As Asher voiced his thoughts on Dylan's suggestion, the reaction from Dylan ca imdiately—and dramatically. His entire expression shifted into exaggerated disbelief, his eyes widening as though he had just witnessed sothing utterly outrageous.
"Hm… now that you ntion it," Dylan said slowly, bringing a hand up to his chin as if he had just stumbled upon so grand revelation. He squinted thoughtfully at the table as though deeply analyzing the situation. "You might actually be right."
He glanced sideways at Liam, tilting his head.
"Liam really isn't the best choice for this," Dylan continued in a reflective tone. "Who knows? He might actually end up making the whole situation worse."
"Thank the stars you were able to figure that out so quickly," Asher replied without hesitation. His tone carried the dry satisfaction of soone whose point had just been validated. He jerked a thumb toward Liam without even looking at him. "This bastard isn't built for emotional situations like this."
At those words, the others around the table instinctively glanced toward Liam.
They didn't say anything, but their expressions carried the sa unspoken thought. It wasn't ant as an insult—just an observation. Liam, with his calm, detached nature and almost clinical way of approaching problems, wasn't exactly the person most people imagined when they thought of comforting soone in emotional distress.
"No offense to Liam," Dylan added quickly with a shrug, as though rembering that Liam was still sitting right there, "but our hotheaded buddy here is actually making sense for once."
He leaned back in his chair slightly, grinning faintly.
"You might be the man for the ladies," Dylan continued casually, gesturing vaguely in Liam's direction, "but you definitely aren't the man for this particular situation today."
"Call that again," Asher said slowly, his eyes narrowing as he turned his gaze toward Dylan, "and I'll show you what 'hotheaded' really looks like."
Dylan didn't even hesitate.
"C'mon," he said with a teasing grin, turning toward Asher as if inviting the challenge. "What exactly do you think you can show that you haven't already done before, huh?"
He leaned forward slightly, his expression practically daring Asher to respond.
For a mont, the two stared at each other.
Then Asher exhaled through his nose, shook his head slightly, and looked away as if the entire exchange had already beco too tireso to continue.
"That's what I thought," Dylan said proudly, leaning back again with a smug grin.
A brief silence followed, though the atmosphere had lightened slightly from the earlier tension surrounding Sheila.
After a mont, Maxwell finally spoke.
"So," he said calmly, folding his hands together on the table. "Since we've all agreed that Liam probably isn't the best person to talk to Sheila…"
His eyes moved across the group.
"…who should it be then?"
The question settled over the table like a quiet weight.
No one answered imdiately.
Instead, everyone began glancing at each other, as if silently passing the responsibility around the group. Each person seed to be considering the possibilities, weighing who might actually be able to reach Sheila without pushing her further away.
After a few seconds, Liam spoke.
"Well," he began calmly, his voice steady as always, "first of all, I'm glad I didn't have to personally say that Dylan's idea was terrible."
Dylan imdiately clutched his chest dramatically.
"Ah—betrayal!" he groaned but Liam ignored him completely.
"As buzzcut ntioned," Liam continued evenly, "this is an emotional situation."
He paused briefly before finishing.
"And realistically speaking… there's only one person here who might be able to get Sheila to open up."
For a mont, the others leaned in slightly, waiting.
"And that person," Liam said simply, "is Ariana."
At the sound of her na, Ariana's eyes widened slightly.
Her head lifted almost instinctively as she looked around the table, only to find the others slowly turning their attention toward her.
"Hm," Dylan humd thoughtfully after a mont.
He leaned back slightly, nodding to himself.
"He's right," Dylan said. "Actually, now that I think about it… you and Sheila have always been pretty close."
His gaze softened slightly as he continued.
"Especially before the whole war ss started. And even now, I still see you two sticking together more than most."
He shrugged lightly.
"You're the best pick, Ari."
"I guess they're making sense," Asher added with a casual shrug. "Aside from her usual argunts with this clown here…"
He nodded toward Dylan.
"…Sheila has always seed pretty comfortable talking to you."
"Wait—hold on," Ariana said quickly, her voice rising slightly in surprise. "You guys can't just—"
"C'mon, Riri."
