(Adrian POV)
Adrian didn't mean to catch her.
That was the first thought.
Not she fell.
Not she's fine.
Just—
instinct.
Her wrist was there before his brain fully registered it.
And then she wasn't falling anymore.
Simple.
Clean.
Done.
Except it wasn't.
Because Ruby froze the moment he touched her.
Like she'd been shocked by something she didn't expect.
That part… stayed.
---
"Careful," he'd said.
Too calm.
Too normal.
Like his hand wasn't still holding her for half a second longer than necessary.
"I had it," she replied immediately.
Adrian finally looked at her properly.
"You didn't."
A beat.
Then she pulled away.
Fast.
Too fast.
Like his hand burned.
---
He told himself not to think about it.
He failed.
The rest of the read-through blurred slightly after that.
Lines. Pages. Direction changes.
All of it became background noise.
Because his brain kept replaying the same moment.
Her wrist.
His hand.
Her reaction.
Not fear.
Not anger.
Something sharper.
Something she tried to hide too quickly.
---
After the session, people started packing up.
The room loosened.
Noise returned.
Normality pretending it existed.
Adrian stayed seated.
He didn't need to.
But he didn't leave either.
Across the room, Ruby was talking to Maya.
Not looking at him.
Not once.
Good.
That was better.
It should've been better.
---
"Bro," one of the crew members said casually as they passed him, "you and Ruby together again… this is going to go viral again, you know."
Adrian didn't look up.
"It already has."
The guy laughed. "Fans are losing it."
Adrian finally leaned back in his chair slightly.
"Of course they are."
A pause.
Then, almost without thinking—
"…they always overreact."
---
He didn't realize he said it out loud until Maya glanced at him.
Ruby didn't.
Still facing away.
Still pretending she couldn't feel his presence.
Adrian stood up.
Finally.
Grabbed his script.
Didn't look at her.
Didn't need to.
Except—
as he walked past her table—
he slowed.
Just slightly.
Enough to notice she was gripping her phone tighter than necessary.
And not looking up.
Not even once.
---
He told himself it didn't matter.
But as he left the room—
he realized something annoying.
She hadn't looked at him either.
Not even once since he caught her.
And for reasons he didn't want to name—
that bothered him more than it should have.