Saturday afternoon was slow.
Laundry day at home. Her mother moving around the house. Her father fixing something in the living room.
Ariana sat on the floor of her room, reorganizing her bookshelf.
Her phone buzzed.
UnknownUser: Busy?
She typed without thinking.
SilentStar15: Cleaning.
UnknownUser: That sounds like you.
She smirked slightly.
SilentStar15: You keep saying that.
UnknownUser: Because you're predictable.
She narrowed her eyes at the screen.
SilentStar15: That's rude.
UnknownUser: It's not bad.
Pause.
Then—
UnknownUser: It means you're stable.
Her fingers slowed.
Stable.
No one had ever described her like that.
Most people called her serious. Quiet. Reserved.
Stable felt different.
SilentStar15: You say strange things.
UnknownUser: Honest things.
She hesitated before typing her next message.
SilentStar15: What if I disappear one day?
There was no reply for a few seconds.
Then—
UnknownUser: You won't.
She frowned slightly.
SilentStar15: You don't know that.
Pause.
Then—
UnknownUser: You don't leave without explanation.
Her heart reacted softly.
How could he sound so sure?
SilentStar15: And you?
A longer pause this time.
Then—
UnknownUser: I've left before.
Her breathing slowed.
That again.
Leaving.
Without saying goodbye.
She typed carefully.
SilentStar15: Would you leave again?
Three dots appeared.
Stopped.
Appeared again.
Then—
UnknownUser: Not the same way.
That answer felt unfinished.
Suspended.
Like something he wasn't ready to explain.
She didn't push.
Instead—
SilentStar15: Good.
Pause.
Then—
UnknownUser: Mood better today?
She smiled slightly.
SilentStar15: Yes.
UnknownUser: Good.
She lay back on the floor, staring at the ceiling.
It was strange.
They weren't confessing anything.
They weren't flirting dramatically.
But conversations were becoming… softer.
More careful.
More real.
She wasn't falling.
She was still guarded.
Still remembering what happened last time.
But she was no longer afraid to talk.
And maybe—
That was progress.
Not love.
Not yet.
Just two people slowly becoming comfortable with each other's good and bad sides.
And for now—
That was enough.