Between Us, Always

Dylan's POV

I followed Jun into the hallway, the air between us thick with unspoken words. The game hadn't even properly started, and I already felt like I was losing.

Jun walked a few steps ahead, scanning the space with forced focus, like he wasn't even going to acknowledge my existence beyond what was necessary. I should've been used to it by now—this strained politeness, the way he kept me at arm's length—but it still got to me.

"Let's split up," Jun said, his tone clipped. "I'll check the living room, you take the kitchen."

I exhaled sharply. Right. Straight to business. No small talk, no teasing, no trace of the friendship we used to have.

"I think we're supposed to do this together," I pointed out, gesturing vaguely toward Thame, who was watching us from across the room like some kind of evil mastermind.

Jun's jaw clenched, but he didn't argue. "Fine. Whatever."

We walked into the kitchen, the silence stretching awkwardly between us. Jun rummaged through the cabinets while I checked under the table, trying to focus on the game instead of the way my heart was pounding just from being this close to him again.

It was stupid—I was stupid. I had been the one to push him away, and now I was miserable over it.

Jun, on the other hand, seemed completely unaffected. He was cool, composed, like nothing between us had ever changed. And somehow, that hurt more than if he had just yelled at me.

I sighed, standing up. "Look, Jun, I—"

"Found one," he interrupted, holding up a tiny trinket Thame had hidden. He barely spared me a glance before moving on.

Frustration bubbled up inside me. "Can you not do that?"

Jun paused, turning to face me with a bored expression. "Do what?"

"Pretend like nothing's wrong."

He let out a sharp laugh. "Nothing is wrong, Dylan. We're playing a game."

I clenched my fists. "Cut the crap, Jun. You've been avoiding me for weeks. You barely even look at me anymore."

Jun's expression hardened. "What do you want me to do, Dylan? Act like everything's fine when you're the one who made it clear you wanted space?"

I flinched. He wasn't wrong. I had been the one to pull away first.

But I hadn't expected it to hurt this much.

"I never wanted things to be like this," I admitted quietly.

Jun looked at me then—really looked at me. And for the first time in weeks, I saw something crack in his expression.

But just as quickly, he shut it down. "Then maybe you should've thought about that before you pushed me away."

He turned on his heel and walked off, leaving me standing there, heart hammering in my chest.

I had no idea how to fix this.

Jun's POV

I stormed out of the kitchen, gripping the tiny trinket in my hand so tightly it nearly left an imprint on my palm. My heart was racing—not from the scavenger hunt, not from excitement, but from him. From Dylan.

Why did he have to say things like that? Why now? After weeks of silence, after all the space he asked for, he suddenly cared that I wasn't looking at him anymore?