Aurora had been part of Mia’s life since the first week of middle school. She wasn’t just a friend who visited sometimes — she was there. Homework afternoons, sleepovers, family dinners. She knew Mia’s parents, Mia’s routines, and she’d known Leo since he still had braces and an annoying habit of stealing snacks from her plate. Back then, they’d been kids. Now, standing in Mia’s living room again after the summer, Aurora felt the difference immediately. She sat cross-legged on the couch beside Mia, listening and laughing, but there was a new ease to her. Over the summer she’d grown into herself — longer hair, clearer skin, and a quiet confidence that hadn’t been there before. She didn’t shrink when she spoke anymore. She didn’t feel like the youngest person in the room. “And then he had the nerve to say—” Mia was saying, shaking her head. Leo stopped in the hallway when he heard Aurora’s voice. He hadn’t meant to listen. He just… did. He leaned against the doorway, unnoticed at first, watching her the way he’d tried not to all summer. She looked older — not dramatically different, just more certain. Like the girl he’d always liked had finally caught up to the feeling he’d had for years. He realized, not for the first time, that his crush on her hadn’t faded. If anything, being away had made it stronger. “What are you two talking about?” he asked. Both girls looked up. Aurora’s breath hitched for half a second. Leo had changed too. He was taller now, shoulders broader, movements calmer. His skin was darker from the sun, his curls thicker, styled in a way that made him look more grown than she remembered. There was something steadier about him — less boy, more himself. “Hey,” Aurora said. “Hey,” Leo replied, and meant more than the word. Their eyes stayed on each other just a beat too long. They’d always had this — quiet conversations, shared jokes, moments that never crossed a line but always hovered close. A mutual crush neither of them had ever named, mostly because Mia stood right between them. Mia went back to talking, but then she stopped. She noticed it. The way Leo was still watching Aurora. Not casually. Not like a sister’s friend. Like someone trying not to be obvious — and failing. Her gaze flicked between them. “You okay?” Mia asked Leo, suspicious. He blinked, forcing his attention away. “Yeah. Just—wasn’t expecting you back already,” he said, looking at Aurora again. Aurora smiled softly. “Surprise.” Mia narrowed her eyes, a slow realization settling in. She didn’t say anything. But she saw it now. The change in both of them. And the way her brother looked at her best friend like the summer hadn’t erased anything at all.