the studio didn't really go quiet when practice ended.
it just changed noise.
instead of music and counts and grant's voice cutting through everything, it was now water bottles clinking, shoes scraping against the floor, someone laughing too late like their body hadn't caught up to the fact that they were exhausted yet.
lara stood near the mirror longer than she needed to.
not looking at herself properly—just watching the room behind her reflection.
people always moved differently after practice.
looser. heavier. less controlled.
grant had already left. sohey had followed a few seconds after him, pausing at the door like he always did.
"you're getting there," he had said before leaving.
not to anyone specific.
to all of them.
and somehow that made it worse and better at the same time.
because it meant no one was being singled out.
and also that everyone still had work to do.
the door shut.
silence didn't fall.
it leaked in.
sophia was already sitting on the floor when lara finally moved, legs stretched out like she had claimed that exact spot the second practice ended.
"i swear my legs are not attached to me anymore," she said, bending forward slightly, hands reaching for her toes.
it wasn't dramatic. it was just how she spoke—like she didn't bother filtering what she felt before it came out.
megan dropped beside her, letting out a breath. "that last run was actually better though."
"better doesn't mean good," daniela replied immediately, twisting her hair up without looking in the mirror.
"it means we're not dying," sophia said.
"low standards," daniela muttered.
"realistic standards," sophia corrected, leaning back on her hands.
yoonchae laughed from where she was tying her shoe.
not a quiet laugh either—her amusing, loud two 'ha-ha's' that were enough to pull attention for a second.
"you two argue like it's a sport," she said.
daniela pointed at her without looking. "because it is a sport."
"we would win," sophia added.
megan shook her head slightly, smiling into her bottle.
it should've been normal.
it almost was.
except for the fact that the space near the mirrors still felt wrong.
lara felt it before she looked.
manon hadn't moved yet.
she was still there.
standing like she was waiting for something no one else knew the rules to.
not leaning. not checking her phone. not joining the others immediately.
just still.
lara looked away first.
of course she did.
but sophia noticed.
she always noticed the temperature of a room changing before anyone named it.
she glanced up once, briefly, then exhaled through her nose like she was deciding whether to say something and choosing not to.
instead, she just raised her voice slightly.
"okay," she said, pushing herself up. "i'm ordering food before someone collapses and makes it dramatic."
"hey," daniela protested automatically.
"you would," sophia said immediately.
that got a small laugh out of yoonchae again.
it shifted things just enough.
not fixed.
just loosened.
lara grabbed her bag from the floor, fingers tightening around the strap a little too hard.
behind her, she heard footsteps eventually move.
she didn't look to see who followed.
she didn't need to.
——
the ride back didn't fix anything.
it just stretched it.
like silence had been given more time to exist.
sophia sat in the middle row, twisting a hair tie around her fingers and then letting it snap back lightly against her wrist without really noticing.
she looked out the window, then back at the group, then out again.
like she was keeping track of something no one had said out loud yet.
megan rested her head against the glass, eyes half-closed.
dani kept scrolling, stopping every few seconds like nothing on her screen was actually interesting.
yoonchae was talking more than she had in the studio—small comments, reactions to things outside the window, pointing out random signs they passed like she was narrating the city for herself.
and lara—
lara wasn't listening to any of it.
she was focused on the seat ahead.
manon sat by the window.
still again.
always like that.
like stillness was something she chose on purpose.
lara hated that she could notice it so easily.
sophia leaned slightly forward at one point, saying something under her breath to daniela.
daniela responded with a small shrug.
no one escalated it.
no one needed to.
the car kept moving.
so did everything else.
——
the house felt warmer than the studio.
not in a comforting way.
in a crowded way.
like it had too many people trying not to collide.
shoes came off near the entrance. bags dropped where they landed.
sophia exhaled loudly the second she stepped in. "food. now. before I lose consciousness."
"dramatic," dani said, already heading toward the kitchen.
"accurate," sophia replied, following her.
megan went after them more quietly, already checking what had been delivered.
yoonchae took her time, stretching her arms above her head before disappearing upstairs, still talking to herself under her breath about something unrelated.
normal flow.
but not fully normal.
lara stayed near the wall for a second longer than she meant to.
she could feel the room moving around her without her.
then—
"you keep doing that."
voice behind her.
not loud.
not soft.
just there.
lara didn't turn immediately.
she already knew.
when she did, manon was standing a few steps away.
same distance she always kept.
not close enough to read too much into.
not far enough to ignore.
lara let out a short breath. "doing what?"
manon's eyes flicked briefly toward the kitchen, where sophia's voice could be heard arguing about food options with dani.
then back.
"reacting like everything is personal," she said.
lara laughed once. no humor in it. "maybe it is when it involves you."
that got a pause.
not dramatic.
just slight.
like manon was checking something internally before responding.
"it doesn't have to be," she said.
lara stepped forward before she could stop herself. "you make it that way."
manon didn't move back.
she rarely did.
"you were off today," she said again.
same tone as always.
fact, not emotion.
that's what made it worse.
lara's jaw tightened. "well, we're not on stage."
"doesn't change the timing."
"you're obsessed with timing."
a beat.
manon's gaze held steady.
"you ignore it when it suits you," she replied.
that landed differently.
not louder.
just sharper.
lara opened her mouth—
but sophia appeared in the doorway at that exact second.
holding a bag of food like nothing in the world was happening.
she looked between them.
slowly.
then sighed.
not annoyed.
just familiar with it.
"i'm not breaking this up," she said simply. "i'm just saying—food is here. and if you two want to keep arguing, do it after we eat something that isn't stress."
no one responded.
not because she forced them.
because she made it sound stupid not to.
she walked back into the kitchen.
megan was already setting things out.
daniela was arguing about sauces again.
yoonchae's voice drifted down from upstairs, louder now, reacting to something someone else said.
life continued anyway.
that was the thing about the house.
it didn't stop for them.
lara exhaled slowly and turned away first.
behind her, she didn't see manon watching her leave.
not for long.
just long enough to mean she didn't forget it.
-——
hey guys, first chapter hope u like it lol
i came up w this idea like a week ago and i finally gave in to the temptation and made this acc. give me ur feedbacks!