Charlotte finally spoke, breaking the quiet she had maintained throughout most of the conversation.
She leaned slightly closer to Ariana, resting her elbow casually on the table.
"You know it's true," Charlotte said smoothly. "Out of everyone here, you're the only one Sheila might actually open up to."
Her tone softened slightly.
"You're sweet. You're kind. You're patient," Charlotte continued. "And more importantly… you're a good listener."
Her eyes briefly drifted across the others sitting at the table.
"None of these idiots here can do that," she added bluntly. "Not even ."
She tilted her head slightly.
"Well… maybe my dear Liam could pull it off if he really tried."
Charlotte smiled faintly.
"But you?" she said gently. "You can do it naturally."
She leaned even closer, her voice lowering slightly.
"And that makes you the best choice we have to help Sheila get out of whatever ss she's stuck inside her head."
Ariana didn't respond imdiately.
She simply sat there, absorbing everything her friends had said while looking uncertainly at each of them.
The responsibility being placed on her shoulders felt heavy—far heavier than she had expected.
Seeing her hesitation, Liam finally spoke again.
"I understand if you don't want to do this, Ariana," he said calmly.
His tone was steady and free of pressure.
"It makes sense that you'd be worried about making things worse if you handle it poorly," he continued. "Anyone would feel that way."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"You don't want to be the one who accidentally pushes her deeper into whatever she's struggling with."
Ariana's gaze lowered slightly.
Then Liam added,
"But at the sa ti… you probably understand her feelings better than the rest of us."
She looked up again.
"I'm not saying you've experienced the exact sa situation she's dealing with," Liam said. "But if anyone here has the best chance of reaching her and understanding what she's going through…"
His eyes t hers.
"…it's you."
Ariana remained silent.
Liam's words slowly settled into her thoughts, causing her mind to spiral through the possibilities.
He wasn't wrong.
She wanted to help Sheila more than anything.
But that was exactly why she was afraid.
If she tried and failed—if she said the wrong thing—she might only make Sheila's pain worse. And that thought terrified her.
Yet Liam had also touched on sothing else.
Sothing she couldn't ignore.
Ariana still rembered the brief monts she had seen Sheila the previous night and earlier this morning. The smile Sheila wore had looked normal on the surface… but Ariana had seen through it.
The emptiness in her eyes had been impossible to forget, that hollow look had stayed with her ever since.
It lingered in her thoughts like a quiet shadow she couldn't shake off.
'Can I really do this?' Ariana wondered silently as her fingers tightened slightly in her lap. 'Am I really the best option here?'
Her mind quickly searched for alternatives.
'Sheila and Dylan practically grew up together,' she thought. 'If anyone should be able to talk to her, it should be him.'
Her thoughts continued racing.
'And even if Dylan acts like a clown most of the ti… he actually knows when to take soone's feelings seriously.'
She slowly began convincing herself.
'Yeah… he should probably be the one to do it. Not .'
Ariana opened her mouth, preparing to say exactly that.
But before the words could leave her lips, her eyes drifted toward Liam and she froze.
There was sothing about the way he was looking at her.
To anyone else, his expression would have seed perfectly normal—just his usual calm gaze.
But Ariana saw sothing deeper. Sothing quiet yet unwavering. She couldn't fully explain what it was, yet she understood it imdiately.
'No…' she thought suddenly as her hands slowly tightened. 'No. I need to do this.'
Her thoughts sharpened with sudden clarity.
'No one else here will understand Sheila the way I can.'
Her chest rose slightly as she drew a breath.
'Not when they can't see what's hiding behind her eyes.'
Her resolve solidified.
'I have to do it.'
Then, before she could hesitate again—
"I'll do it."
The words left her mouth louder than she intended causing a few nearby students at other tables briefly glanced over, startled by the sudden volu.
But Ariana didn't notice.
Everyone at the table had already turned toward her, and this ti, she didn't look as timid as she had before.
There was sothing different in her expression now. Sothing steadier. Then she spoke again.
"I'll try my best to help her," Ariana said, her voice firm with determination and eyes fillsd with quiet resolve.
"I'll make sure she doesn't fall too far into the darkness."
User Comments
0 comments from readers