The Near Touch

Aiden couldn’t focus. Not today, not with her walking by him in the hall for the second time this week, distant, yet so close. Her head was down, hair falling in loose strands over her face, and he couldn’t look away. She moved with purpose, but there was an uncertainty in the way she shifted her weight with every step—like the world was just a bit too heavy for her, and she was carrying it anyway.

He almost reached out. Almost. His fingers itched to touch her arm, to feel something—anything—other than the tension that was building between them. But she passed by too quickly. Too easily. She never even glanced up, like she didn’t know he was there at all.

But Aiden knew. He always knew when she was near.

Aria didn’t like to think too much about people. About their gazes, their stares, or the way they tried to piece together a story from her silence. She kept her headphones in, tuned out the world, and kept walking.

It was easier that way.

Until he was there.

He wasn’t a friend, a classmate, or even a stranger anymore. He was a quiet storm—a presence that followed her even when he wasn’t close. She could feel it in the way his eyes seemed to linger on her, like a heat she couldn’t ignore, even when she tried. The more she saw him, the more his silence rattled her.

Why?

She didn’t want to admit it, but sometimes when she passed him, she wondered if he was watching her. The hairs on her neck would stand up when she didn’t even see him—his stare cutting through her defenses, like he knew her, like he was piecing together a puzzle she didn’t want solved.

Aiden watched her from across the courtyard, as usual. He hadn’t moved from his seat on the stone bench for the past ten minutes, his eyes tracing her every step as she walked from the library toward the campus exit.

She was wearing that same scowl, the same armor. But there was a shift today, a subtle change in the way she held herself. Something guarded, something vulnerable, all mixed into one. The moment she turned her head and met his gaze—that little flicker of recognition—Aiden felt like the air had thickened around him.

He wasn’t supposed to feel this. He wasn’t supposed to care.

But damn, he did. More than he should.

What is it about you, Aria?

He wasn’t the type to chase anyone. Hell, he didn’t even like people enough to bother with them. But there was something about her. He couldn’t figure it out yet—didn’t know if he ever would—but that mystery pulled at him, drew him in like gravity, making him want to get closer. Talk to her. Touch her.

The thought of it made him shiver, and he hated himself for it.

Later that afternoon, Aiden found himself in the same building as her, the echo of her footsteps following him even as he tried to focus on his class. His fingers drummed against the edge of his desk, restless. Every time he tried to listen to the lecture, his mind drifted back to her—the way she moved, the way she never let anyone in, the way her eyes seemed to burn when they did make contact.

She was like a fire he couldn’t ignore. A flame he couldn’t touch.

Just when he thought he’d lost the battle, the door to the classroom opened. And there she was.

Aria.

She stepped in like she owned the place, like no one could touch her. Her eyes barely flicked over the room before she spotted a seat in the back corner and slid into it. She didn’t even look his way, not that he wanted her to.

But still, he couldn’t help the pull in his chest when her presence settled near him. The thought of saying something, anything, almost left his mouth.

Almost.

The bell rang, signaling the end of class. Aria quickly stood, grabbing her things and heading for the door. But this time, when she passed him, something in the air shifted—like they were almost too close.

Aiden felt it, too. The way her shoulder brushed against his as she walked by. The fleeting contact that didn’t even last a second, but left an imprint on his skin.

Aria didn’t stop. Didn’t look back.

But he did.

And that’s when it hit him.

He wasn’t just noticing her anymore. He was craving her.

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