ROOM 7
Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Question Again
---
The week after Keifer became the cookie man, the room was lighter. Jay was fully recovered. Lyra was sleeping through the night. Alex was making coffee again—two cups, black, no sugar, one for her, one for him. Ci N had filled four notebooks. Yuri had stopped asking when things would go back to normal. Things were normal. Or as normal as Room 7 ever got.
Dinner was winding down. Plates were pushed back. Yuri was reaching for the last piece of bread. Care was stealing Cole's. Freya was showing Erdix something on her camera. Ash was laughing at something David said. Mica and Calix were in the kitchen. Ci N was calculating the probability of who would get the last dessert.
Felix set his fork down. He'd been quiet all meal. Watching. Waiting. He looked at Lyra. At Alex. At the space between them. The space that never closed. The space that never widened. The space that just was.
"So," he said.
The table went quiet. Everyone knew what was coming.
"You never answered my question. Last week. When I asked when you were going to confess."
Lyra's hand paused on her glass. Alex's jaw tightened. The room held its breath.
"We're best friends," Lyra said.
Felix tilted his head. "That's what you said last week."
"That's what we are."
He looked at her. At Alex. At the way she leaned toward him without thinking. At the way he sat where she could reach him. At the way they hadn't moved apart in months.
"What are you?" he asked.
Lyra looked at Alex. Alex looked at Lyra.
"We don't know," she said.
The room went very quiet.
Felix leaned back. "You don't know."
"We don't know." Her voice was steady. "We've been best friends since we were five. We've been through everything together. The crash. The threat. The nights we couldn't sleep. The mornings we made coffee. We've been beside each other for twenty years. And we don't—" She stopped.
Alex's hand moved on the table. Not reaching for her. Not pulling away. Just there.
"We don't know what we are," she finished.
Felix was quiet for a moment. Then: "That's the most honest thing you've ever said."
He picked up his fork. Went back to his food.
---
Part One: The Table
The meal continued. Yuri reached for the bread. Care stole Cole's. Freya showed Erdix her photos. Ash laughed at David. Mica and Calix came back from the kitchen. Ci N wrote in his notebook.
But everyone was watching. Everyone had been watching for months.
Yuri broke first. "You don't know?"
Lyra looked at him. "We don't know."
"You've been in love with him since you were kids."
She didn't deny it. "That doesn't mean I know what we are."
Yuri opened his mouth. Closed it. Looked at Alex. "You don't know either?"
Alex looked at Lyra. "I know she's my best friend. I know I'd do anything for her. I know I'd—" He stopped.
Yuri waited. "You'd what?"
He looked at his hands. "I'd wait."
The room was very quiet.
Yuri looked between them. "You're both impossible."
Lyra almost smiled. Almost. "You like it."
He stared at her. "I don't not like it."
She laughed. It was small. Broken. But it was a laugh. The first real laugh she'd laughed in weeks.
Alex watched her. His face was calm. His hands were steady. His eyes were the only thing that moved.
---
Part Two: The Hallway
After dinner, Lyra walked to the hallway. The same hallway. The same window. The same city below. Alex followed. He always followed.
She didn't turn. "You didn't have to come."
"I always come."
She watched the lights. The cars. The people moving. Everything the same. Everything different.
"He asked what we are."
"He asked."
"You said you'd wait."
He stepped closer. "I said I'd wait."
She turned. "For what?"
He looked at her. His face was calm. His hands were in his pockets. His voice was low.
"For you to stop being scared."
She went still. "I'm not scared."
"You've been scared since you were five years old. You've been scared of losing me. You've been scared of needing me. You've been scared of—" He stopped.
She waited. "Of what?"
He stepped closer. "Of wanting me."
She stared at him. Her hands were shaking. Her chest was tight. Her voice was barely a whisper.
"I do want you."
He went still. "What?"
She stepped closer. Her face was inches from his. "I want you, Alex. I've wanted you since I was fifteen years old. Since you helped me with my math homework. Since you stayed up with me when I couldn't sleep. Since you caught me when I fell off the bed."
He didn't move. Didn't breathe.
"I want you," she said. "But I'm scared. I'm scared of losing my best friend. I'm scared of losing the only person who's ever known me. I'm scared of—" She stopped.
He touched her face. His hand was shaking. His voice was low. "You're not going to lose me."
"You don't know that."
