Aleah's POV
The hall stretched endlessly before me, each step heavier than the last, like wading through invisible water. My heart pounded, a relentless drum in my chest, reminding me with every beat that I had a choice: turn back, disappear, or keep moving forward.
Up ahead, Yasmin laughed with a girl I didn't know, their voices colliding like sunlight and shadow. I froze for a heartbeat, my throat tight, my hands itching to fidget. Every instinct screamed at me to retreat, but a stubborn whisper, the one I'd carried quietly for years, urged me onward: just go. Just reach her.
I took another step. Then another. My legs trembled, my footsteps sounding far too loud in my head. The world seemed to blur around Yasmin, her presence both radiant and unreachable. I tried to gather words, clever lines that would make me visible, but they dissolved into a single, desperate thought: please notice me. Please let me be here.
My chest tightened with every step, but I forced myself to keep moving. With each careful, trembling stride, the distance shrank. I focused only on the space between us, the small moment I could still control.
And finally, I reached her. My hand hovered for a fraction of a second—hesitant, heavy with expectation—and then I tapped her shoulder. The world narrowed to that instant, the moment before the unknown, the quiet weight of courage held in a single breath.