The noon hour did not soften the air as it ought to have, for though light fell clean and steady across the quiet edge of the campus garden, the stillness beneath it held a tension that did not belong to daylight, and Ella stood near the shaded path with her hands resting loosely at her sides, her posture composed though her shoulders carried a quiet stiffness that betrayed the strain beneath her calm.
Olivia lingered a few steps away at first, her fingers tightening faintly around the strap of her bag as she watched, her breath uneven in a way she could not quite control, and though nothing visible pressed against them, the weight of something unseen lingered strong enough to unsettle even what she could not name.
"…you're hiding something," Olivia said quietly, her voice steady though it wavered at the edges, her gaze fixed on Ella's face, "…don't even try to deny it," she added, her shoulders lifting faintly, "…I'm not that blind," she finished, quiet insistence settling.
