Nova’s POVI had no idea when me and Eli finally crashed last night. All I knew was that my face hurt from laughing too much, and honestly? It was the best kind of ache. Seeing him smile, genuinely smile again felt like a tiny piece of the universe was finally in order. We talked about everything: Aiden, Ty, random nonsense… and yes, Eli has officially claimed the title of biggest shipper of Nova and Aiden. No contest.When I woke up, though? He was gone.“Where’d he run off to now?” I muttered as I stretched and dragged myself out of bed. After a quick shower and a lazy attempt to look human, I headed downstairs.“The lover girl lives!” Eli’s voice sang out before I even reached the dining room. Arnold chuckled in response.“Ha-ha. Hilarious,” I said, plopping into a chair and grabbing an apple. “When did you start waking up early?” I narrowed my eyes at Eli.“I heard your brother shuffling around and decided to check it out,” he replied casually.“I was shuffling,” Arnold said, sett
Nova’s POVI was on cloud eleven by the time Aiden dropped me off. Honestly, I didn’t even feel like getting out of the car, but reality had other plans.Still, sitting there in front of my house with him made it feel real.I didn’t even know what I was thinking when I leaned in and gave him that tiny kiss before running inside,actually, scratch that. I wasn’t thinking at all. Aiden Cross was officially my boyfriend. What normal teenage girl could possibly stay calm after that? Definitely not me.Even if I’d seen this coming, it still felt unreal. It was either we’d make it official… or, well, let’s not even think about the “or.” None of that mattered now. What mattered was this—us.The second I closed the door behind me, I leaned against it, heart pounding like crazy.“Why are you breathing like you’re being chased?” Arnold asked, casually strolling toward me with his usual big-brother smirk. “What’d you do this time?”“Like I’d ever do anything,” I replied, peeling myself away from
Aiden’s POVI wasn’t sure how I managed to gather the confidence to ask Nova out.For days, I’d put it off. But then she told me what Judy had said to her, and I couldn’t shake the look in her eyes, even after she smiled again. It still bothered her, no matter how hard she tried to hide it.And I couldn’t let that stand.If anyone was going to prove Judy wrong, it had to be me.Commitment wasn’t exactly my strong point in past relationships, but this was different. Nova was different. For the first time in a long time, I wanted to be serious. I figured putting a title on what we had was the first step in proving it to her, and to myself.When I asked her to hang out while I dropped her off, I didn’t have anything planned. Even after she agreed, I was still blank. I wanted it to be special, but nothing over the top, Nova would only roll her eyes and think I wasn’t serious if I tried anything too flashy. And I couldn’t afford to mess this up.I had two days to figure it out, but the mor
Nova's POV;Weekends were supposed to be about sleeping in and eating questionable meals without guilt. But apparently, my heart had other plans, plans that involved a certain Aiden Cross.I’d spent the last two days pretending to be completely unaffected. Totally normal. Totally fine. Except now, standing in front of my closet like I was about to go to war with every single piece of clothing I owned, I wasn’t fooling anyone.“Girl, you’ll look good in anything. Can you stop staring already?”I turned to find Eli leaning against my doorframe, his arms crossed and an amused smile plastered across his face.“Why are you even here?” I asked, though I couldn’t stop the smile tugging at my lips.He raised a brow. “Did you forget you called me, almost crying—because you didn’t know what to wear?”“Oh.”“Yeah. Oh,” he replied, smirking as he got up. “Now pick something out of what I laid on the bed before I change my mind. And hurry up, your Prince Charming will be here any second.”He wasn’
Nova’s POV Leaving school with Aiden and Eli, and in a surprisingly better mood, felt like the biggest win of the day. I didn’t know how Aiden did it, but those few words he said earlier were enough to quiet the loudest doubt I’d been carrying. Sure, I still planned to have that "title talk" with him eventually, but I figured I could at least… breathe for now. And honestly? Going on like this didn’t feel bad at all. “Don’t tell me we’re leaving without your brother,” Eli said as we reached the parking lot. Thankfully, he’d kept that small but genuine smile on his face all afternoon. A miracle, really. “As a matter of fact,” Aiden said, stopping mid-step, “we are. He texted me that he had something to do and asked me to get you two home safely.” “But he didn’t text me?” Eli frowned, pulling out his phone. “Oh wait—he did,” he said after a second, his face lighting up. “Something about a group project.” “So he texted everyone but his own sister,” I said, shaking my head with a
Aiden’s POVI knew something was off the second I saw Nova walking toward me in the hallway.I’d been waiting exactly where I knew she’d pass, ready to tease her about how slow she walks or maybe steal one of those smiles I’d been getting addicted to. But the closer she got, the more obvious it was, something wasn’t right.Her shoulders were slumped, her steps slower, and the spark in her eyes… gone.This morning she’d been laughing. Even before class, she’d looked happier than I’d seen her in days. And now?“Hey,” she said finally, giving me a tired smile that confirmed everything I already knew.“What’s wrong?” I asked, scanning her face.“Do I look like something’s wrong?” she replied, leaning against the locker like she could hide it.“Yeah,” I said without hesitation. “You do.”She huffed out a small laugh. “Well, I’m fine. Just tired, you know… from all the classes and stuff.”Yeah, no. Total lie.“You’re doing that thing again, Nova,” I said, crossing my arms.Her brow furrowed