The evening sky was a soft, dusky blue, with a hint of gold clinging to the horizon. The park was quiet except for the occasional chirp of crickets and the faint creak of the old swings.

Lily was lazily rocking back and forth, her feet dragging lines through the dirt. “God, today sucked. If I had to listen to one more teacher drone on about ‘future career goals,’ I was gonna lose it.”

Adam, leaning against the metal pole of the swingset, rolled his eyes. “You wouldn’t last two seconds in an actual meeting. You’d fall asleep halfway through.”

Sab sat quietly on the swing beside her, not moving much—just clutching the chains and staring at the ground. His heart thudded awkwardly in his chest every time Lily spoke. She wasn’t doing anything special—just being herself—but her voice, that casual confidence, the way her messy ponytail caught the glow of the setting sun… It made his stomach twist in this weird, uncomfortable way.

Lily caught him staring. “You good, Sab? You’re being super quiet.”

His head shot up way too fast. “What? No—I mean, yeah. I’m fine. Just… thinking.”

“About what?” she asked, her tone teasing but not mean.

Sab swallowed hard, eyes darting away. “Nothing important.”

Adam, clearly bored, broke the tension with a scoff. “Probably something wholesome and lame. Like, ‘Oh, I hope everyone’s having a nice day.’”

Sab forced a weak laugh. “Yeah, something like that…”

Lily leaned back in the swing, stretching her arms behind her head. “You’re such a softie, Sab. Honestly, it’s kinda cute.”

His heart practically exploded. His cheeks burned, and for a second, he forgot how to breathe.

“Y-Yeah… cute,” Sab mumbled, his voice barely holding steady.

Lily didn’t notice the way his hands gripped the chains tighter or how his gaze kept flickering toward her and then away again. But Adam caught it—of course he did.

The smug grin on Adam’s face said everything. “Ohhh. I see what’s going on here.”