A Line Between Us

The supply closet was silent except for their heavy breathing. The Frostborn had finally stopped clawing at the door, their eerie wails fading into the howling wind outside.

Ava sat against the metal shelves, hugging her knees. Liam stood a few feet away, his back against the door, one hand gripping his knee, the other pressed to his temple like he was trying to push back a headache.

Her breath was still unsteady, but her mind raced faster than her heart.

Liam.

The boy who had disappeared for two years. The boy who had come back someone else. The boy who had just thrown himself in front of her without a second thought.

"You okay?" His voice cut through the quiet.

Ava swallowed, nodding slowly. "Yeah."

A pause. Then—

"You hesitated."

Her lips parted, but no words came out. Because she _had_ hesitated. Not because of the Frostborn. Not because of the near-death experience. But because of _him_. Because he wasn't supposed to care.

He had spent years pretending she didn't exist.

Yet here he was.

She forced a breath. "What about you?"

Liam let out a small, dry chuckle. "I'll live."

Silence settled between them again, stretching, pressing down on them like the cold air. Ava shifted, her fingers gripping the edges of his jacket draped over her shoulders. It was still warm, still carrying his scent—something faintly like winter and something distinctly _him_.

His eyes flicked toward her hands gripping the fabric, then back up to her face. His jaw tensed.

After a moment, Ava stood and shrugged the jacket off. She crossed the short space between them and held it out.

"Here. I don't need it."

Liam's gaze flicked to hers. He didn't take the jacket right away, hesitation flashing across his features, but then his fingers brushed hers as he grabbed it. The contact was brief, but enough to send a flicker of something unfamiliar through her chest.

"Thanks," he muttered, slinging it over his arm without putting it on.

Ava stepped back, distancing herself again. **This doesn't change anything.**

"Why did you come after me?" The question escaped before she could stop it.

Liam's shoulders stiffened. "Because I couldn't leave you out there."

"Even though you've been ignoring me for two years?"

Liam exhaled sharply through his nose, shaking his head. "This isn't about that."

"Isn't it?" Ava stepped closer, her voice low but sharp. "You act like I don't exist, and now suddenly you care whether I get ripped apart by Frostborn?"

His eyes darkened. "That's different."

"How?"

"Because—" He stopped himself, lips pressing into a tight line. Whatever he had been about to say, he swallowed it down.

Ava waited, but the silence stretched too long. Her fingers curled into fists at her sides. "Forget it."

Without another word, she turned and sat back down against the shelves.

Liam stood there for a moment longer, staring at the ground, his shoulders tense with unsaid words. Then, slowly, he lowered himself to sit by the door, leaning his head back against the cold metal.

Neither of them spoke again.

And this time, the silence was heavier than the cold.

The night passed silently.

Next morning, Ava stirred, her fingers twitching against the cold floor. The air was sharp against her skin, biting through the thin layers of her clothes. She shifted, eyes fluttering open—and froze.

Liam's jacket was draped over her again.

Her breath caught. **But I gave it back…**

She pushed herself up slowly, fingers brushing the worn fabric. It still held faint traces of his warmth, lingering against her skin. The realization sent an unwelcome twist through her chest—something too close to the past. She shoved the jacket off her shoulders as if shaking off the feeling itself.

The air bit harder without it, but she ignored the sting, jaw clenching as she placed the jacket beside her.

Across the room, Liam stood by the narrow window, his shoulders stiff as he gazed through the frost-laced glass. Pale morning light filtered in through the ice, casting faint patterns against the shelves and floor. His breath ghosted the air, faint clouds dissolving into the cold.

"Did you stay up all night?" Ava asked, her voice rough with sleep.

Liam didn't turn. "Didn't sleep much."

"That's stupid."

A faint huff of breath—almost a laugh, but not quite. "Didn't have much of a choice."

Ava rubbed her arms, trying to chase away the cold. Her gaze flicked to the jacket beside her. He should've kept it. The thought was immediate and unwanted. She shoved it aside.

"Where did you go?" she asked instead.

Liam's shoulders tensed. "I didn't go anywhere."

"You just stood there all night?"

"I had to keep watch."

Ava scoffed, rubbed her arms, shivering as she rose to her feet. Her legs ached from the night on the hard floor, muscles stiff with cold. She glanced toward the small window set high in the wall—just enough to catch a glimpse of the world outside.

She stepped closer.

Her breath hitched.

Beyond the frost-laced glass, the world was a frozen graveyard. Snow-covered streets stretched out into a haze of white and gray, the outlines of cars buried beneath thick drifts of ice. The skeletal branches of trees sagged under heavy frost, their limbs brittle and unmoving.

And then—

A hand.

Pale, stiff fingers protruded from a snowbank just beyond the window's edge, half-buried in ice. The skin was gray-blue beneath the frost, frozen solid against the glass. Ava's chest tightened, breath catching in her throat as her gaze darted further—another shape slumped against a nearby streetlamp, their face obscured by frost, body stiff and unmoving.

Her pulse pounded in her ears. She gripped the windowsill tighter, forcing herself to look. **Don't look away.** She needed to remember. Needed to understand what they were up against.

Everything outside was dead. Frozen mid-motion as if the world had simply stopped.

"Ava."

Liam's voice pulled her back, sharp but not unkind. She turned, pulse still hammering in her chest. His eyes flicked toward the window, then back to her. He didn't ask what she had seen. Maybe he already knew.

"We need to move soon," he said.

Ava swallowed the lump in her throat, forcing herself to breathe past the tightness in her chest. She stepped back from the window, rubbing her arms against the cold as she crossed the room.

"The supply bags," she said, voice rough from sleep and the chill in the air. "Riley and I left them in the cafeteria when we ran. We need to get them."

Liam's gaze sharpened. "Supply bags?"

" Water, some food maybe some knifes—enough to help people last until the storm dies down." She exhaled sharply. "We didn't have time to grab them before the Frostborn attacked."

Liam nodded. "Alright. Then we—"

A loud crash echoed from the hallway, cutting him off.

Both of them froze. Ava's pulse spiked as her gaze darted to the door. Footsteps pounded outside, fast and uneven—accompanied by ragged breathing and panicked whispers.

Then the door burst open.

A group of students stumbled inside—four boys and one girl, their faces pale with fear, their breaths ragged clouds in the air. Frost clung to their jackets, and their eyes darted wildly around the room as if expecting something to follow them in.

One of the boys slammed the door shut, chest heaving. His hands fumbled to brace the shelves against the frame, the faint clatter of metal breaking the heavy silence.

Ava took a step back, heart hammering against her ribs. Liam shifted beside her, eyes sharp as they scanned the group.

"Are they still following you?" he asked, his voice low and firm.

The girl nodded quickly, her breaths hitching. "They—they're right behind us—"

A distant, bone-chilling wail echoed from somewhere deep within the building.

Ava's stomach dropped.

They weren't alone anymore.