was trying to control her life. Who she married. Who she was supposed to be.”

  My chest tightened a little as I thought about it.

  “And she just… left. Took her fate into her own hands. Risked everything just to live her own life.”

  I glanced at Fang.

  “Gotta like a girl like that, right?”

  Fang hissed softly—low, slow, unreadable.

  I smiled anyway.

  “I asked her out,” I admitted. “And she said yes.”

  The word still didn’t feel real.

  I sat on the edge of my bed, heart still racing.

  That’s when it hit me.

  She doesn’t have a phone.

  I dug through my drawer and pulled out my old red one—scratched, outdated, but still working. I powered it on, resetting it carefully.

  I placed it beside my current phone on the nightstand—two red rectangles, side by side.

  Tomorrow, I’d give it to her.

  Turning off the light, lying back on my bed, I stared at the ceiling, smiling like an idiot.

  She said yes.

  Tomorrow was my first ever date.

  And for the first time in a long while, tomorrow didn’t feel uncertain.

  It felt… exciting.