I didn't sleep.
After Julian and I finally parted—sometime around 3:27 AM, not that I was counting—I drifted back to my room like someone half-untethered from gravity. Not confused. Not anymore. It was the kind of daze you get after the sky breaks open and decides to pour stars straight into your lungs.
I lay on my bed, fully clothed, heart thudding like it had been given marching orders. Every time I shut my eyes, I saw him. Not in a movie-montage kind of way—this wasn't my usual brain circus. This was real. Sharp. Present. His breath still clung to my skin, his hands still wrapped around mine like they'd been made to fit there.
We said it.
We finally said it.
That beautiful, terrifying thing between us? It wasn't hiding anymore.
When sunlight finally cracked over the horizon like a warning shot, I was still staring at the ceiling. Still wide awake.
By 7:00 AM, the Gossamer Network had snapped back to life. Energy grids surged, training domes rebooted, AI units hummed cheerful updates like we hadn't just set our souls on fire a few hours ago. I dragged myself to the cafeteria with the kind of deranged energy only found in sleepless people who just fell stupidly in love.
Naturally, Kim and Jake were already there—mid-waffle and mid-argument.
"I'm telling you," Kim said, pointing her fork, "bottom to top is how monkeys peel bananas. That's how evolution wants it. Embrace the banana truth."
Jake narrowed his eyes. "You are literally comparing me to a monkey because of breakfast."
"I'm not comparing," she said sweetly. "I'm stating facts."
I collapsed into the seat across from them.
Kim blinked at me. "What happened to your face?"
Jake leaned forward. "Did you nap in a wind tunnel?"
"I… didn't sleep."
Kim's eyes widened. "You didn't—wait. Wait." She gasped. "Oh my God, you did."
Jake reached into his hoodie pocket, pulled out a ten-dollar bill, and placed it solemnly in Kim's outstretched hand.
"You were betting on me?" I asked.
"He was betting on you and Julian," Kim said smugly.
Jake nodded. "Look, it's not spying if you're just this obvious."
I groaned, dropping my forehead onto the table. "I think I accidentally have a boyfriend."
Kim let out a squeal so high-pitched that several comm units short-circuited.
Jake winced. "You could've waited a week and spared my wallet."
"He said he didn't want distance anymore," I murmured, still dazed.
Kim clasped my hands. "Julia. That is so grossly romantic I might actually cry."
"I have no idea how to act around him now," I admitted. "We're still training together. And he's still technically my mentor. What if I implode?"
Jake took a thoughtful sip of his juice. "Just try not to explode. Imploding sounds less messy."
Kim softened. "You'll figure it out. You always do."
I was about to respond with something self-deprecating and witty when a sharp chime cut through the room—my wristband buzzing with a new notification.
Training Directive: 09:00 — Strategic Resonance Lab, Dome 3. Attendees: Julia Summers, Julian Reyes, Elder Liora.
I read it twice.
"Oh no."
Kim peered over my shoulder. "Training. With Julian. And Elder Liora?"
Jake blinked. "That's your psychic boyfriend, your direct supervisor, and the terrifying elder who once made a telekinetic storm because someone sneezed near her tea."
"Exactly," I muttered.
Kim patted my shoulder. "Don't die."
Jake added, "Or worse—don't fall in love so loudly that it causes a containment breach."
By 8:59 AM, I was pacing outside Dome 3 like I was about to walk into an exam that also might be a wedding.
Julian was already inside, fingers flying across the control panel. He turned the second I walked in.
And smiled.
The same kind of smile he'd given me last night—like I was something fragile and incredible that he still couldn't quite believe was real.
"Hey," he said quietly.
"Hey," I breathed back.
I didn't cross the room. I didn't kiss him. I waved like an anxious pigeon in psychic combat boots.
He grinned anyway. "You okay?"
"Not remotely."
"Good. Me neither."
Elder Liora swept in behind me a moment later, looking like the final boss of an interdimensional chess game. Her silver braid sliced through the air like punctuation. "You're early. Good. Let's begin."
No small talk. No mercy.
Julian and I stood across from each other, palms out, fingertips barely grazing.
Our auras lit up instantly. Mine a flickering blue. His a molten sunrise.
Then Liora amplified the load.
The energy roared between us—sharp, brilliant, all-consuming. I could feel Julian's heartbeat. His thoughts. His entire self focused like a beam straight into mine.
And somewhere in that impossible space, I heard it.
I'm in love with you.
The thought brushed against me so clearly I gasped.
And without even meaning to, I answered:
So am I.
His smile faltered—just slightly. Like the weight of it had hit him full-force.
Liora's voice cut through the static. "Stabilizing. Fascinating reaction curve…"
But I barely heard her. Because something shifted—just beneath the surface.
The energy flared again.
Hard.
Too hard.
A pulse rippled outward from our joined hands, and the dome's lights flickered.
"Reyes. Summers—disengage, now," Liora snapped.
We tried.
We tried.
But our hands wouldn't separate.
Julian's eyes widened. "Julia—"
The field around us snapped. The entire dome went dark.
Silence.
Then a voice—quiet and warped—echoed from somewhere inside the blackout:
"Echo found. Initiating protocol override."
I turned sharply.
But no one was there.
Just shadows curling where they shouldn't be.
Julian moved in front of me, shielding me instinctively. "Liora, what was that?"
But Elder Liora didn't respond.
Because she was gone.
And the door behind us?
It was no longer a door.
It was a wall.