At school, the group was excited to celebrate their new accomplishment. On the way, Tyler and the others couldn't help but notice the tension between Y/N, Aiden, and Ashlyn. Each of them kept their distance from each other, feeling gloomy and nervous. Y/N was slightly lagging behind, walking slowly to maintain her distance from the other two.

"You three are getting on my nerves," Tyler said, crossing his arms and turning his head to address the awkward behavior between them. "How are we supposed to 'celebrate' when you're ruining the good mood with awkwardness?"

"Oh, you know, a lot of things happened last night, so what can you expect?" Y/N spoke with sarcasm, hinting as if it wasn't known to them.

Taylor nervously interrupted, "...What Tyler means is that you three seem abit tense-" she stated, carefully choosing her words. "There's about ten minutes before class starts, how you guys talk it out and we'll go grab some snacks?"

The rest of the group quickly departed, leaving the three musketeers alone by the stairway. They felt awkward and unsure. Y/N just wanted to disappear at that moment, not wanting to be involved in the conversation. Aiden and Ashlyn were staring at each other, while Y/N stood by the stairway, leaning on the rail and glancing between Ashlyn's green eyes and Aiden's red eyes. Y/N could feel the tension in the air and briefly looked away with a neutral expression. As she stood there, she looked back at the duo and contemplated what to do.

"Should I initiate the conversation? It would be even more awkward if I didn't. But what should I talk about? Maybe about that night? Or how I'm feeling-" Before Y/N could continue thinking, Aiden unintentionally interrupted her thoughts without realizing it.

"...Are you sure you should've come to school with your head injured like that?" Aiden asked Ashlyn, sounding concerned.

"What about you? You're limping." She said to the blonde.

Y/N tilted her head slightly, pondering why Aiden chose to ignore logic in his current situation. He acted recklessly by jumping off a high wall, injuring himself in the process. It was one of the dumbest moves he could have made, if not the worst. The self-proclaimed tough guy believed he was invincible, but now he was dealing with a sprained ankle, showing that he was not immune to the consequences of his actions. Y/N knew that even though he was trying to act unaffected, he was clearly limping.

"Yeah but, it's kinda my own fault haha."

"I'm glad you know that." Y/N, who was watching the scene jumped in, straightening herself as she took a step down the last step. "I mean, jumping down was your best choice for getting down. We literally had a rope, Aiden, a rope! You're lucky that you handled the fall well. If not, you probably would have broken your legs."

"Yeah. I should have used the rope." He nervously laughed and then asked, "What about you?"

"Oh, well... I wouldn't say I'm completely okay, but I'm feeling better after taking some pain relievers. So, I...guess I've been doing better."

Ashlyn observed the two individuals for a moment before feeling a headache coming on, prompting her to want to end the conversation. "Maybe we should talk later, my head's throbbing," she said as she began to turn away.

"We'll talk later then-" As Y/N started to walk past him, Aiden reached out his hand and grabbed her wrist with a steady grip. The girl was startled by his unexpected touch, her eyes widening. It wasn't rough, but rather soft yet firm. He quickly loosened his grip slightly, trying not to make her uncomfortable but still maintaining his hold.

He suddenly called out, "Ah- Wait!" as he noticed two girls staring at him. He quickly looked away with an unreadable expression.



A memory flashed in his mind - the moment Ashlyn hit her head on the ceiling of the house, blood seeping from the wound. He could still vividly recall that moment.

Ashlyn wasn't sure if he was talking to Y/N or her, but her confusion cleared up when he started walking towards her. His hand reached out and gently touched the back of her head as Y/N turned to face him. His touch made her feel a bit flustered, but strangely comforted.

"...I'm sorry. I didn't think me getting hurt meant you both would too." he said.

FLASHBACK - [IN THE PHANTOM DIMENSION]

Y/N thought she was going to slide off the roof, but then a strong grip on the girl's wrist saved her. She grunted as she felt herself being held in this position. Glancing up, she could see Ashlyn struggling, sweat beading on her face as she looked at her with a sad expression

Y/N thought, 'Ashlyn?' Her vision was a bit blurry as she squinted.

Ashlyn held onto Y/N's arm and pulled her along, with Y/N also helping herself up. Aiden then brought the two girls close and hugged Y/N tightly. He held them on each side of his shoulder as Y/N rested her head on his shoulder, feeling exhausted and shocked. She could feel his grip on her back, the fabric scrunching up as he clenched it, his hands trembling.

Aiden's mind raced as he saw the two girls in danger. When he saw Y/N almost meet her end, he froze, unable to speak. Even with his injury, he felt his whole world shatter. There was a ringing in his ears, his body trembling, heart racing.

He felt like he was blanking out, but still conscious. In that moment of crisis, he didn't know what to do. He feared losing control, unsure of what would happen. But seeing her alive made him grateful. He didn't want to entertain negative thoughts, just relieved that she was alive, that they were alive.

"...I'm sorry." he whispered in a shaky voice, almost on the verge of tears. His voice trembled with fear as he was scared to see them almost get killed.

"Aiden, I agree with you, but now is not the right time-" Ashlyn said, cutting herself off as she felt Aiden tremble.

'Ugh... Why does he have to make me feel this way, stupid idiot...' Y/N wanted to push him away, but he held her tight. Suddenly, she heard him mumble something.

"Y/N, please don't push me away... please."

