It starts with tea.
She doesn't announce it as an experiment.
She just shows up to rehearsal with two different boxes.
"I thought I'd try something new," she says.
Sunny lights up immediately.
"Flavor?"
Laura hesitates.
"Mint."
"And?"
She pours both cups carefully.
Steam curls upward.
She takes a sip from the first.
Then the second.
She waits.
Everyone waits.
"Well?" Zane asks.
She considers.
"They taste the same."
Sunny deflates slightly.
"Like… the same same?"
"Bland," Laura says. "Warm. Slightly… there."
Sunny presses her lips together.
"That's rude to mint."
They try again the next day.
Strawberry.
Sunny insists.
"Okay but this one you have to feel. Strawberries are—" she gestures vaguely, "—alive."
Laura nods, willing to believe it.
She tastes.
Waits.
Nothing shifts.
"They're… red," she says finally.
Sunny covers her face.
"That's visual, Laura."
They try orange ramune next.
Sunny's favorite.
The bottle pops.
The marble drops.
The fizz is sharp and bright.
Sunny practically vibrates.
Laura takes a sip.
They watch her throat move as she swallows.
She sets it down.
"It's carbonated."
"That's not the point," Sunny says, pained.
Amelia appears two days later with something strong.
"So subtle isn't working," she says. "We escalate."
She hands Laura a small cup.
The smell alone makes Sunny recoil.
"What is that?"
"Trust me."
Laura lifts it without protest.
Axel watches her carefully.
She drinks.
Her face remains composed.
There's the smallest flicker near her eyes.
"Anything?" Amelia asks.
Laura pauses.
"For a second," she says slowly, "I thought I felt… something."
"What?" Sunny leans forward.
"Discomfort," Laura answers.
Sunny makes a face.
"That's progress?"
"It might have been imagined," Laura adds evenly.
Theo becomes involved after overhearing part of the conversation.
"You're testing taste?" he asks, intrigued.
He produces something aggressively sour from his bag.
Zane snorts.
"Of course you like sour things."
Theo raises an eyebrow.
"It builds character."
"It explains your personality," Zane adds.
Sunny elbows him sharply.
"What?"
Theo hands Laura a piece.
She tries.
Waits.
Nothing.
Zane refuses to be outdone.
"If it's intensity you need—"
He brings something spicy the next rehearsal.
"Not dangerous," he says. "Just honest."
Laura tastes it.
Her expression doesn't change.
Zane stares.
"How?"
She shrugs faintly.
"It registers as warm."
"That's criminal," Sunny mutters.
Eventually, all eyes turn toward Axel.
He wasn't preparing.
He didn't bring anything.
"What do you like?" Amelia asks.
He hesitates.
That question lands differently for him.
He thinks.
Not about impressing.
Not about proving anything.
Just about preference.
"There's a bakery near my place," he says slowly. "They make dark chocolate with sea salt."
Sunny groans.
"That's so you."
He doesn't argue.
The next day he brings it.
It's simple.
Wrapped in paper.
Laura takes a piece.
Lets it sit on her tongue longer than usual.
The room goes quiet.
Her brow shifts—barely.
She swallows.
Amelia leans forward like she's watching a final exam.
"Well?"
Laura hesitates.
"I might have…" She stops. "It's faint."
"What is?" Sunny breathes.
"Something."
Amelia grins immediately.
"It's the underlying feelings."
Sunny gasps. "Amelia!"
"It's obvious," Amelia continues. "Five years. Same age bracket. Constant proximity."
"Two years apart," Zane adds casually. "Statistically viable."
Sunny points at him. "You're not helping."
Amelia narrows her eyes thoughtfully.
"What if Axel's gay?"
Axel blinks.
Laura turns slowly toward Amelia.
Zane perks up.
"If I'm the most attractive man here, shouldn't I have noticed?" he says. "I feel like I'd know."
Sunny shoves him this time.
"Stop."
"I'm just saying. Two years between him and Laura. Two years between him and me. Mathematically—"
"Zane," Sunny warns.
Amelia clasps her hands together.
"This is exciting."
Axel just stares at her.
Laura doesn't laugh.
She watches them instead.
The banter.
The warmth.
The ease.
She might not fully understand the sensation behind it.
But she recognizes its shape.
It's not structured.
It's not rehearsed.
It's alive.
Axel's eyes drift back to her.
She looks different in moments like this.
Less composed.
More… present.
The chocolate experiment isn't proof of anything.
But it's the first time she didn't answer with certainty.
And for now—
That's enough.