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**Chapter 18: Part 1 — The Space Between**
**1**
The morning sun filtered through the blinds, casting soft patterns on Lena's bedroom wall. She lay awake, thoughts swirling around the events of the past few days. The moments with Jace replayed in her mind—the shared glances, the tentative conversations, the unspoken questions.([Clark County, NV][1])
She reached for her phone, hesitating before typing a message:
*"Hey, want to meet at the park after school?"*
After a moment's pause, she hit send. The reply came quicker than she expected:
*"Sure. See you there."*
**2**
The school day passed in a blur. Lena found it hard to concentrate, her mind drifting to the anticipated meeting. She wondered what they would talk about, how he would look, what he was thinking.
When the final bell rang, she made her way to the park, heart pounding. Jace was already there, sitting on a bench under their favorite tree. He looked up as she approached, offering a small smile.
"Hey," she said, taking a seat beside him.
"Hey," he replied, his gaze meeting hers.
They sat in silence for a moment, the sounds of the park filling the space between them.
"I've been thinking," Lena began, "about us."
Jace nodded. "Me too."
She turned to face him. "I like what we have, but I also feel like there's more we need to talk about."
He looked thoughtful. "Yeah. It's like we're on the edge of something, but neither of us wants to take the first step."
Lena smiled. "Maybe we can take that step together."
Jace reached out, taking her hand in his. "I'd like that."
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** Part 2 — The Space Between**
**1**
Lena had never really noticed how loud the park could be at 4 p.m. The squeals of kids on the playground, the rhythmic creak of swings, the distant bark of a dog chasing nothing. But all of it faded the moment Jace took her hand.
It wasn't some dramatic gesture. His fingers brushed hers almost by accident at first, but when she didn't pull away—when she looked up at him and he didn't look away—they both just... stayed like that.
Maybe it was ridiculous. They were sitting on a weather-worn bench with peeling paint, hands locked together like something out of a poem. But it wasn't a fantasy. Lena could feel the chill of his fingertips, the tension in his shoulders, the hesitation beneath every breath. It was real.
"Okay," she whispered.
"Okay?" Jace asked, head tilted.
She glanced down at their hands. "Let's take the step. Together."
His grip tightened slightly. Not possessive—just firm, like he needed her to feel how serious he was. "What does that mean, though?"
"I don't know yet," Lena admitted. "That we talk more? That we stop pretending this is nothing?"
He chuckled under his breath. "We've been pretty bad at pretending."
A smile pulled at her lips. "Yeah, well. I never said we were good actors."
They fell quiet again, but this time it was easier. Calmer. She felt like maybe for once, she didn't have to fill the silence. It could just… be there.
Until Jace said, almost too quietly, "Can I ask you something?"
"Always."
"Why me?"
Lena blinked. "What?"
"You could've hated me forever," he said. "I was a jerk to you for, like, a whole year. And I didn't even have a reason. I just—was."
"You're right," she said plainly.
He turned his head fast. "Wait—"
"You were kind of a jerk. Arrogant, standoffish, kind of a know-it-all."
"Wow. Thanks."
She smiled. "But."
Jace exhaled. "There it is."
"You changed," she said simply. "You didn't pretend. You started showing up. Not in big ways, but real ones. I don't think I realized how rare that was. Most people just say the right things. You actually did them."
He didn't answer right away. When he finally did, it was soft.
"I still don't know if I deserve it."
"You don't have to deserve it," she said. "Just… be here. That's all I want."
His thumb brushed her knuckle.
"I can do that."
**2**
They left the park just as the sky was starting to bruise into dusk. Lena hadn't told her mom where she was, but she wasn't too worried—Mrs. Carter had been working late shifts and seemed to trust that Lena wouldn't set the neighborhood on fire.
Jace walked her halfway home, their hands occasionally brushing, not quite holding again but never far apart.
At her gate, he stopped. "So, uh. See you tomorrow?"
"Yeah," she said.
"Chem class?"
"Where all the magic happens," she joked.
He smirked. "Guess I'll brush up on ionic bonds."
Lena leaned on the fence. "Night, Jace."
He turned to go, then hesitated, glancing over his shoulder.
"Hey," he said. "Thanks. For saying yes."
She didn't respond with words. Just a nod. A look. The kind that said more than any goodbye.
**3**
Later that night, Lena lay in bed with her phone resting on her chest, heart full of too many things.
Her room was dark except for the string lights above her headboard. She opened a new note and started typing. Just for herself.
> *It's not about perfection. It's about showing up. Even when it's messy. Especially when it's messy.*
She saved the note and closed her eyes.
**4**
Wednesday was different.
Not in any dramatic way—there were still tests, still crowded hallways, still lockers that jammed and lunches that smelled vaguely of cardboard. But when Lena walked into chemistry, something shifted.
Jace was already there. His head popped up when she entered, and—yep. There it was. That tiny smile again. Like something that only existed when he saw her.
He didn't wave. Didn't nod. But he watched her all the way to her seat. And when she sat down, he slid her a folded note under the table.
She looked at him sideways. "Seriously?"
"I'm committing to the bit," he whispered.
Inside, written in messy all-caps, were five words:
> *Are we officially not enemies?*
Lena rolled her eyes and scribbled back.
> *You're on probation.*
> *Harsh. But fair.*
She barely suppressed her laugh.
**5**
At lunch, Marcos and Sadie knew something was different.
"You're glowy," Sadie said, squinting at her. "Like a Disney character that just realized they're in love."
Lena almost choked on her sandwich. "We're not in love."
Sadie grinned. "That's what they always say."
"I just said we're not enemies."
"So you're something," Marcos said.
Lena shrugged, but the flush creeping up her neck betrayed her.
"You guys are annoying," she muttered.
"True," Sadie said. "But we're also right."
Lena didn't argue. Because for once, she didn't *want* to.
**6**
After school, Jace was waiting at her locker.
Not leaning like a movie cliche, just standing there with his backpack slung over one shoulder, drumming his fingers on a book spine.
She approached cautiously. "You're not gonna jump out and scare me, right?"
"Tempting," he said. "But no."
He handed her a folded piece of paper.
"Another note?" she asked.
"It's a list," he said. "Five things I want you to know. Since we suck at saying stuff out loud."
She hesitated before unfolding it.
In barely-legible scrawl, it read:
1. I'm sorry I was a jerk last year.
2. You're smarter than me, and that annoys me, but I also respect it.
3. When I saw you cry at that assembly in tenth grade, I never forgot it.
4. I hate orange-flavored candy, but I'd eat it if you gave it to me.
5. I like you. A lot.
Lena read it twice.
Then again.
Jace was staring down the hallway like he couldn't watch her reaction.
"You're such a nerd," she said.
"Confirmed," he muttered.
She folded the note, tucked it into her pocket, then stepped closer.
"Next week," she said. "Movie night. My place."
He blinked. "Wait—like, just us?"
She raised an eyebrow. "You scared?"
"Terrified," he admitted.
She grinned.
"Good."
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