The Space Between ch 4

Arianna’s POV:

I sat in the corner of the café, eyes glued to my phone. The message from my mom still lingered at the top of my inbox. We need to talk about Thanksgiving. I didn’t want to talk about it. I didn’t want to talk about anything to her, really. But it was always the same—her demands, her expectations, her constant reminders that I was never enough. I pushed the phone aside, my thoughts drifting back to Ethan. I hadn’t seen him since that strange encounter in the library, but the memory of his gaze, the way he looked at me with that mix of curiosity and something deeper, stuck with me. It made my chest tighten. Why was I still thinking about him?

Chris’s POV

cris Dawson [fl bff]

(I watched Arianna from across the table, sensing the unease in her.) “What’s going on in that head of yours?” I asked, trying to catch her eye.

Arianna Lauren ( fl )

She glanced at me, forcing a smile. “Nothing. Just... school stuff.”

cris Dawson [fl bff]

“You’re lying,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “You’ve been off all week. You can talk to me, you know that.”

Arianna Lauren ( fl )

*She sighed, running a hand through her hair.* “I’m just... tired. A lot of things are weighing on me.”

sienna gray [fl bff]

Sienna leaned in, always the protector. “You don’t have to go through it alone. We’ve got your back.”

Arianna’s POV:

I smiled, grateful for them, even if I didn’t deserve their kindness. But I couldn’t tell them about the things that truly haunted me—the pressure to be perfect, the invisible illness I couldn’t shake, the distance I felt from everyone, especially my parents. Instead, I just nodded, pretending everything was fine.

Ethan pov:

Ethan sat at the table in the student lounge, staring at his phone but not really seeing it. His mind kept wandering back to Arianna. He had never been good with feelings, never understood them, really. But there was something about her—a vulnerability he couldn’t ignore.

Ryan Scott [ml bff]

*Ryan threw a crumpled paper at his head, snapping him out of his thoughts*. “Dude, you’ve been staring at that screen for like, twenty minutes. What’s up?”

Ethan knight [ml]

*ran a hand through his hair.* “Nothing. Just thinking.”

Ryan Scott [ml bff]

“About her?” *teased, nodding toward the café window* where Arianna was sitting with her friends.

Ethan didn’t respond, but his eyes couldn’t help but follow Arianna. What is it about you?

Arianna’s POV

The sound of my phone buzzing broke my thoughts again. It was from my mom.