{Songs of the Chapter:- Whenthe Party's Over: Billie Eilish – for Isla's feelings, Say you Won't let go:James Arthur – for Theo's feelings}

I wake up to the warmth wrapped around me, the familiar scent of Theo filling my senses. For a moment, everything feels right—his chest rising and falling beneath my cheek, his arm draped over my waist like he's afraid to let go. It feels so natural, like this is where I'm meant to be. But then, reality slams into me, and my eyes snap open.

What the hell did we do?

My heartbeat thunders, every nerve on edge. Last night was... incredible. I'd heard rumours in school—whispers of how good Theo was, the way girls shared knowing glances. I brushed it off because he's my best friend. But now, after what happened last night, I get it. I understand far more than I probably should. My cheeks heat up as the memories flood back—his mouth on mine, his hands exploring every inch of me, the way he didn't stop until I was a trembling mess beneath him. And all he did was... eat me out.

The thought strikes me hard, and my face grows even warmer, a flush creeping up my neck. If just that could unravel me, then... My breath catches at the wild thought of what it would be like if he had gone further, if he had taken me completely. My stomach flips, heat pooling low as I imagine it for just a moment before I shake it off, pushing the thought away before it roots itself.

What is wrong with me? I never felt this untethered, this ravenous, with Jake. I never felt so raw and unguarded. But with Theo... one look, one touch, and it's like he owns every part of me I didn't even know existed.

Do I regret it? I don't know. Yes? No? Maybe?

God, what the hell am I going to do?

My heart pounds in my chest as I carefully pull away from him, the weight of last night pressing down on me. Theo's bare chest is inches from me, his skin still warm from sleep, and the memory of his mouth on mine—of what he did to me—sends a jolt through my body.

I need to get out of here.

Slipping out of bed, I grab my shorts off the floor, moving as quietly as I can. Theo stirs for a second, his arm reaching out toward me, but I freeze, waiting for him to settle again. I don't know what to say if he wakes up, don't know how to face him after what happened.

I manage to escape the room without waking him, and the second I close the door behind me, I lean against it, pressing my palm to my chest to steady my racing heart.

This is Theo. My best friend.

The thought twists painfully in my stomach. I head downstairs, my mind racing, trying to make sense of everything. We crossed a line last night—a line I told myself we could never cross. I don't know what I was thinking, or if I was even thinking at all.

The kitchen is quiet when I walk in, the morning sunlight filtering through the windows, casting a soft glow on everything. I grab a glass of water, my hands trembling slightly as I lift it to my lips, trying to calm the storm inside me.

How did this happen?

I can't lose him. Theo's been my constant, my safe place, for as long as I can remember. And last night, I let things go too far. I let myself forget who we are to each other. And now? Now everything feels like it's about to come crashing down.

I hear footsteps behind me, and my heart jumps into my throat. I don't have to turn around to know it's him. His presence fills the room, and I close my eyes, gripping the edge of the counter for support.

"Luna."

His voice is soft, hesitant, and it sends a shiver down my spine. I don't turn around. I can't. If I look at him, I'll break.

"Can we talk about last night," he says, his footsteps coming closer, but I stay frozen, my back to him, my heart pounding so loudly I'm sure he can hear it.

"There's nothing to talk about," I manage to say, my voice coming out shakier than I intended. I take a deep breath, forcing myself to turn around, but I can't meet his eyes. "Last night was a mistake, Theo."

He freezes, his brow furrowing, confusion flashing across his face. "A mistake?"

I nod, even though my heart is screaming at me to take it back. "I wasn't thinking straight. I'm not ready for this—for another relationship." My throat tightens, but I push the words out anyway. "I can't ruin what we have. You're my best friend, Theo. I can't lose you."

His eyes darken with hurt, and I watch as his jaw clenches, his body going still. He's silent for a moment, staring at me like he's trying to process what I've just said.

"You think last night was a mistake?" His voice is low, almost disbelieving, and he takes a step closer to me, his gaze never leaving mine.

I don't answer. I can't.

"Isla..." He runs a hand through his hair, frustration seeping into his tone. "You don't get to just write this off as a mistake. We didn't do anything wrong."

"I'm not ready for this, Theo," I repeat, my voice shaky as I finally meet his eyes. The intensity in his gaze is enough to make my pulse race, but I try to stand my ground. "I'm not ready to... to deal with all of this. I can't."

