HAUNTED || chris sturniolo

𝟎𝟐𝟔. don't make me change my mind

CHAPTER 026 -
╰┈➤ ' don't make me change my mind ' ♡₊˚ 🦢・₊✧
「 real life 」

─ real life

THE AIR IN THE SCHOOL COURTYARD FELT HEAVY, carrying the faint smell of freshly cut grass and the distant scent of cafeteria pizza. adriana sat cross-legged on the edge of a stone bench, her sketchbook balanced on her knee as she absentmindedly dragged her pencil across the paper. lines turned into swirls, swirls turned into vague shapes, she wasn't really paying attention to what she was drawing.

cecelia sat beside her, knees pulled to her chest, scrolling through her phone with furrowed brows. zayn leaned against the nearby railing, arms crossed over his chest, his eyes flicking between the two girls as if he were waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

"so..." zayn started, dragging out the word like it physically weighed him down.

cecelia glanced up, her lips pressing into a thin line. adriana didn't even look away from her sketchbook.

"so...what?" adriana muttered.

zayn shifted his weight, running a hand through his dark hair. "you know, it's been a while since all of us hung out. like... everyone."

adriana's pencil paused mid-stroke. her head tilted slightly to the side, her lips pursing. "oh?"

"yeah," zayn said casually, though the edge in his voice gave away his nerves. "i was thinking maybe it's time we all just... got together. hung out. no drama, no tension, just—i don't know—chill vibes."

cecelia's eyes darted to adriana's face, her expression carefully blank, but her phone screen was now forgotten in her lap.

adriana finally looked up, her gaze sharp as she focused on zayn. "and by 'everyone,' you mean...?"

zayn hesitated for a second too long, and adriana caught it instantly. her shoulders tensed, her sketchbook snapping shut with a dull thud.

"you mean chris," she said flatly.

zayn winced. "well... yeah. but it's not just about him, adri. it's about everyone. me, cecelia, you, him. i mean, we're all friends, well, mostly friends, and things have just been... weird."

cecelia finally chimed in, her voice soft but steady. "he's right, adriana. it's been awkward. it's like there's this invisible wall every time we're all in the same place, and honestly? it sucks."

adriana's expression remained guarded, her lips pressed into a thin line. her eyes flicked between cecelia and zayn, both of them watching her like she was some sort of fragile puzzle they weren't sure how to solve.

"i don't know," she said after a long pause.

"adri," zayn said, stepping closer and leaning down slightly to meet her gaze. "look, i'm not saying everything has to magically go back to normal overnight. i'm just saying... give it a shot. one hangout. one afternoon. if it's terrible, you can leave, and we'll never bug you about it again."

adriana's fingers drummed against the closed cover of her sketchbook. the seconds stretched uncomfortably long, and even cecelia shifted uneasily on the bench beside her.

"what's even the point?" adriana asked, her voice softer this time. "it's not going to change anything."

"maybe not," zayn admitted, his voice equally quiet. "but maybe it could. you'll never know if you don't try."

the courtyard felt impossibly still. somewhere across the grass, a bird chirped, and the faint echo of distant laughter carried on the wind. adriana's shoulders slumped slightly, her guard slipping just enough for vulnerability to creep in.

"fine," she said at last, her voice barely above a whisper.

zayn's face lit up like a kid on christmas morning. "wait, really?"

"don't make me change my mind," adriana said quickly, holding up her hand as if to ward off any overly enthusiastic reactions.

"no, no, you won't regret it, i swear," zayn said, his grin widening.

cecelia let out a small breath of relief beside adriana, her shoulders visibly relaxing. "thank you, adriana. seriously."

"don't thank me yet," adriana said, her tone dry but not unkind. "this could end terribly."

"or it could end fine," zayn countered, his grin still firmly in place. "trust me, it'll be good. or... at least not a total disaster."

adriana rolled her eyes but didn't argue.

from across the courtyard, past the scattered groups of students lounging on the grass, chris sat at a picnic table with his head down, scribbling absently in the margins of his notebook. it looked like he wasn't paying attention to anything, but zayn knew better.

as zayn straightened up and casually turned in chris's direction, he caught the briefest flicker of chris's gaze darting toward them. chris was watching, he'd been watching.

zayn shoved his hands into his pockets and, in the most subtle move he could manage, lifted one hand just enough to flash a quick thumbs-up in chris's direction.

chris's brows shot up, his pen freezing mid-stroke on the page. his head lifted fully, and though zayn couldn't hear him from this distance, he could practically see the faint exhale of disbelief leave chris's chest.

the tension in chris's shoulders eased slightly, and he gave a tiny, almost imperceptible nod before looking back down at his notebook.

zayn turned back to the girls, his expression once again casual. "alright, well... we'll figure out a time that works for everyone. sound good?"

"sure," adriana said, though her voice still carried a note of hesitation.

"cool. i'll let you guys know."

as the conversation shifted to something different, cecelia complaining about her math homework and adriana flipping open her sketchbook again, zayn couldn't stop the small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

progress. it wasn't perfect, but it was progress. and for now, that was enough.

evie speaks
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