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Chapter 51: Midnight Conversations
The house had finally quieted down.
Mayo was snoring lightly on the couch with Kit curled beside him like a cat, Felix had somehow passed out on a bean bag with chips in his hair, and CI-N was still talking in his sleep, murmuring something about rakki and a claw machine.
But Y/N couldn't sleep.
She lay on her back in Yuri's room, staring at the ceiling, the blanket pulled up to her chin. The faint moonlight filtered in through the window. Her thoughts were a whirlwind-of the night, the laughter, the teasing... and the way Yuri kept looking at her like she was something precious.
Suddenly, there was a soft knock on the doorframe.
She turned her head slightly, and there he was.
"Couldn't sleep either?" he whispered.
She nodded. "Not really."
Yuri walked in slowly, closing the door behind him with a soft click. He sat beside her on the floor, back leaned against the bed, knees drawn up.
For a while, they just stayed in silence, the quiet of the night wrapping around them like a soft blanket.
"You ever feel like... it's all too fast?" Y/N murmured. "One minute I was just the girl everyone bullied, and now it's like... I actually belong here."
Yuri tilted his head back, gazing at the ceiling. "Yeah. I know what you mean."
She looked at him. His profile was relaxed, thoughtful. Different from the loud, snarky version of him she'd known before.
"Do you remember when we first met?" she asked, a tiny smile tugging at her lips.
"You mean when I told Felix to dump water on your chair?"
Y/N rolled her eyes. "Wow. What a way to reminisce."
Yuri laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry. I was such a jerk back then."
She shrugged. "Everyone was."
He looked at her then-really looked.
"I'm not that guy anymore, Y/N."
"I know," she whispered.
There was another long pause. And then:
"Do you ever think about... what's next?" Yuri asked.
"Like after school?"
He nodded.
"All the time," she said. "It scares me sometimes. But being with you guys... makes me feel like I can handle anything."
Yuri smiled, soft and slow.
Without a word, he reached into his hoodie pocket and pulled something out.
It was the little frog plush from the claw machine.
Her eyes widened. "You still have that?"
"I kind of sleep with it," he confessed, cheeks pink. "It smells like you."
Y/N's heart stuttered.
She reached out, brushing her fingers against his.
"Yuri..."
He turned to her, eyes darker now, quieter.
And then, like the world had gone still, he leaned in-slowly, hesitantly-giving her time to pull away.
But she didn't.
Their lips met in a kiss that was gentle and warm, like a promise in the quiet dark.
When they pulled away, her forehead rested against his.
"You're so warm," she whispered.
"You're trouble," he murmured.
They both laughed softly.
"I like this version of us," she said.
"Me too," he replied. "I think I'm falling, Y/N."
She bit her lip, heartbeat racing. "Maybe I'm already there."
Outside, the wind rustled through the trees. Inside, the rest of Section E was still sound asleep-completely unaware of the quiet magic happening just down the hall.
But that night, under the safety of moonlight and whispers, something changed between them.
Something real.
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