It doesn't happen all at once.
There's no declaration.
Just—
Glances.
At first, accidental.
Hallway.
She looks up.
He looks away too late.
Class.
He catches her watching him.
She doesn't pretend she wasn't.
Rooftop.
They arrive at different times.
Sit.
No formal greeting.
Just presence.
"You didn't overextend today," she says.
"You noticed."
"Yes."
That's enough.
-
She doesn't sit with them at first.
Then one day—
She does.
Not because she's invited loudly.
Not because Jake waves her over.
She just places her tray down.
Between Rax and Jake.
Jake blinks.
Marcus raises an eyebrow.
Bruce hides a grin.
Tess observes.
Logan says nothing.
Jake recovers first.
"So, Quiet."
"Sable," she corrects calmly.
He smirks.
"Sable."
He leans slightly closer.
"You know, I've been meaning to ask—"
Raxian cuts in.
"Can you not?"
Jake laughs.
"I'm being friendly."
"You're being annoying."
Sable eats her food without reacting.
Jake picks up a fry.
Holds it like he's making a point.
"You ever smile?"
She glances at him.
"Sometimes."
"When?"
"When it's earned."
Marcus coughs into his drink.
Bruce loses composure for a second.
Raxian tries not to smirk.
Jake forces a grin.
Challenge accepted.
But something shifts.
Raxian's tone when he tells Jake to stop—
It isn't casual.
It's protective.
And Jake hears that.
-
They realize it accidentally.
Walking.
Separate directions.
Then—
Same turn.
"You live this way?" he asks.
"Yes."
"…That's five blocks from me."
"I know."
He stops walking for half a second.
"You knew?"
"Yes."
She keeps walking.
He catches up.
They don't call it walking home together.
They just—
Do.
Jake watches from across the street once.
Hands in his pockets.
Doesn't wave.
Doesn't call out.
Just watches them disappear around the corner.
His jaw tightens.
-
Sable no longer studies him.
She talks.
Sometimes.
Short.
Measured.
"You hesitate less."
"You read faster."
"You're still emotional."
He rolls his eyes.
She doesn't soften it.
But now—
He doesn't snap back.
They've started adjusting around each other.
Not orbiting in opposition.
Orbiting in alignment.
-
Jake laughs louder than necessary.
Talks bigger than usual.
Levels up his charm.
Teases Sable in class.
Offers to carry her books.
She declines.
Flirts harder in the cafeteria.
She doesn't respond.
He leans back in his chair one afternoon and says loudly:
"Rax, you're being replaced."
Raxian doesn't look up.
"By who?"
Jake smiles thinly.
"Exactly."
Logan watches Jake more than he watches Sable.
Tess notices that too.
Bruce stays neutral.
Marcus enjoys the tension far too much.
Ava observes everything.
Says nothing.
-
"You don't have to walk me home," Sable says one afternoon.
"I know."
He keeps walking anyway.
Wind moves through the street softly.
He glances at her.
"You know Jake's just joking."
"Yes."
Silence.
"He doesn't mean anything by it."
She looks at him.
"He does."
That lands.
He doesn't answer.
Because she's right.
-
And somewhere between these small, quiet moments—
They grow closer.
Not loudly..not officially.
But undeniably.
Jake feels it before anyone says it.
And what he feels isn't jealousy of Sable.
It's the fear of losing his place beside Raxian.