Chapter 3 3

Two months. That's how long it had been since Ava and Jace broke up. It wasn't just time measured in weeks or days-it was measured in unsent texts, avoided songs, and the ache that came every time her phone buzzed with someone else's name. Ava tried to move on.

She buried herself in projects, joined a campus leadership initiative, and even started running in the mornings with Camila. Her days were filled, her schedule tight. But no amount of busyness could completely silence the echo of a voice she still missed.

Every now and then, she'd catch herself writing his name in the margins of her notebook. She'd reach for her phone during sunsets, ready to share a photo-only to stop herself at the last second. Jace was still everywhere in her memories. But in her life? He was a ghost.

---

Back in Ridgefield, Jace wasn't doing much better. He went through the motions-classes, soccer practice, writing group-but he hadn't picked up his sketchbook in weeks. The same playlist looped in his headphones, filled with songs that reminded him of Ava: the road trip playlist they'd once made, the soft indie tracks she used to hum when she was studying.

He deleted her number. Then re-added it. Then deleted it again. He told himself this space was healthy. That maybe they both needed to grow up, alone, for a little while. But it didn't make him miss her less.

---

Mid-May brought the beginning of finals and the promise of summer. Ava sat on a bench outside her last class, notebook on her lap, when Camila flopped down beside her.

"I've got news," she said, breathless.

Ava raised an eyebrow. "Good or bad?"

"Depends how you feel about unplanned reunions."

Ava blinked. "What?"

"There's a graduation party. Off-campus. Big one. Guess who's rumored to be coming?"

Her stomach flipped. "Cam..."

"Jace."

Ava looked away, a thousand thoughts crashing into her mind at once.

"I didn't tell you to go," Camila said quickly. "I just thought you should know."

"I don't know if I'm ready," Ava whispered.

Camila squeezed her hand. "Maybe you never will be. But sometimes closure doesn't come wrapped in perfect timing. Sometimes, it's just... a conversation. Or even a glance that tells you whether you're over it or not."

---

Ava didn't decide until the last minute. She showed up at the party in a soft green dress that fluttered around her knees, her hair pulled back loosely. She wasn't sure if she was hoping to see him or bracing for the possibility.

The place was packed-laughter, lights, music pulsing through the warm night air. She recognized a few people from high school, some from her campus job, others from classes she barely remembered.

There he was.

Jace stood by the fire pit in a black Henley and jeans, holding a red cup, talking to a group of guys. His hair was longer, slightly tousled. He laughed at something one of them said, his dimples flashing. She almost turned and ran. But he looked up- and saw her. Their eyes met. The world stopped. He didn't smile. Not right away. He just stared at her, as if trying to confirm she was real. Then slowly, he walked over. Her heart pounded.

"Hey," he said, stopping in front of her.

"Hi."

"You look..." His voice faltered. "Beautiful."

"Thanks."

They stood in silence for a moment, the noise of the party fading around them.

"How've you been?" he finally asked.

"Busy," she said truthfully. "Distracted."

He nodded. "Same."

There was so much she wanted to say. So many nights she'd imagined this conversation. But now that it was happening, all the words evaporated.

"You want to go somewhere quiet?" he asked.

She hesitated, then nodded.

---

They walked down the hill, toward a quieter part of the backyard, where fairy lights hung from trees and the hum of music was a distant echo.

They sat on a wooden bench under a canopy of leaves, the air between them charged.

"I thought I could get over you," Jace said softly. "I thought if I stayed busy, it would fade. But it didn't."

Ava looked down at her hands. "Me too."

He turned toward her. "I've been thinking a lot about what I said. About space. About not being enough."

She met his gaze, heart trembling.

"And?" she asked.

"I was scared," he admitted. "Not just of failing, but of not being able to give you the kind of love you deserve when I couldn't even get my own life together. But in trying to protect you from that, I hurt you worse."

Ava blinked back tears. "You did. But I hurt too. We both did."

"I should've called," he said.

"I should've told you I was drowning instead of pretending I was fine."

They sat in the quiet for a while, the night pressing close.

"I still love you," he said.

"I never stopped," she replied.

He reached out, fingers brushing hers. "I don't know if we're ready. Not completely. But I do know I don't want to spend another season wondering what if."

She looked at him, every part of her aching with the weight of that same question.

"What do we do now?" she asked.

He smiled, gentle and sad and hopeful all at once. "We start slow. We try again. As friends first, maybe. As whatever we're strong enough to be."

Ava leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Okay," she said.

---

The next morning, Ava woke to a message from Jace.

Jace:

Thanks for last night. I know we've still got work to do. But I'm willing, if you are.

She smiled and typed back:

Ava:

Me too. Let's rebuild. Even if it's brick by brick.

---

Later that week, they sat in a café, talking about everything they'd avoided- her fear of abandonment, his anxiety about failure, the pressure of being each other's safe place. It was messy. Honest. Beautiful.

And at the end of the conversation, Ava reached for his hand again. They weren't perfect. But they were real... And sometimes, that was enough.

The weeks that followed their unexpected reunion passed like slow rainfall-quiet, steady, and gently cleansing. Ava and Jace didn't dive back in. They waded. Texts replaced silence. Short, tentative at first- "How's your day?" "Saw something that reminded me of you." Then slowly, longer messages returned. Some carried vulnerability. Some carried memories. Some carried laughter, tentative and healing.

