Monday evening left Sara feeling like her brain was full of static. Leo's teasing, the accidental touches, the stupid competition in the cafeteria—everything buzzed under her skin, refusing to leave her alone.
She tossed in bed, hugging her pillow.
Why does he do that? Why does he talk like he knows everything about me? Why does he stand so close?
And why…
why did she not want him to stop?
---
The next morning, the school courtyard was unusually loud. It wasn't normal chatter—this was excited, chaotic, gossip-type noise. Sara squeezed past a group of juniors and spotted posters all over the front wall.
"Spring Showcase – Talent Day – Sign-Up Ends Today!"
Ah. That explained it.
Students crowded around the signup sheets, pushing and arguing. Someone was showing a backflip in the middle of the walkway. Another kid was singing off-key like he was auditioning for a tragedy.
Sara tried walking around them, but someone bumped her shoulder hard.
"Move—"
Her sentence froze as she realized who it was.
Leo.
Of course.
He was leaning over the signup sheet, completely uninterested in the chaos, just staring at the crowd like he was watching a comedy show.
He noticed her instantly.
"Well, well… look who finally decided to show up to school like a normal human," Leo said with that same smirk that had haunted her dreams.
"I was here yesterday," Sara muttered.
"Yeah, but today you're glowing." He eyed her up and down. "New shampoo? Or new crush?"
Sara's heart plummeted. "Stop talking."
Leo slid closer, his voice low. "Make me."
She stepped away before her brain melted. "Why are you here?"
Leo shrugged. "Trying to decide if I should join the performance list."
"You? Talent? Doing what? Annoying people professionally?"
He grinned. "Oh, sweetheart, I've already mastered that one."
She rolled her eyes, but the corners of her lips lifted anyway.
---
As she turned to leave, a teacher stepped in front of them.
"Perfect timing. We need two responsible students to help organize the Spring Showcase rehearsal list," the teacher said, looking at them like they had already agreed.
Sara froze. Leo laughed softly like the universe was doing him a personal favor.
"Sir," Sara began quickly, "maybe someone else—"
"Excellent," the teacher interrupted. "You two work surprisingly well together. Meet me in the auditorium."
Leo whispered, "Hear that? We work well together."
"I'm going to scream," Sara muttered.
He chuckled. "Can't wait."
---
Auditorium — One Hour Later
The auditorium was loud, full of students practicing routines. Someone was doing ribbon dancing on stage. The football captain kept dropping his guitar. A girl was sobbing into a microphone.
Sara stood by the table, checking names off a clipboard. Leo stood beside her, close enough that his arm brushed hers every time he moved.
And he kept moving.
"Stop leaning on me," she snapped.
"I'm not leaning. I'm existing," he said casually.
"Exist somewhere else."
"Can't. The view is better here."
She accidentally dropped her pen.
Leo bent down at the same time she did. Their heads nearly collided.
She froze.
He froze.
Their faces were inches apart.
Her breath hitched.
His eyes locked on hers, and for once, there was no smirk. No teasing.
Just… him.
A heartbeat passed.
Then another.
Sara shot up so fast she knocked the clipboard off the table.
Leo stood slowly, watching her with that unreadable expression, the kind that made her heart trip over itself.
"You okay?" he asked quietly this time.
She cleared her throat. "Fine."
Liar.
---
For the next thirty minutes, Leo didn't tease her. He didn't lean close. He didn't say a single playful comment.
It was worse.
Because silence with Leo felt too heavy. Too intense.
Finally, after they dismissed the last group, he spoke.
"Sara."
Her stomach tightened. "What."
He stepped closer—not teasing this time. Not smirking. Just… serious.
"You're acting weird today."
"I'm not."
"You are."
"Leo—"
"You're avoiding my eyes."
His voice got even softer.
"And that usually happens when you're thinking something you don't want me to know."
She swallowed hard. "You don't know what I'm thinking."
He looked at her for a long moment.
"So tell me."
Her throat tightened. "There's nothing to tell."
Leo exhaled sharply, stepping back like her answer frustrated him.
"Then why did you look at me earlier like—" He stopped himself. "Never mind."
"No, say it."
He shook his head. "Forget it."
The tension thickened between them, heavy and buzzing, like the air before a storm.
---
As they packed up, the lights in the auditorium flickered.
Then went out completely.
Students screamed. Someone tripped. Someone else shouted about ghosts.
Sara's heart pounded in her chest.
A hand brushed hers in the darkness.
"Relax," Leo whispered, voice steady against the pitch black. "It's just a power cut."
Her hand trembled, and without thinking, Leo intertwined their fingers—gently, not teasing, not pushing.
Just holding.
"Sara," he whispered again, voice closer now.
"You don't have to pretend with me."
Her breath caught.
She didn't pull her hand away.
She didn't want to.
The darkness felt like a blanket, hiding the truth she never had the courage to admit.
"You're not scared of the dark," Leo added softly.
"You're scared of how you feel."
Sara felt her pulse hammer in her ears.
"I don't—"
"You do."
The emergency lights clicked on.
Sara quickly pulled her hand away, face flaming.
Leo watched her, breathing slightly uneven, jaw tight like he was holding back something he desperately wanted to say.
Before he could say anything, the teacher returned, dismissing them.
Leo grabbed his bag, eyes still on her.
"Sara… earlier, when the lights went out—"
She cut him off. "I don't want to talk about it."
He stepped closer again, slow and deliberate.
"But I do."
She turned away before her heart betrayed her.
"I have to go."
"Sara—"
She didn't look back. She couldn't.
She quickly left the auditorium, her pulse racing, her chest tight.
---
Outside, the cool air hit her face, grounding her panic.
Her phone buzzed.
A message.
Leo:
You can run away now. But you can't run forever.
Another message popped up instantly.
Leo:
Because whether you admit it or not… something's happening between us.
Sara's heart flipped.
She didn't reply.
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard.
Then a third message came.
Leo:
And I'm not letting this thing go.
Sara stared at the screen, breath shaking.
She knew he was right.
Something was happening.
Something she wasn't ready for.
Something she couldn't deny anymore.
But admitting it out loud?
That terrified her more than any dark room ever could.