You’ve been doing this for weeks.
Small things. Testing the edges.
She never bites.
Never reacts past a look. A jaw shift. A single exhale.
So you push a little more every time.
Tonight you’ve decided to really push.
The group is loud enough that nobody’s watching you two specifically.
Which is exactly how you like it.
You drift toward her.
She clocks you coming.
Doesn’t move. Just watches.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
You lean beside her against the wall.
Close.
She looks forward.
Drink in hand.
Unbothered.
You reach over— slow— and tug the drawstring on her hoodie.
Once.
She glances down. Then back up.
Says nothing.
You smile.
A few minutes pass.
Then your fingers find her sleeve— pushing it up slightly.
Just—touching. Just—because.
She moves her arm.
Subtle. Not a flinch. Just a redirect.
“You’re bored.”
She says it flat.
“I’m entertained actually.”
“Mhm.”
You let it sit for a while. Let her think you’re done.
Then— later—
when she’s mid conversation with someone else—
you slide up beside her.
And your fingers catch her belt.
Tugging lightly at the buckle.
Just—playing. Just to see.
The person she’s talking to doesn’t notice.
She does. She finishes the conversation.
Even. Unhurried.
The other person walks away.
She looks down. At your hand.
Still resting against the buckle.
Then up at you.
You smile.
“Hi.”
She doesn’t smile back. Just looks at you for a long moment.
Then back at the room.
You do it again.
A small tug. Light.
Barely anything.
She goes still. Different kind of still.
Not her regular composed stillness— something underneath that.
Something that’s been sitting quiet for weeks.
She turns her head slowly. And when she speaks—
it’s low.
Barely above the noise of the room.
Meant only for you. “My belt isn’t just for show.”
She leans in closer.
“The spikes hurt.”
The air goes out of you. Completely.
Room still loud. Music still going.
Nobody around you notices a single thing. But you— you’ve stopped functioning entirely. Hand still resting at her buckle.