Even though Y/N didn't want to say anything out loud, she was scared for her life. Literally, her life was almost over if not for them. She wanted to cry, really she did, but she forced herself not to. This embrace made her feel safe, she felt secure with them around, and she wanted to continue feeling safe. Eventually, she decided to stop thinking and just hold him too.

"Thank you..."

FLASHBACK END

As she looked back at the blonde man, she could see the hurt in his eyes. The pain he must have felt when he almost lost his friends.

Wait- friends?

Did she even consider him, or any of them, her friends?

She asked herself that same question again, and to this day she is still unsure. But after spending so much time with them, she had a change of heart. Maybe it was her denial that was holding her back, making her believe she didn't need friends. However, as she recalled those shared memories with the group, she realized something. Those cherished memories were hard to admit, but she felt a spark.

"Um... Yeah. It's fine." Y/N slowly pulled her hand away as he released his grip.

"AH-, am I too close?" He noticed this and quickly moved his hand away from Ashlyn's head, bringing it back towards his own head. "To be honest I'm still confused about the boundary thing. I've never tried to get close with someone like you."

"Ah, so he was clueless." Y/N sighed, realizing the implications of what he said. "Wait, what?" She wasn't sure how to feel when he referred to her as "someone like you". "Am I supposed to be offended?"

"Someone like me? What's that supposed to mean?" Ashlyn asked.

"I didn't mean like- not in a bad way!" Aiden quickly clarified, speaking in a panicked tone to reassure them that they had misunderstood. "What I mean was- with my parents traveling all the time, I just passed the time talking to random people while waiting for us to move onto the next location. I didn't really care about them and they didn't care about me. But now that im stationary, I wanted to try something different. You both seem like the type of person who wouldn't become close with someone unless they were actually special to you."

Ashlyn and Y/N listened attentively as Aiden shared his backstory. She glanced at Ashlyn to see how she was reacting, and noticed that she was focused on Aiden. When Y/N looked back at Aiden, she could sense some hesitation in his expression. It was unclear if he wanted to share more or if he was feeling uncomfortable about something. Despite not being sure, Y/N chose to remain quiet.

"And I'm not exactly sure... how to go about it."

Ashlyn casually replied, "Well how am I supposed to know? I don't usually get along with people, period."

Y/N slightly nods in agreement. "It's not that I don't want to talk, I just prefer to only speak when necessary. Regarding your question, there is one way for you to start." Y/N took a moment to carefully choose her words.

Ashlyn lowered her head slightly and thought to herself, 'With hearing like mine, you end up hearing a lot of truths you weren't meant to hear. It makes trusting people really annoying. I would've rather avoided it if possible.... But things have changed, since I don't have much of a choice but to trust these guys now.' She froze, 'Wait a minute.' Glancing up at Aiden, she wondered, 'Does that mean this guy is just as clueless as I am??'

*Correct. You're both socially intep. [Three, actually]

Y/N struggled to find the right words, but eventually took a deep breath to calm herself and clear her thoughts, even though she felt a bit hesitant. She could see the confusion in the blonde's eyes as she spoke.

"First, respect the boundaries of others, and second, stop harassing me. Even though you may not see any harm in it, I really mean what I say. While I don't mind it now, I would have appreciated it if you had respected my space back then. However, it doesn't matter now because I'm currently dealing with something completely supernatural. Oh well... but I'm glad you're sharing this with us."

Once again, silence filled the atmosphere. Ashlyn appeared to be deep in thought, while Aiden's gaze was fixed on the two individuals. However, he seemed more interested in grasping the situation's context internally. After some time, the redhead snapped out of her thoughts and realized the silence. She decided to speak up after hearing Y/N's speech, deciding to share her own thoughts as well.

"Listen, I'm not good at phrasing my words like Taylor and Y/N are. So I'm just going to be blunt-" Ashlyn sighs.

It took Y/N a moment to understand what the girl was talking about. 'Phrasing?' It's not that Y/N didn't understand the girl's words, she just didn't think she was good at expressing herself clearly. Sometimes she would say things without really knowing what she was saying, and it would just come out naturally. Y/N was a bit socially awkward.

Ashlyn continued by expressing her thoughts, stating, "-You're impulsive, rash, pushy, annoying, and you have no concept of personally space."



It was harsh to hear, but she was being honest as she had promised. Y/N was surprised by the bluntness of her words, but deep down, she couldn't help but acknowledge the truth in what Ashlyn had said.

"...But I was wrong to blame you for Savannah. You may have pushed, but it my decision to go. And I don't blame you for what happened on the porch. I believe Y/N feels the same way, don't you?" Ashlyn turned her head to the side, where Y/N was standing next to her, seeking confirmation. She saw Y/N nodding slightly, indicating that she didn't really blame Aiden for what happened on the porch.

The redhead looked straight ahead, but avoided Aiden's eyes by looking to the side. Her head was lowered as she did so. "I would appreciate it if you listened to me more, maybe take things seriously- and... I'll also work on becoming more open with you all. I'm not under the illusion I'm the greatest to deal with since I never planned to be around anyone but..." She looked up slowly, made eye contact, and extended her hand, saying, "Let's just all try our best, I guess."

Y/N was a bit distracted, but when Ashlyn mentioned being more open to help others understand and communicate better, it made Y/N consider doing the same. She thought about her dad and how she wanted to tell him the truth that morning, but she was still unsure. However, she decided to follow Ashlyn's lead and try to come out of her shell. Even though she preferred to keep to herself, she realized it would be beneficial for both her and others to share their thoughts and feelings instead of causing confusion with mixed emotions.

'I guess... I'll do the same as well.'