Theo shakes his head, stepping closer again until we're inches apart. His chest rises and falls with the weight of his emotions, and I can feel the heat radiating off his body. "You're scared," he says softly, his voice full of understanding. "But don't you dare say that last night was a mistake, Isla. It wasn't."

I shake my head, backing up slightly, needing space to think, to breathe. "It was, Theo. It was. I don't know what came over me, but I can't—"

Theo's hands reach out, grabbing mine, and the warmth of his skin sends shivers down my spine. "I kissed you," he says, his voice low but unyielding. "Because I wanted to. Because I've wanted you for so long, Isla. Don't you dare act like you didn't feel the same."

I shake my head again, but I can't pull away from him. His grip is firm, but gentle. His eyes burn with a truth I'm too afraid to accept.

"Last night wasn't some fleeting moment for me," Theo steps closer, and I can feel the heat radiating off him, the raw tension in his body. "I've wanted this. I've wanted you. And you—" his voice drops, the memory of last night hanging between us, "you wanted me too. I saw it in your eyes. I heard it when you said my name."

My heart slams against my ribs as his words sink in, pulling me under like the waves crashing outside. I remember the way his hands felt on my skin, the way he whispered my name in the dark, the way I'd let myself drown in him for just a moment.

I shake my head again, panic rising in my chest. "You're wrong. I'm not ready—"

"How do you feel?" he interrupts, his voice softer now as he closes the space between us, his eyes searching mine. "Tell me how you feel, Luna."

I swallow hard, my throat tight. "I don't know," I admit, my voice barely a whisper. "I'm confused. I'm scared. And I don't want to lose you."

Theo takes a deep breath, his eyes softening as he reaches out, gently brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. His touch is tender, and it sends a wave of heat through me, making my stomach flip.

"You won't lose me," he says quietly, his fingers lingering near my cheek. "But you have to stop running from this. From us."

I look away, unable to handle the weight of his gaze. My heart is pounding, my mind racing with everything I've been trying to suppress for years. I know he's right. I know I've been running, hiding from the truth. But admitting it? It feels too big, too real.

"I don't know if I can do this," I whisper, my voice shaky as I wrap my arms around myself, trying to create some distance between us. "I don't want to ruin what we have."

Theo steps forward, his hands coming to rest gently on my arms, grounding me. "You won't," he promises, his voice full of conviction. "Isla, you mean everything to me. I've loved you for so long. I've been in love with you for years, but I didn't want to ruin our friendship. I was scared."

His words hit me like a tidal wave, knocking the breath out of me. I've never seen him like this—so raw, so vulnerable. My heart aches as I process what he's just said.

"You've loved me?" I whisper, the words barely leaving my lips. It feels impossible, like I can't wrap my head around the fact that he's been holding this in for years.

Theo nods, his gaze steady, unwavering, like he's telling me the most certain truth of his life. "Not loved, Isla. Love. I still love you. I've loved you for years. And I know you feel something too. I saw it last night. I felt it in the way you kissed me, the way you looked at me. You can't deny that, Isla. You can't."

I bite my lip, my heart racing. I want to deny it. I want to push him away and pretend like none of this ever happened. But I don't know what I feel.

"You're my best friend," I whisper, my voice shaky as I search his eyes. "I don't know if I can risk that."

Theo steps even closer, his body brushing against mine, and my breath hitches. "I'm not going anywhere," he says softly, his hand cupping my cheek. "But you need to stop pretending like this isn't real. Stop running from what we have."

My heart is pounding so loudly I can barely hear anything else. I don't know what to say. I don't know how to process everything he's telling me.

"This was a mistake," I say again, my voice barely above a whisper. I can't look at him as I say it, the words tasting bitter on my tongue.

Theo pulls back just enough for me to see the flicker of hurt cross his face. His jaw tightens, and for a second, I wish I could take the words back. "Stop saying things you don't mean, Luna," he says, his voice rough but steady. "I know you. I know when you're holding back—when you're lying to protect yourself. Don't do that with me."

But I don't respond. I can't.

He takes a deep breath, and steps back, and I can feel the distance between us growing, like a chasm opening up.

The silence between us is suffocating, the weight of everything that happened last night pressing down on my chest, making it hard to breathe. Theo's standing in the kitchen, his bare chest rising and falling, eyes locked on mine with an intensity that makes my heart race.

