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Chapter 33: Nothing Happened. Kinda.

Chapter 33: Nothing Happened. Kinda.

The anime played on, low volume, laugh track muffled under the hum of the apartment.

Adrian sat with one leg tucked under him, watching a lanky animated idiot get dragged into another drinking contest he clearly wasn’t going to win, and somewhere in the middle of that his phone buzzed against the kitchen counter.

Adrian’s eyes went to it automatically. The screen lit up. Then went dark again.

He could get it. Two steps. Pick it up, glance at the notification, put it back.

Rose noticed him looking.

"You can check it."

"Hmm." He looked at the television instead. "Thought the rule was no phones."

"The rule was put it away." She shrugged, eyes still on the screen. "I’m not your warden."

He looked at the counter again, the phone dark now, whatever it was already over. "You sure?"

"Adrian." She said his name like punctuation. "If you want to check your phone, check your phone."

He didn’t move.

He could check it later. That was what he told himself, anyway.

The more accurate explanation was that getting up suddenly felt like interrupting something, and he wasn’t entirely sure what that something was yet.

Rose looked at him for a second.

"You’re actually listening to me?"

"Don’t make it weird."

Her mouth curved. "I wasn’t going to."

Then, Grand Blue was doing something stupid again and he was watching that instead.

Rose’s mouth curved at the corner. He clocked it and looked away.

"You actually think that’s funny?" she asked, a minute later.

"It’s stupid."

"That’s your defense?"

"It’s a strong defense."

"It’s not."

"Then why are you still asking?"

Rose stared at him for a second before shaking her head.

"I don’t understand you."

"Well..." He shrugged. "You’ve had plenty of time to figure me out."

"Unfortunately."

"Hm. That hurt." He glanced sideways. "You say that like you discovered something terrible."

"I did."

"Really?" A beat. "What."

"You’re actually fun to be around."

Adrian’s answer died before it reached his mouth. Rose didn’t soften it with a joke. No sarcastic little escape hatch. No "don’t let it go to your head."

Just that.

"Careful," he said. "Day one of doing your requests and you’re already getting sentimental."

"Who said anything about sentimental?"

She was smiling now, actually smiling, and on screen the idiot on their television lost the drinking contest spectacularly. Rose laughed at that instead of at him, which felt like being let off easy.

Rose’s laugh faded into a smaller smile. She reached for her drink, took a sip, and kept looking at him over the rim.

"Have you always been like this?"

Adrian lowered his brows.

"Like what?"

"Quiet."

Adrian considered the question. "Depends who’s asking."

"I’m asking."

"Then yeah. Mostly."

Rose pulled her knees against her chest and turned toward him.

He noticed the television had officially lost the fight for her attention. That probably meant the conversation had become more interesting.

"Have you dated much?"

He paused for a beat, before his clench released.

"Not really."

Rose watched him.

"That’s all you’re giving me?"

"What else is there?"

"I don’t know. Names. Numbers. A tragic backstory."

Adrian snorted.

"One ex."

Her teasing expression softened.

"The one you told me about?"

"That’s it."

Rose’s fingers stopped inside the popcorn bowl.

"That’s rough."

"Yeah." he agreed. "I guess you could say that."

"What about you?" he added, before she could push further into his. "Have you dated?"

Something in her shifted, small enough that most people would’ve missed it, a fraction less ease in her shoulders. "I’ve dated.... Just one ex. Like you"

"Seriously."

"What?"

"You."

"What about me?"

"You look like someone who’d have people making bad decisions around you."

Rose stared.Then she laughed.

"Was that your terrible attempt at calling me attractive?"

"I was being objective."

"Sure." She shook her head. "You’d be surprised if you heard some shit about me."

Adrian turned toward her.

"Now you can’t say that and expect me not to ask."

"I was hoping you’d have manners."

"Bad strategy."

She laughed under her breath.

