The cave was loud. Music bounced off the stone walls, low and distorted, the kind that vibrated through bone more than air. Someone was laughing — Marko, probably — and Paul was arguing about nothing with anyone who would listen.

You sat where you always did. Close enough that you didn’t have to ask.

David leaned near you, shoulder brushing yours as he spoke, his attention split between the conversation and the way your fingers traced idle shapes against your knee. Dwayne was stretched out beside you, one arm draped behind your back, relaxed in a way he never was unless you were there.

It was casual. Natural. Unquestioned.

Star stood near the entrance. She’d been there a while. Long enough to notice that no one made space for her anymore.

Not deliberately. Not cruelly. Just… not at all.

She shifted her weight, eyes flicking from David’s hand at your wrist to the way Paul leaned in when you spoke, like he didn’t want to miss a word. Even Marko, usually restless, kept glancing your way — checking in, grounding himself.

You felt her stare before you saw it. When you finally looked up, Star didn’t look away fast enough.

“You comfortable?” she asked, voice light. Too light.

Dwayne glanced at her, then back to you. His arm didn’t move. “Yeah.”

The answer was immediate. Unthinking.

David smiled, slow and sharp, eyes never leaving you. “Why wouldn’t she be?”

Star’s jaw tightened — just a fraction. “Just asking.”

Paul snorted. “You always do that.”

Silence crept in, subtle but unmistakable.

Star crossed her arms, gaze flicking to you again. There was something raw behind it now. Not anger — not yet — but a kind of disbelief. Like she couldn’t quite understand how the room had rearranged itself around you without anyone saying a word.

She took a step closer yet no one moved to meet her.

Dwayne shifted instead — closer to you, knee pressing into yours, grounding, possessive without trying to be. “You alright?” he murmured, low enough that only you heard.

You nodded.

Star saw that too. Her gaze moved between you and the boys — counting distance, contact, familiarity.

“So that’s it,” she said finally, quieter now. Not sharp. Not angry. “That’s where I stand.”

Paul shifted uncomfortably. Marko glanced between the three of you, tension itching under his skin. David tilted his head, studying Star like a puzzle he’d already solved but wanted to watch struggle anyway.

Dwayne didn’t move away from you. If anything, he leaned in just slightly, knee brushing yours, presence steady and unyielding. “Nobody said you don’t belong here,” he said, voice calm — but firm.

Star let out a small, humorless laugh. “You don’t have to.”

Her eyes met yours this time — really met them. There was no accusation in them now. Just something raw. Measuring. Dangerous.

The room felt smaller. The music kept playing. No one spoke and no one left and whatever this was — jealousy, resentment, something closer to a reckoning — it wasn’t going anywhere.