That day didn't start differently.
But it didn't end the same either.
By late afternoon, the heat had settled into everything.
Not the sharp kind. The slow kind. The one that stays on your skin and doesn't leave even when you stop moving.
We had already been playing for a while.
Not properly.
Just hitting the ball around, missing more than we should, arguing less than usual.
Even Cedar wasn't loud today.
"Stop bowling like that," he said.
"You missed it," Chase replied.
"You bowled it wrong."
"That's not how this works."
Nash didn't say anything. He just passed me the ball.
"You're off today," he said.
"You dropped two catches," I replied.
"I was testing gravity."
"That's not how that works."
He smiled slightly.
Axel was sitting on the low wall near the side instead of fielding.
"Taking a break?" I asked.
"Observing," he said.
"From where?"
"Here."
Nash glanced at him. "He says that every time he's tired."
"I'm not tired."
"You're sitting."
"That's strategy."
I sat beside him for a second.
"Then I'm also strategic."
"You always are," Nash said from behind.
We didn't restart immediately.
No one really wanted to.
The game had already started fading into something else.
The sky had begun to soften a little.
Not sunset.
Just… less harsh.
That's when they came.
Grace and Siena.
Not together this time.
Not exactly.
Grace walked in first, slower, like she wasn't in a hurry to reach anywhere.
Siena came a few steps behind, holding something in her hand, talking as she caught up.
They didn't look at us immediately.
Didn't check who was there.
They just moved toward the far side, near the small ramp.
Sat down.
Like they had done that before.
Nash leaned slightly toward me.
"They come around this time now," he said.
"Maybe," I replied.
"You noticed."
"So did you."
He didn't deny it.
We didn't go back to playing.
Not properly.
Chase tried to restart it.
"No one's fielding," he said.
"That's because no one cares," Cedar replied, lying back on the ground.
"That's not true."
"That's exactly true."
Axel stood up after a while.
Walked a little.
Not directly to them.
Just… in that direction.
Stopped halfway.
Then came back.
Like he changed his mind halfway through thinking.
"You going?" Nash asked him.
"Maybe later," Axel said.
"Later never comes," I said.
He looked at me briefly. "Sometimes it does."
There wasn't a plan anymore.
Just time passing.
After a few minutes, Nash got up.
"Come," he said.
"Where?"
"Just come."
I followed.
We didn't go far.
Just to the small shop outside.
The one we always go to.
Nothing special about it.
But somehow it always felt like a break from everything else.
"You think too much," Nash said suddenly.
"You say that every time."
"Because it's always true."
I picked up two bottles. "You don't think at all."
"I do."
"When?"
He looked at me. "Right now."
"About what?"
"Nothing."
I smiled slightly. "That sounds accurate."
We picked up a few more.
More than needed.
As usual.
When we came back, nothing had changed.
And yet, it felt like something had moved slightly.
Cedar was still on the ground.
Chase was trying to get him up.
Axel was standing again, this time a little closer to where Grace and Siena were.
Not talking.
Just there.
Nash didn't stop.
He walked past them first.
I followed a second later.
"Here," I said, holding out a bottle.
Grace looked up.
There was a pause.
Not awkward.
Just… noticing.
"Thanks," she said.
Siena looked between us and then took one as well. "Thank you."
Nash handed the rest over without saying much.
We didn't sit with them.
We didn't go back either.
Just stayed there for a moment.
Standing.
"You guys done playing?" Grace asked.
"For today," I said.
"That was quick."
"It wasn't," Nash replied. "You just came late."
She smiled slightly. "Maybe."
From behind us, Cedar shouted, "If you're done, at least admit I won."
"You didn't win," Chase said.
"I almost did."
"That doesn't count."
"It should."
Siena looked in their direction for a second.
"You always argue like this?" she asked.
"Every day," I said.
"Same arguments," Nash added.
"Different confidence," I finished.
She nodded once.
Like that made sense.
Axel stepped closer now.
Took a bottle from my hand.
"You brought extra," he said.
"We always do," Nash replied.
"For who?"
I shrugged. "Whoever's there."
He looked at us for a second.
Then nodded.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Just the sound of the bottle opening.
The quiet relief of something cold.
Grace leaned back slightly, looking up at the sky.
"It's better in the evening," she said.
"It always is," I replied.
Nash sat down on the edge of the ramp.
Not too close.
Not far either.
I sat beside him.
Same as always.
We didn't talk.
We didn't need to.
Cedar and Chase eventually came over.
Still arguing.
Still not agreeing.
"Why are you all here?" Cedar asked.
"Why not?" Nash replied.
"That's not an answer."
"That's the only answer."
Grace laughed softly.
Not at anyone.
Just… because.
Siena looked toward me for a moment.
"Do you all just… stay here?" she asked.
"Mostly," I said.
"And it doesn't get boring?"
I thought about it.
"No," I said. "It just changes a little every day."
She nodded.
Like she understood that more than I expected.
The light dropped a little more.
Not dark.
Just softer.
After a while, Grace stood up.
Siena followed.
"We're going," she said.
Axel nodded.
"Yeah."
She looked toward us briefly.
"Bye."
"Bye," Nash said.
I nodded.
They walked back.
Not fast.
Not slow.
Just… together.
This time, it didn't feel like they were separate from everything.
But it didn't feel like they were part of it either.
Just… close enough.
We stayed back a little longer.
No one rushed.
No one ended the day.
It just… faded.
On the way up, Nash walked beside me.
"You felt that?" he asked.
I looked at him. "What?"
He didn't answer.
Just smiled slightly.
That was enough.
That night, I stood in the corridor for a bit.
Looking across.
Not waiting.
Just there.
Nothing important had happened.
Nothing you could explain.
But something about the day stayed.
Not in memory.
Not in words.
Just… somewhere inside.