The 4 of Us Again
The morning light filtered through Aria’s curtains, spilling across her desk cluttered with notebooks, pens, and an unfinished snack from the night before. It was the kind of morning that promised nothing extraordinary
With a groggy sigh, she reached for her phone. The glow of the group chat was the first thing she saw, a familiar routine that made her mornings feel less lonely.
Aria typed with heavy fingers
Aria
💬 Are we meeting up before class?
Predictably, there was no answer from Kael. He was never awake this early.
Aiah’s reply came almost instantly
Aiah
💬 Yes. Let’s grab breakfast at the convenience store.
Kayden was next, his tone playful as always.
Kayden
💬 I’m broke. Aria, cover me please.
Aria smirked and typed back
Aiah reacted with laughing emojis while Kayden replied with a dramatic gif. Their group chat always began with this kind of banter—lighthearted, comforting in its consistency.
Kael’s silence was no surprise. Aiah already knew he was still asleep, probably buried under his blanket, immune to alarms.
Sometimes she called him again and again, her patience thinning as he mumbled half-awake excuses. He was always late, but somehow it never felt like carelessness.
Kael had that balance about him—quiet, measured, steady. When it came to Aiah, especially, he was careful with how he handled their relationship.
People admired him for it. He was the kind of boyfriend most girls would want. respectful, thoughtful, and confident enough to show both strength and softness.
Their relationship had its arguments, like any other. But Kael and Aiah both believed the same thing
“what belonged to them stayed between them.”
That principle made everything easier for the group. Unlike other circles where a couple often caused friction, their friendship remained whole.
Aria sometimes teased Kael mercilessly about his obsession with coffee. He couldn’t go a day without it, and he dragged them to every new café he discovered.
Aria
If Aiah ever leaves you, you’ll just end up marrying a cappuccino.
Kael had only smiled faintly, sipping his drink without a word. He knew Aria’s sharp tongue carried no real malice.
Still, there was always a subtle rivalry between them. Both wanted to be Aiah’s number one.
“the person she leaned on most.”
The competition never poisoned their friendship; if anything, it anchored it.
Kayden, meanwhile, played a completely different role. He was the group’s comedian, always ready to make a fool of himself just to make them laugh.
His humor never failed to break tension. Even when the day felt heavy, Kayden could always lighten it.
But there had been a time when his laughter had hidden something deeper. For nearly a year, Kayden had quietly carried feelings for Aria.
He never confessed. He knew her too well, knew how fiercely she guarded the boundary between friendship and romance.
He feared losing her more than he wanted to admit how he felt. So he swallowed it down until the feelings dulled, fading into nothing but memory.
Now, what remained was uncomplicated friendship. Clean, simple, and enough.
Everyone else in the group knew, of course. Everyone except Aria.
And perhaps it was better that way. The balance they had now was too precious to disturb.
Kayden carried on, his laughter louder than his old heartbreak, his friendship steady enough to mean more than any romance ever could.
As Aria packed her bag, her phone buzzed again.
Aiah
I’m waiting outside. Hurry up.
She slung the strap over her shoulder and stepped out, greeted by Aiah’s familiar figure at the gate.
Aria
Kael’s still asleep, isn’t he?
Aria said, locking the door behind her.
Aiah
Of course. I even called him before I left. Nothing.
Aria
Your boyfriend’s basically a snooze button.
Aiah said, though her laugh betrayed her amusement.
They walked together, the crisp morning air brushing their faces.
At the corner, Kayden came jogging toward them, his hair still messy and his backpack barely zipped.
he asked, already grinning.
Aria shot back, elbowing him.
Their bickering was so normal, so ingrained in their friendship, that even passersby turned to smile at their energy.
Inside the convenience store, Aiah and Aria picked up rice meals while Kayden stacked instant noodles and chips on his tray.
Aria
You’re going to kill yourself eating like that
Kayden
Better to die happy
Kayden said between exaggerated slurps.
Aiah
You two argue like siblings.
Aria
That’s because he’s unbearable
Kayden countered smoothly
Kayden
that’s because she enjoys it.
Kayden
Their laughter rang out, spilling into the ordinary morning air, familiar as their own reflections.
damp hair, coffee in hand, apology written in his faint smile—the group felt whole again, four threads knotted tightly into a bond that made the ordinary feel unshakably safe.
Aria
Name: Aria Cortiz
Age: 19 years old
Aiah
Name: Aiah Gonzales
Age: 19 years old
Kayden
Name: Kayden Jacob
Age: 20 years old
Kael
Name: Kael Covey
Age: 19 years old
Author’s Note: Once again, I want to clarify that the pictures are not mine. I’ll be giving proper credits or links to where the pictures came from in the comment box. Thank you, and have a nice day!
Comments
Deang ferrer
Credits to the owners of the pictures. I can’t seem to paste them here since it says it’s forbidden to upload.
2025-09-12
0
Deang ferrer
*Narrator
2025-09-12
0