Growth introduced friction.
Not the sharp, destabilizing kind.
The clarifying kind.
Aaliyah felt it in the subtle differences that began to surface as the group expanded its scope. New voices joined. New ideas entered the room. Not all of them aligned with the tone that had been cultivated carefully over months.
The rhythm shifted.
Not broken.
Changed.
At the studio, a proposal was introduced, ambitious, fast-moving, outcome-driven. It wasn't wrong. It wasn't careless.
It was simply louder than what had existed before.
The room reacted in layers.
Some energized.
Some cautious.
Some silent.
Aaliyah noticed her own response, neither resistance nor enthusiasm.
Just attention.
Across the city, Marcus Blackwood encountered similar friction.
The pilot group's early success attracted interest from outside stakeholders. Suggestions arrived that would increase visibility, but also pressure.
The room felt the pull.
Marcus did not dismiss it.
He observed it.
