The sky was pale with the first light of morning, still quiet with dew on the benches and the buzz of chatter just beginning to stir around Tommen College’s courtyard. The group had claimed their usual table under the awning near the old science building—Claire giggling at something Gibsie had said, Hughie tossing bits of bread at a passing bird, Shannon nursing a coffee like it had betrayed her.

And there she sat—Lizzie Young’s twin, silent, steady, wrapped in her coat like armor. Her hair was tied back loosely, her notebook open but untouched on the table, pen resting in her fingers like it was there for show.

Patrick Feely slid into the seat beside her, a bit later than the others. He didn’t speak right away, just dropped his schoolbag at his feet and fished out an apple from his pocket.

The noise of the others melted around them—background static.

She barely glanced at him. Her eyes were always half-guarded these days, like she was still expecting the world to break open again. Like it might.

Patrick tapped her notebook gently with his knuckle to get her attention.

She looked up.

And then—he signed. Clumsily, a little slow, but careful: “Hello.”

For a moment, she didn’t move. She didn’t blink.

Just stared.

Then her lips parted slightly, and her eyes softened, glassy all at once.

She raised her hands, hesitant, and signed back: “You learned that?”

He gave a lopsided smile, rubbing the back of his neck. “Been practicing. Online videos. Took me half a week to just figure that one out.” He paused. Then added quietly, “Wanted to be able to talk to you… even if you don’t feel like talking.”

The table around them blurred—Gibsie was throwing paper balls at Hughie now, and no one was paying attention.

But her—Lizzie’s twin—she stared at him like he’d just reached through something thick and unspoken.

And for the first time in a long while, she smiled. Not wide, not loud—but real.

Patrick leaned in just a little. “Got a whole list of words to learn. But I figured starting with ‘hello’ was the right place.”

She picked up her pen, flipped her notebook to a blank page, and wrote: “It’s perfect.”

And when she looked up at him again, her cheeks were pink.

Patrick grinned, heart thudding like a damn drum in his chest. He didn’t say it, but he thought it:

God, I’m so in love with you.