One Saturday morning, Jace asked if they could meet for coffee. Ava agreed- heart racing and fingers fidgeting the whole subway ride into town. When she stepped into the quiet café near the edge of campus, she spotted him instantly. He was sitting in their usual corner, two mugs on the table, a blueberry muffin split in half between them.

She paused for a moment to watch him. He was scrolling on his phone, unaware of her presence. His hair was still longer than before, curling slightly near his ears. His denim jacket had frayed at the collar, the same one he used to drape over her shoulders in the fall. He looked up and caught her staring. He smiled. Soft. Real. Warm.

"Hey," he said as she sat down.

"Hi."

"I remembered you always ordered a caramel latte on Saturdays," he said, pushing one of the mugs toward her.

Ava smiled. "Some things don't change."

"And some do," Jace said. "Like... me learning how to ask the barista to make it exactly the way you like."

She laughed. It wasn't loud or dramatic-it was quiet and surprised, like a breeze through a half-open window. "I didn't know you paid that much attention."

He shrugged. "I always did. I just didn't always show it the right way."

There was a pause.

"I missed this," she said, wrapping her fingers around the mug.

"Me too," he said. "I've missed you."

They talked for two hours that morning. No timelines. No big declarations. Just conversation.

She told him about the leadership program she'd joined and the creative writing elective that reignited her love for poetry. He told her about coaching youth soccer and how he'd started drawing again- mostly for himself, mostly at night when he couldn't sleep. He'd even started sketching her again. He didn't say it out loud, but Ava saw it in his eyes.

---

Later that week, he sent her a picture. A sketch of her in the green dress from the graduation party, sitting under the fairy lights. Her back was turned, but he'd captured the tilt of her shoulders and the curve of her neck like he'd memorized them. Ava stared at the image for a long time before typing:

Ava:

You made me look like someone worth drawing.

His reply came seconds later.

Jace:

You always were.

---

By mid-June, things had settled into a rhythm. They weren't dating-not officially. But they were something. Something real and slow-burning and cautiously hopeful. One evening, as the sun dipped behind the skyline, Jace invited her to his apartment rooftop. A friend from class was hosting an acoustic set, and he thought she might like it.

Ava hesitated- then agreed.

The rooftop was strung with fairy lights. Mismatched chairs and blankets were scattered around. A guy with a guitar sat on a stool, tuning the strings, while a few small groups chatted quietly with drinks in hand.

Jace met her at the door.

"You came," he said, smiling.

"I said I would."

"I didn't think you'd say yes."

"Neither did I," she admitted.

They sat on a blanket toward the back, shoulders brushing, not quite holding hands but not quite apart.

The music was soft, mellow, raw. The kind of sound that sank into your chest and made you remember things you didn't mean to.

Halfway through a song about finding your way back home, Ava turned to Jace.

"Do you ever regret it?" she asked. "The breakup?"

He didn't look away from the stage. "Every day."

"Even if we needed the space?"

He was quiet for a long moment. "I think we did need it. But I regret how much I let fear control me. I regret not fighting harder for you. For us."

Ava swallowed hard. "I regret pretending I didn't need you when I did."

Now he looked at her. His expression was open, unguarded.

"I still need you," he said.

She reached for his hand. This time, there was no hesitation.

---

They didn't define what they were after that night. They didn't have to. The truth existed in the quiet things: shared playlists again. Morning texts. The return of inside jokes. Late-night calls where they talked about books and dreams and sometimes nothing at all.

There were moments of awkwardness, too. Moments where one of them pulled back-scared to repeat the past. Moments when Ava would flinch if she didn't hear from him for a full day, or when Jace struggled to open up after a long, overwhelming week. But the difference now was that they talked about it.

"I don't want to shut you out," he told her one night on a walk. "But sometimes I don't even know what I'm feeling until it builds up and spills over."

Ava nodded. "That's okay. I just want to be someone you feel safe unraveling around. Even if it's messy."

He paused. Then quietly said, "You are."

---

By the time July rolled around, they were inseparable. Not just as lovers-in-progress but as partners in healing. Ava invited him to meet her parents again- this time without the nerves and apologies that marked the first time.

Jace invited her to his cousin's graduation barbecue, where his little niece pulled Ava's hair playfully and declared, "You're gonna marry my uncle one day."

Ava blushed... Jace laughed- and didn't deny it.

---

One rainy Sunday afternoon, as they lay curled up in Ava's room reading different books but sharing the same blanket, Jace spoke up without looking away from the page.

"I've been thinking," he said.

"Uh-oh," she teased.

"I want us to take a trip this summer. Just the two of us. Somewhere quiet. Coastal, maybe. A cabin or a little cottage by the water."

Ava glanced at him. "A retreat?"

He nodded. "A pause. A reset. Just you and me. No school, no stress. Just time."

She smiled, closing her book and resting her head on his chest. "I'd love that."

They didn't need to rush. Not anymore.

Love didn't have to be fireworks and grand gestures. Sometimes it was Sunday rain. Shared silence. A sketch of someone you never stopped seeing-even when they weren't there. Sometimes it was a second chance. And this time, they weren't going to let it slip away.

---

Word Count (Chapter Three Continued): ~2,050 words

Total Chapter Three Word Count: ~4,190 words

Would you like to continue with Chapter Four-perhaps set during their summer trip-or shift to a past flashback chapter exploring their childhood bond?