I didn't sleep.
After Julian and I parted, sometime around 3:30 AM, I floated back to my room in a daze. Not the confused kind, not anymore. The kind that feels like the world has cracked open and spilled stars into your chest.
I lay on my bed fully clothed, staring at the ceiling with my heart still pounding like it had somewhere urgent to be. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw him. Not in the dramatic, over-romanticized way my brain usually worked—no, this was real. Present. I could still feel his breath on my skin, the warmth of his hands clasping mine like he'd been drowning until that moment.
We'd said it.
We'd finally said it.
And that terrifying, beautiful thing between us wasn't something we were running from anymore.
When morning finally scraped across the sky, I was still wide awake.
The Gossamer Network was humming by 7 AM. Energy stabilizers rebooting, training domes revving up, and schedules beaming into personal comms. I dragged myself to the cafeteria with a very fake, very forced version of "I'm-fine-and-not-having-a-heart-palpitating-emotional-spiral" energy.
Naturally, Kim and Jake were already there, eating waffles and arguing about the correct way to peel a banana.
"I'm telling you," Kim said with a mouthful of syrup, "bottom to top is how monkeys do it. Monkeys are experts. You are not smarter than a monkey."
Jake made a face. "You're seriously using monkey logic right now?"
"I'm using science and evolutionary superiority, thank you."
I slid into the booth across from them with all the grace of a sleep-deprived disaster.
Kim narrowed her eyes at me immediately. "You look like you fought a windstorm. With your face."
Jake took one look at me and winced. "Oof. Either you didn't sleep or you made out with a thundercloud."
I blinked at them. "That is disturbingly accurate."
Kim's eyes lit up. "Wait. Wait. You didn't—did you?"
Jake slowly reached into his pocket, pulled out a ten-dollar bill, and slapped it on the table in front of Kim without breaking eye contact.
"You knew?" I asked.
"He guessed," Kim said smugly, taking the money.
"I analyzed," Jake corrected. "Pattern recognition. You two have been dancing around each other like emotionally-repressed soulmates for weeks."
Kim leaned forward, bouncing slightly. "Okay, spill. Spill everything."
I looked around the cafeteria like the walls might suddenly start gossiping. Then I leaned in and whispered, "I think I got a boyfriend."
Kim made a sound somewhere between a scream and a squeak. "YES!!."
Jake muttered, "I still think you could've waited at least another week to make me win that bet."
"He said he missed me and no more distance ," I added, feeling my cheeks warm.
"Oh my God." Kim grabbed my hands across the table. "Julia. I'm so happy for you. This is like—movie-level good."
"It's also terrifying," I muttered. "Because now it's real. And we're still training together. And he's still technically my mentor. And I have no idea how to be normal around him now."
Jake sipped his juice. "Were you ever normal around him?"
I scowled. "Fair."
Kim softened. "But seriously, Jules, this is huge. And it's okay to be scared. You two have been through more emotional chaos than most couples do in five years."
"I think I forgot how to flirt like a human," I confessed.
Jake snorted. "You never flirted like a human. You flirt like an over-caffeinated literary character."
Kim giggled. "Yeah. You once tried to compliment someone by saying their aura had good punctuation."
"Okay, in my defense," I said, raising a finger, "it did. His vibes were grammatically sound."
Before Kim could throw a napkin at me, a notification buzzed across my wristband.
Training Directive: 09:00 — Strategic Resonance Lab, Dome 3. Attendees: Julia Summers, Julian Rhys, Elder Liora.
I stared at the screen.
"Oh no," I whispered.
Kim leaned over. "What's up?"
"I have training. With Julian. And Elder Liora."
Jake raised an eyebrow. "So… the psychic equivalent of your boyfriend, your boss, and your boss's boss?"
"Basically," I croaked.
"Good luck!" Kim said way too cheerfully. "Don't accidentally synchronize so hard you knock over a wall."
Jake nodded. "Also, don't let your face explode with feelings in front of the Elder. That seems important."
"Oh my God, you guys are the worst support system."
But I was smiling. Tired. Nervous. Still a little shocked.
But smiling.
⸻
By 8:59 AM, I was pacing outside Dome 3, trying not to have a full breakdown.
Julian was already inside when I walked in, typing something into the control panel. He looked up the second I stepped through the threshold.
Our eyes met.
His expression softened instantly, just a hint of that same look he'd given me last night—like I was something he couldn't believe was real.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey," I whispered.
It took effort not to cross the space and kiss him. A lot of effort. Instead, I gave him a slightly awkward wave, like some weird psychic penguin.
Julian smiled gently. "Are you okay?"
"Not even slightly."
"Me neither."
Elder Liora entered a moment later, tall and commanding as ever, her silver braid swaying behind her. "Good. You're both early."
Julian straightened. I stood up straighter too.
"We'll be doing joint synchronization under heavy energy load," Liora said, already activating the field. "We're testing for instability under emotional spikes. I want to observe how the Echo effect interacts with grounded pair resonance."
Julian glanced at me. "Ready?"
"You bet," I lied.
We stood across from each other, palms out, just barely touching. Our auras shimmered instantly—mine blue and flickering, his golden and warm like sunrise. The energy buzzed between us like a live wire.
Then Liora increased the intensity.
Everything heightened.
I could feel Julian's heartbeat. His thoughts. His fears. His absolute focus on me.
And I knew—without a doubt—that he felt mine too.
Somewhere between thought and feeling, our energies aligned perfectly. Liora's voice rang through the dome. "Stabilizing. Levels optimal. Fascinating…"
But I barely heard her. Because in that moment, Julian's thought brushed against mine like a whisper:
I'm in love with you.
I blinked, startled, but then—without meaning to—I thought back:
So am I.
His smile almost ruined the drill.
Liora cleared her throat, sharp as ever. "Focus, Reyes. Summers. This isn't a poetry reading."
We both nodded like guilty kids caught passing notes.
⸻
Afterward, when Liora dismissed us, Julian waited until we were alone outside the dome before quietly reaching for my hand.
I let him take it.
No words. Just warmth. And the beginning of something that didn't need hiding anymore.
"Lunch?" he asked, voice low.
"Only if you promise not to try and emotionally synchronize while I'm chewing," I teased.
He smiled. "I make no promises."
We walked toward the cafeteria together, side by side.
And for the first time in weeks, I didn't feel like I was running from anything.
We were walking toward something.
Together.