I want to run, to bolt out the door and pretend none of this ever happened. But I can't move. I'm frozen in place, my body trembling with the aftershocks of everything we shared last night—the kiss, the way he touched me, the way I let him.

"I mean it," I say, my voice shaky as I stare at the floor, unable to meet his gaze. "Last night... it never should have happened."

"Look at me, Isla," he says, "Last night wasn't a mistake. It wasn't something to regret. It was real, we are real. You felt it just like I did. Don't run from this just because it scares you. I've known you my whole life, and I've never been more sure about anything than I am about us."

"Theo, I wasn't thinking straight. I've been through so much, with the breakup with Jake and you're my best friend. This—" I gesture between us, my voice cracking. "This can't happen."

"Why? Why can't it happen? Because you're scared?"

My heart is racing, pounding so hard it feels like it might break free from my chest. I step around Theo, moving to the kitchen counter, putting some distance between us. I need space, some room to breathe, to think.

"I'm not ready," I murmur, my voice barely audible as I wrap my arms around myself, as if holding myself together will keep the truth from seeping in. I turn my back to him, staring at the wall, anything to avoid his gaze. "I can't do this. I'm not ready for another relationship."

Theo lets out a frustrated breath, running a hand through his hair. "This isn't about some relationship, Luna. This is about us."

He takes a step closer, closing the space between us, though he keeps enough distance to give me room. The intensity in his voice is softer now, but it's still there, simmering just beneath the surface. "Tell me the truth. Tell me what you feel."

I hesitate, my back still turned to him, my heart pounding. His words hang heavy in the air, pulling at me, making it impossible to ignore. Slowly, I turn around to face him. The second our eyes meet, my breath catches in my throat. He looks so open, so vulnerable—like he's laid his heart out in front of me, waiting for me to take it or shatter it.

"What do you feel, Isla?" he asks again, stepping just close enough that I can feel the warmth radiating from him, but still holding back. His voice is almost pleading now, his eyes never leaving mine.

"Don't run from this. I need to know."

I shake my head, my throat tight with emotion. "I don't know, Theo. I don't know what I feel. Everything's so messed up, and I don't want to ruin what we have."

Theo's jaw clenches, his hands curling into fists at his sides. "You're not going to ruin anything by telling me the truth. What would ruin us is pretending like nothing's changed when it has." He pauses, his eyes darkening with something raw, something real. "I've been in love with you for years, Isla. But I never told you because I didn't want to lose you. And now? Now, I can't hold it in anymore."

I suck in a sharp breath, his words hitting me like a punch to the gut.

My heart is pounding, my mind racing with a million thoughts, but none of them make sense.

"The night of the breakup with him," Theo continues, stepping even closer until there's barely any space between us, "when I kissed you, that wasn't a mistake to me. I've been thinking about that kiss every damn day since it happened, and the only reason I told you to forget it was because I was scared, you'd pull away."

I take a step back, needing distance, but he follows me, his gaze never leaving mine.

Theo's voice cuts through the air, sharp and heavy. "You want to know why I hated Jake so much?" The intensity in his eyes is electric, a storm brewing just for me, full of frustration and something deeper, something that makes my pulse race and my skin tingle. "It's not just because he was a dick or because he treated you like some accessory. It's because he didn't deserve you. He never did."

I open my mouth, ready to argue, to tell him he's wrong, but he doesn't give me a chance. His gaze pierces right through me, eyes blazing, unyielding.

"Jake didn't see the things I see," he continues, his voice low and intent, each word hitting like a heartbeat against my chest. 

"He didn't notice the way you bite your lip when you're nervous, or the way your laugh sounds when something genuinely makes you happy. He didn't see the way you light up when you talk about something you love, or how you always stand up for the people you care about." His voice softens, and his hands curl into fists at his sides, like he's trying to contain the emotions surging within him. "He didn't love the way you always ask for extra whip cream and toffee drizzle in your hot chocolate, or how you talk to that stray cat outside your house, even though it never stays."

His words hit me like waves, each one pulling me under, leaving me struggling for air. My chest tightens as I try to steady myself, but my resolve is slipping, the walls I've carefully built around my heart cracking under the weight of his words. He's right. Jake never noticed those things. No one has. Except Theo.

But I can't do this—I can't let myself fall into this. If I do, everything changes, and I don't know if I'm ready for that.

