If I Stayed | Christian Yu

CHAPTER THIRTEEN - 아직도 이해할 수 있어?

[Christian.] - One Room, Too Much History

The music was low. Just loud enough to fill the silence but soft enough that words still slipped through like secrets.

Malik had taken over the aux, bouncing between 2000s R&B and vibey trap. Kaylani sprawled across the couch with her wine, eyes lazily scanning the room like she knew what she started. Kenji was half-focused, half-texting someone - probably already posting stories of the night like it was a regular Friday.

But it wasn't.

Not with Christian and Aaliyah in the same space again.

Aaliyah sat on the far end of the L-shaped couch, legs tucked under her, glass in hand. She laughed at something Malik said, but her eyes drifted. Always drifting.

To him.

Christian sat on the floor in front of the window, one knee pulled up, glass in his hand, thumb tracing slow circles along the rim. The skyline lit up behind him, city buzzing beneath them, but his gaze was steady - not on the view.

On her.

Every few minutes, their eyes would meet.

And neither of them would look away fast enough.

"Alright," Malik announced suddenly. "Group game or truth circle?"

"We're too old for truth circles," Kenji said.

"That's what makes them fun now," Kaylani chimed in. "More trauma to reveal."

Aaliyah laughed. Christian did too.

But his chest tightened.

"Let's just chill," he said, voice calm. "We don't need games."

Everyone nodded, settling back in.

A moment passed.

Then Christian stood.

"I'm gonna grab something from the studio."

No one replied.

Except Aaliyah.

"Need help?"

He looked at her, something flickering in his expression, too fast to catch.

"Sure."

They walked down the hallway together, silent at first.

She followed him into the studio. The room was warm, bathed in amber light. Headphones coiled on the desk. His keyboard half-covered by notebook pages and post-it notes. It smelled like cedar and something faintly citrus - like him.

He moved toward the shelf like he was looking for something.

She just... looked at him.

"You okay?" she asked softly.

"Yeah," he replied. Then glanced back. "Are you?"

She gave a breath of a smile. "Trying."

Another pause.

He turned, leaning against the desk.

"Didn't think I'd see you tonight."

"Didn't think I'd come."

Their eyes locked.

"But you did."

"I did."

The weight of everything unsaid hung in the air between them.

All the things they'd almost said. All the things they still felt.

And Christian...

He stepped a little closer.