Lines Between Us Novels & Stories

The first course arrived like a temporary ceasefire,delicate sashimi arranged with artistic precision, each piece a small work of art that nobody seemed interested in eating. Collins watched Jerome handle his chopsticks with practiced ease, noting the way his long fingers moved with unconscious elegance. He hated noticing. "Jerome," Akihito said suddenly, breaking the strained silence. "I read your quarterly report for Linèa's Southeast Asian expansion." Collins's chopsticks paused halfway to his mouth. His father never discussed business at family dinners,it was one of his sacred rules, carved in stone since Collins was old enough to sit at the adult table.

That was the version that scared me a little bit. I finished the slice, wiped my hands on a napkin, and leaned back, listening to the house settle around me. No parents. No buffer. Just two people who couldn’t stand each other trapped under the same roof. I told myself this was going to be simple. Rules. Distance. Survival. But as a door shut upstairs—soft, final—I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was only the opening move. And Ally Trainer? She didn’t strike me as someone who ever lost a game.

"Maren, Sim and I were born the same year, and we grew up together. This is how we've always been. There aren't really any boundaries between us." I looked at Simon. He was frowning, completely unable to see anything wrong with Ivy's words. Yet in the three years we had dated, he had demanded boundaries from me to an almost brutal degree. I couldn't go to his home. I couldn't touch his phone. I couldn't enter his circle of friends. Even when I accidentally touched the air freshener in his car, he would frown. "Maren, I don't like other people touching my things." All the rules and lines he drew for me became meaningless when they reached Ivy.

When I opened it there was only one line. Now you know the truth. And it changes everything.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

“Deverell, please soften your expressions a little, Miss Kensy, tilt your chin up.” For a moment, Luna thought she saw Deverell raise an eyebrow. They followed her instructions effortlessly. Deverell turned toward Kensy, his fingertips ghosting along her arm. She leaned into him like it was the easiest thing in the world, her lips parted slightly and her gaze half-lidded with a promise, a dream. Click, click, click. Luna took several shots, light flashing with each shutter. They were perfect. The kind that made hearts stop. But something in her stomach twisted.

said Miss Close. "The Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union lasted for decades ." Jenna's voice quivered as soon as she began speaking. "And... And resulted in anti-communist suspicions and international incidents that led the two superpowers to the brink of nuclear disaster..." She continued, clearing her throat. After a while, when she reached the end of her presentation, she realised it wasn't that scary after all. Yes, she was practically shaking but no one made fun of her. She realised that they all had to do a presentation at the end of the day. They must've felt just as intimidated! "Well done Jenna!" Miss Close admired as everyone in the class applauded.

Opening it gladly, I popped one into my mouth and he opened the textbook, his eyes flickering between the pages and my lips. The tension in the air was electrifying but I chose to ignore it and kept on eating the malt chocolate goodness. "Ah hah, the map of Antarctica is right here, mark it please," He said and I was a bit distracted by the chocolate. "Kezie," He dragged and I dropped the pack, licking my lips to get rid of the chocolate. By the time I marked it, I saw him looking at me with hazy eyes. The brown swirl in them had become more ignited which made me a bit flustered, "I'm sorry, I'll stop."

"I love you." Maybe that's just how life works. Maybe everyone gets a happy ending. We just need to find the courage to make it to the end. END

Laurel's cell phone rang while she was arranging their clothes in the closet in a beautiful room on the second floor of this house. This room has a balcony with a bridge overlooking the beach. If we stand at the end of the balcony, we will be able to see a vast view without borders of the sky and the blue sea combined separated by a stunning horizon line. While below, the waves look beautiful rolling, as if calling to invite swimming.

Two broken, guarded people, who, in a single, unguarded moment, had finally put down their walls and found their way home. The next morning, the sky was a clear, brilliant blue. The city was a clean, polished gem, sparkling after the rain. Damian and Isabelle stood in the lobby, waiting for Ms. Romero to pick them up. The tension was gone, replaced by a quiet, comfortable intimacy. They were holding hands, their fingers intertwined, a small, hidden gesture that was a silent promise to each other. They were returning to their lives, but they were not returning to who they were before. They had crossed a line, and there was no going back.