"Theo, stop," I whisper, my voice trembling, betraying the turmoil inside me. I take a shaky step back, even though every part of me wants to move closer to him. My chest aches with the weight of it, my heart pounding so hard it physically hurts.

"Please, stop."

His gaze doesn't waver; it locks onto mine, dark and unwavering, and he steps forward, closing the space between us like it's nothing. "No," he says, his voice a low, resolute rumble. "I'm not going to stop, Isla. Not this time." His next words are raw, soaked with so much emotion they nearly undo me. "I love you. I've loved you for so long, and I'm done pretending like I don't."

He's so close now, the warmth of his body wrapping around me, filling the small gap left between us. Before I can pull back, before I can even think, his hand lifts, his fingers gently tilting my chin up, forcing me to look at him. His thumb brushes against my jaw, a barely-there touch, soft but electrifying, sparking every nerve in my body. I'm left trembling under his gaze, feeling like I'm teetering on the edge of something I can't escape from, no matter how much I tell myself I should.

"Do you know why I call you Luna?" Theo's voice trembles, soft and raw, barely holding back an avalanche of emotion. It feels like he's offering me his heart, exposing a piece of himself that he's guarded for so long. His gaze locks onto mine, intense, unwavering, and full of something so deep it nearly breaks me. 

"It's because you remind me of the moon. Always there, even when I can't see you. You light up my darkest nights without even trying. You pull me in, Isla... like gravity. I can't stay away."

I want to say something, anything, but my throat tightens, and all I can do is stare up at him, drowning in the tenderness, the vulnerability in his words. His thumb brushes over my cheek, a touch so gentle it feels like it's meant to stitch me back together. But instead, it makes me crumble, cracks running through every wall I've tried to keep between us.

"I've called you that for years," he continues, his voice barely a whisper, like he's unravelling right in front of me. "Hoping you'd see it—see how much you mean to me. But I can't wait anymore, Isla. I can't keep pretending I'm okay with just being your friend." He leans closer, his breath soft against my skin. "Tell me you feel it too," he whispers, his voice trembling with desperation. "Because if you don't... I don't know how to let you go."

His words hit me with the force of a thousand heartbreaks, each syllable a knife twisting deeper, slicing through my resolve. Tears blur my vision as his confession sinks in, and my heart splinters under the weight of it. I step back, hitting the counter, putting distance between us even though every part of me aches to close it.

"I can't, Theo," I manage, my voice so broken it sounds like someone else's. My heart is fracturing, pieces falling away with every breath.

His face falls, and the devastation in his eyes is almost too much to bear. "Why not?" he asks, his voice choked, barely holding it together. "Why are you so scared of this? Of us?"

"Because I can't lose you!" I cry, the words spilling out, raw and desperate, as the first tear slides down my cheek. "You're my best friend, Theo. If we do this, if we cross that line and it all falls apart... I'd rather have you in my life as my friend than lose you forever. I can't risk it."

Theo's face softens, but there's a quiet agony in his eyes, a brokenness that shatters me from the inside out. He steps forward, his hands lifting to cradle my face, his thumbs wiping away my tears with a gentleness that only makes this harder. 

"Isla," he murmurs, his voice thick with emotion, "pretending this isn't real... that's what's going to destroy us. Ignoring this—ignoring us—that's what will ruin everything."

My breath catches, and I'm drowning in his gaze, my heart pounding so loudly it's all I can hear. He's so close, offering me everything, but fear holds me captive, rooting me to the spot. I want to reach out, to close that impossible distance, but I can't. I can't.

A flicker of hope fades from his eyes as he searches my face, and slowly, his hands slip away, leaving a hollow ache in their absence. His expression crumples, his jaw tight, his face filled with a pain so deep it makes me gasp.

 "I can't keep doing this, Isla," he says, his voice breaking, each word a quiet plea. "I've given you everything I have, and if you can't... if you won't let me in, then maybe... maybe I need to go."

My heart stops, the blood freezing in my veins as his words sink in, final and unforgiving. His shoulders slump, his gaze lingering on me one last time, eyes filled with a despair I know I've caused. 

"I'll leave," he says, so softly it's barely audible. "I'll go back home."

I open my mouth to stop him, to say something, anything, but the words don't come. I'm frozen in place, my heart shattering as I watch him walk away.

And just like that, he's gone.