Ethan saw it.
Not the words.
Not the moment itself.
Just—
Agnes pulling Fayne aside.
That was enough.
He didn't need to hear it.
Didn't want to.
He looked away.
Gave them space.
Like he always did.
Time passed.
Too much time.
At first, he didn't think anything of it.
People moved around.
Conversations shifted.
But then—
Agnes didn't come back.
Someone mentioned it.
Casually.
"Have you seen Agnes?"
Ethan's chest tightened slightly.
He checked his phone.
Nothing.
That was strange.
Agnes always answered.
Always.
A quiet unease settled in.
Then Paul said it.
"There's a park," he mentioned."We used to go there a lot."
Ethan didn't hesitate.
He left.
Didn't think about how he'd get home.
Didn't think about anything, really.
Just—
her.
The walk felt longer than it should have.
The streets quieter.
And when he reached the park—
he saw her.
Crouched beside a bench.
Small.
Folded in on herself.
Ethan stopped for half a second.
He had never seen her like that.
Not once.
Not even when that idiot back in junior high—
Robin—
had cheated on her.
He had heard about it.
But this—
This was different.
This was right in front of him.
And she was breaking.
"…Agnes?"
His voice came out quieter than he expected.
She looked up.
And that was enough.
He moved without thinking.
Crouching in front of her.
Close.
He didn't ask.
Didn't need to.
The moment she leaned into him—
his body reacted before his mind could.
His arms wrapped around her.
Carefully.
But firmly.
And then—
she held onto him.
And something in his chest—
dropped.
Heavy.
He had never held her like this before.
Not like this.
Not when she needed it.
"I… got rejected," she said.
Ethan didn't respond.
He couldn't.
His arms tightened slightly instead.
"My chest hurts."
He felt that.
Not the same way.
But enough.
"I really liked her."
A pause.
"She felt like… an angel."
Ethan's jaw tensed.
Just slightly.
He didn't let it show.
But it landed.
An angel.
He wondered—
briefly—
if she would ever look at him like that.
And already knew the answer.
She leaned back slightly.
Looked up at him.
Their faces were close.
Too close.
Ethan swallowed.
He could feel it.
The moment.
The pull.
The years in between.
The distance.
The quiet wanting that had never gone anywhere.
Now.
It would have been easy.
So easy.
Just a little closer.
Just—
He stopped.
Because he saw it.
In her eyes.
Not the same thing he felt.
Something else.
Trust.
A quiet, fragile kind.
The kind that said—
don't change.
Ethan exhaled slowly.
Barely there.
"…you'll be okay," he said.
It wasn't enough.
But it was all he had.
She looked at him for a second longer.
Then leaned back into him.
And he held her again.
Because that—
he could do.
Even if it hurt.
Even if every part of him wanted something more.
He closed his eyes briefly.
He wanted to kiss her.
He knew it.
But he didn't.
He wouldn't.
Because this moment—
wasn't his.
And maybe—
it never would be.