Rose rolled the popcorn between her fingers, then looked at him properly , weighing something. "You really want to know?"

"Yeah. Would love to."

On the television, the show kept playing to nobody. Rose picked at the edge of the popcorn bowl between them, not eating anything, just giving her hands something to do while she decided what to say.

"Daniel..." She looked toward the television, then back at him.

"Daniel thought I was too careful." A pause. "He wanted things I wasn’t ready for."

Adrian’s attention settled fully on her.

"Like?"

She looked at him.

"Sex."

The word came out quieter than everything before it.

Adrian didn’t move. Rose continued before he could say anything.

"I told him no."

Her thumb kept worrying the same corner of the bowl.

"He decided that meant I didn’t care about him."

Adrian looked at her hand. She’d been rubbing that spot for the last few seconds.

So that’s the part she doesn’t like talking about.

He looked back at her.

"That’s convenient."

"For him?"

"For anyone who doesn’t want to admit they’re the problem."

Rose didn’t answer immediately. She just looked at him. Not the quick glance she usually gave him before another joke. This one lasted.

Adrian wasn’t sure what she was looking for, he only knew she hadn’t looked away.

"And you?"

"Me?" Adrian raised a brow.

"Yeah, you." She shifted a bit closer to him. He tried not to register that as much. "I told you my story. What’s the densest thing you’ve ever done with a girl?"

He searched his memory. Unfortunately, the answer came from two years before Maya.

"Walked a girl home. The whole way. Didn’t realize until the next day she wanted me to ask her out."

Rose blinked. "You’re kidding."

"I wish I were."

"How do you not realize that?"

"I was busy."

"Doing what?"

"Walking her home."

Rose shook her head.

The television had been playing for several minutes, yet she hadn’t laughed at the last two jokes. She wasn’t even looking at it anymore.

She was looking at him.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing."

"That’s usually what people say right before something."

Rose smiled faintly. "You really notice everything, don’t you?"

"Not everything."

"Most things."

"Depends."

"On what?"

"Whether it’s worth noticing."

She stared at him for a second. Then she shifted, her knee brushing his faintly.

Neither of them moved. Adrian looked down briefly before returning his attention to the television.

Rose didn’t pull away. Apparently, that had been deliberate.

Interesting.

She reached for the popcorn again, took one piece, and ate it without looking away from him.

Adrian raised a brow.

"What?"

"You’re staring." He said.

"So are you."

"Hmm."

She smiled.

The anime exploded loudly in the background. Neither of them reacted.

Adrian glanced at the screen.

"I think we missed something..."

"Probably."

"You’re not going to check?"

"No."

Rose laughed quietly, shaking her head without care. Then the laughter faded.

She stayed where she was, close enough that Adrian could feel the warmth of her shoulder against his arm.

A few seconds passed.

"Adrian."

"Hmm?"

"If you knew a girl liked you...would you still be dense?"

He turned his head.

Rose was watching him carefully.

"One. I’m not dense." Rose smiled. "Two. I’d probably make sure I wasn’t imagining it first."

"And if you weren’t?"

Adrian held her gaze.

"Then I’d do something about it."

Rose’s expression changed. Barely. Her eyes dropped just for a second to his mouth. Then back to his eyes.

Adrian noticed. This time, he didn’t look away.

Her fingers stopped. She set the popcorn down on the table. The movement was careful. Almost too careful.

She shifted closer. Adrian made room without thinking, her shoulder settled against his chest.

Neither of them said anything. The television continued playing. Some idiot on the screen shouted something incomprehensible.

Adrian didn’t even look.

They were close now.

Close enough that he caught her perfume again, soft and floral with a faint sweetness to it.

For a moment, neither of them did anything. Then Rose leaned forward. Her lips touched his.

Quick. Soft. Gone almost immediately.

Adrian stared at her. Rose stared back. The confidence she’d had a second ago was gone.

He leaned forward. Rose barely had time to breathe before his lips met hers again.