"I know that." He stepped closer. His forehead was against hers. His hand was on her face. "I've been beside you since we were five years old. I'm not going anywhere."
She closed her eyes. His hand was warm. His breath was on her face. His voice was in her ear.
"What are we?" she whispered.
He pulled back. Looked at her. "We're us."
She opened her eyes. "That's not an answer."
"It's the only answer I have."
She touched his face. Her fingers traced his cheekbone. His jaw. His lips.
"I want to be more," she said.
He stared at her. "More than best friends?"
She nodded. "More than best friends."
He kissed her forehead. Soft. Gentle. The way he'd been wanting to kiss her for years.
"Then we'll be more."
She pulled him close. Her face was against his chest. His arms were around her. His heart was pounding under her ear.
"I'm still scared," she said.
"I know."
"What if I ruin everything?"
He held her tighter. "You won't."
"What if I'm not good at this?"
He kissed her hair. "Then we'll figure it out together."
She closed her eyes. His arms were around her. His voice was in her ear. The hallway was empty. The city was bright. The world was waiting.
---
Part Three: The Return
They walked back to the room together.
The door opened. The room turned. Sixteen people. Sixteen people who'd been waiting. Sixteen people who saw the way she was holding his hand. Sixteen people who saw the way he was holding hers.
Yuri stood up. "What happened?"
Lyra looked at Alex. Alex looked at Lyra.
"We're best friends," she said.
Yuri stared at her. "You went to the hallway holding hands and came back holding hands and you're still best friends?"
"We're best friends."
He looked at Alex. Alex nodded. "Best friends."
Yuri grabbed his hair. "I CAN'T. I CAN'T WITH THEM."
Ci N was writing. "Page 297. Best friends confirmed. Probability of more than best friends within the week: 34.2 percent. Probability of more than best friends within the month: 67.8 percent. Probability of—"
"Ci N," Rakki said.
He closed his notebook. Picked up his fox. Held it.
Yuri pointed at Lyra. "You're impossible."
She smiled. "You like it."
He stared at her. "I don't not like it."
She laughed. Alex laughed. The room laughed. Yuri sat down. Muttered something about best friends. Something about twenty years. Something about not knowing what they are.
Felix was at his desk. His notebook was open. His pen was still. He was watching Lyra and Alex. The way they sat on the couch. The way her head was on his shoulder. The way his arm was around her. The way they weren't pretending anymore.
He wrote one line. Closed his notebook.
---
Part Four: The Night
The room was quiet that night.
Lyra was on the couch. Alex beside her. Her head was on his shoulder. His arm was around her. Her eyes were closed. She was sleeping. He was watching her breathe.
Ci N was on his bed. Notebook open. Pen in hand.
"Page 298. Lyra sleeping. Alex watching. Probability of confession within the month: 67.8 percent. Probability of—"
Rakki closed his notebook. "You need to sleep."
He looked at her. "I'm not tired."
"You've been calculating all day."
He looked at Lyra. At the way her hand was in Alex's. At the way his thumb was tracing circles on her palm.
"They're going to be okay," he said.
Rakki looked at them. "They're going to be okay."
He picked up his fox. Held it. "Good."
She kissed his cheek. He closed his eyes.
---
Across the room, Jay lay in her bed. The shark was beside her. Keifer was beside her. His arm was around her. Her head was on his chest.
"She said she wants to be more," Jay said.
"She said she wants to be more."
"More than best friends."
"More than best friends."
She looked up at him. "Do you think they'll ever figure it out?"
He kissed her forehead. "They have time."
She smiled. "They have time."
He pulled her closer. She closed her eyes. His heartbeat was under her ear. His hand was in her hair. The shark was beside them. The room was quiet.
From across the room, Ci N's voice: "Page 299. Goodnight recorded. Probability of more goodnights: 100 percent."
"Ci N," Jay said.
"I'm sleeping."
"You're talking."
"I'm sleeping and talking. My brain works at one hundred sixty percent. I can do both."
"Ci N."
"Goodnight, Mother. Goodnight, Father."
She smiled into Keifer's chest. "Goodnight, Ci N."
The room was quiet. Sixteen people. Sixteen people who were something to each other. Something that didn't need a name.
Jay closed her eyes. Keifer was beside her. The shark was beside her. Lyra was sleeping. Alex was watching. They were best friends. They were more than best friends. They were something in between.
They were figuring it out.
She slept.
---
End of Chapter Thirty-Nine