The TV buzzed with another replay, slow motion catching a high-flying dunk that had the whole crowd on their feet.
"Damn," Steve muttered. "Kid's got hops."
Aiden gave a lazy nod but barely saw the screen. His thoughts were still back at the Cullen house—more specifically, in Rosalie's bedroom. The closeness. The almost-kiss. The way her breath had hitched when he leaned in.
Aiden's phone buzzed on the coffee table, the screen lighting up with a message. He leaned forward, checked it out of habit.
"You ghosted, shade-boy. Still alive?
Steve glanced over. "That her?"
Aiden shook his head, a half-smile tugging at his mouth. "Different girl."
"Popular tonight," Steve muttered, eyes on the screen but clearly listening.
Aiden tapped out a quick reply.
"Still breathing. Barely." Aiden texted back
Another buzz came almost instantly.
"You're lucky you're cute. We missed your sarcasm in trig. You coming to the bonfire thing next week?"
Aiden raised an eyebrow. He hadn't heard about that. And honestly, he wasn't sure if that world—school, bonfires, loud music and teenage drama—was still his anymore.
He started to type, then stopped. Steve noticed.
"She cute?"
"NO," Aiden said. "Talkative."
Steve grunted. "You need people like that. Keeps you human."
Aiden's mind flicked back to Rosalie. The cool stare. The barely-hidden vulnerability. The feeling of almost being consumed just standing next to her.
Jessica was safe.
Rosalie was… not.
He stared at the screen a moment longer, then pocketed the phone.
"I'll think about it," he said mostly to himself.
Steve glanced at him sideways, catching the shift in Aiden's expression.
"So," he said casually, "what's her name?"
Aiden blinked. "What?"
"You've been spaced out since the second quarter. I've seen that look before." Steve sipped his beer. "It's a girl, right?"
Aiden tried to play it cool. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Uh-huh." Steve leaned forward to grab another handful of chips. "Blonde?"
Aiden shot him a look.
Steve smirked. "Nailed it."
Aiden sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Her name's Rosalie."
Steve's brow rose slightly. "Cullen girl?"
"Yeah."
"And the talkative one that was at the hospital "
"Jessica"
"Right" Steve whistled low. "You don't make things easy, do you?"
"I didn't plan it," Aiden muttered. "It just… happened."
"Let me guess," Steve said. "Complicated?"
"That might be the understatement of the year."
Steve leaned back, eyes back on the screen but voice lower, more thoughtful. "Just be careful, kid. People like that—they don't live in the same world as we do. Doesn't mean you can't reach for them… but it's easy to fall off the edge when you do."
Aiden didn't say anything. He didn't have to. The weight of it all settled between them—Rosalie, the secrets, the danger humming underneath everything.
The crowd on TV roared again, but this time, neither of them really heard it.