The apartment was quiet except for the low hum of the city outside and the faint crackle of a pizza box being folded shut. Ivy sighed as she leaned back into the soft cushions of Maze’s foot-shaped loveseat, her legs curled under her. She felt more at ease after the meal, but her emotional weight hadn’t entirely lifted.

  Maze sprawled zily beside her, her arm draped over the back of the loveseat. The dim RGB lighting painted the room soft, shifting purples and blues, casting long shadows across Maze’s sharp features. “Alright,” Maze began, her tone softer than usual. “You’ve been holding onto all of this—spill it. Tell me what happened.”

  Ivy hesitated, but the warmth in Maze’s gaze encouraged her. She started from the beginning: Avery’s cutting remarks, the crowd of vandals, the graffiti, her frantic scramble to hide with Harper’s painting in the secret studio, and how Harper had taken her in afterward. Her voice cracked as she recounted the helplessness she’d felt, the overwhelming terror of watching her safe space crumble to ash.

  Maze leaned forward, her messy hair falling into her face. “Ivy, I didn’t know it was this bad. When I heard about the fire, I—I couldn’t breathe. The thought of losing you…” She swallowed hard, her gsses catching the light as she adjusted them. “I realized I’ve been taking you for granted, and I don’t want to do that anymore.”

  Ivy gave a weak smile. “You’re being dramatic. I’m fine. Really.”

  Maze’s hand brushed over Ivy’s, her touch lingering. “No, you’re not. And you don’t have to be fine all the time.” Her voice dropped to a near whisper, a vulnerability creeping in. “I wasn’t there when you needed me, but I’m here now. Let me take care of you.”

  Ivy opened her mouth to protest, but Maze was already moving closer. She wrapped her arms around Ivy, pulling her into a hug. It was warm and comforting at first, but then Maze’s hands began to wander, sliding down to Ivy’s waist, her fingers tracing slow circles. Ivy stiffened as Maze’s voice dropped, sultry and low. “You deserve to feel safe. To feel... good.”

  “Maze…” Ivy began, her voice uncertain.

  Maze tilted Ivy’s chin up, her dark eyes searching Ivy’s face. “You don’t have to be strong right now,” she murmured, leaning in. Their lips met, a slow, lingering kiss that deepened as Maze pulled Ivy onto her p. Her hands moved deliberately, one caressing Ivy’s back, the other brushing against her side.

  For a moment, Ivy was caught in its warmth—the familiarity, the way Maze always seemed to know exactly how to touch her. But then a sharp crity broke through the haze, and she pulled back, pcing a firm hand on Maze’s chest.

  “Stop,” Ivy said, her tone resolute despite how flushed she looked. “Maze, this isn’t right.”

  Maze blinked, confused. “What do you mean?”

  “This—this thing between you and Harper,” Ivy said, her voice rising slightly. “It’s like some game to you. I don’t want any part of it.”

  Maze sighed, running a hand through her messy hair. “It’s not like that, Ivy. Harper’s just... a momentary distraction, alright? A pse in judgment.”

  Ivy frowned, crossing her arms. “That’s not good enough, Maze. Not for me.”

  Maze hesitated, then nodded reluctantly. “Alright. I’ll stop. For now.” She leaned back, her hands falling away from Ivy. But her expression softened, her voice gentle again. “I just want you to know... Harper might not think about you the way I do. She’s a colleague, Ivy. I’m your friend. Your real friend. I know you better than anyone.”

  Ivy looked away, conflicted. “I don’t need anyone to care for me,” she murmured.

  Maze reached out again, her hand brushing over Ivy’s arm. “Maybe not. But you shouldn’t expect Harper to go this far for you. Do you think she’d do half of this? Rebuild your life? No. That’s what I’m here for.” Her voice dipped, teasing. “You remember how good we were together, don’t you? How good I made you feel?”

  Ivy’s cheeks burned as the memories surfaced, her gaze dropping. “Maze…”

  “Think about it,” Maze murmured, leaning back into the loveseat with a self-satisfied smirk.

  The moment broke when Ivy excused herself to the bathroom, needing space to clear her head. As soon as the door clicked shut, Maze noticed Ivy’s phone vibrating on the coffee table. The name Harper fshed across the screen. Maze’s eyes narrowed, her lips curling into a sly smile as she silenced the call and slid the phone face-down.

  When Ivy returned, Maze’s attention was fully on her, her expression warm and inviting. “Feel better?” Maze asked casually as if nothing had happened.

  Ivy nodded, but something about Maze’s smile made her chest tighten, settling over her with a strange unease. She sat down, forcing herself to push the feeling away, though the shadow of Harper’s presence in her life lingered at the back of her mind.

  ***

  After chatting a little longer, Ivy asked Maze where she could buy supplies. Maze suggested the mall, and so they both headed out, with Ivy making a mental note of what she wanted to buy.

  The mall was bustling with life. The hum of chatter, the clinking of cash registers, and the upbeat pop music piped through the speakers blended into a lively, slightly overwhelming, atmosphere. Ivy and Maze stepped through the gss doors, the chill of the air conditioning washing over them.

  Maze, in her ripped bck jeans and striped purple-and-bck sweater, looked every bit the edgy rebel against the backdrop of bright shopfronts and pastel dispys. She slipped her arm around Ivy’s waist as they walked, her spiked boots clicking against the polished tiles. Ivy, dressed in her simpler ensemble of a pair of jeans and a loose puff-sleeved blouse, felt a little out of pce as she wasn’t in her usual summery dresses and was keen on picking up some new or simir items to at least tide herself over until she could settle where she would be staying.

  “So, are we starting with new clothes?” Maze asked, steering Ivy gently toward a boutique with soft, cottagecore aesthetics. The window dispy featured flowing dresses, oversized sweaters, and racks of pastel and earth-toned garments.

  Ivy nodded, eyes scanning the racks as Maze stuck close to her side, her hand never leaving Ivy’s waist. “This one would look amazing on you,” Maze said, pulling a sunflower-yellow dress from the rack and holding it against Ivy’s frame. “Or maybe this?” She plucked a knitted cream cardigan next, draping it over her arm.

  Ivy ughed lightly, shaking her head. “Maze, I can pick out my clothes. You don’t have to do everything for me.”

  “But I want to,” Maze insisted, her tone warm but with a hint of stubbornness. She held Ivy’s hand as they moved further into the store, squeezing it gently. “You’ve been through hell. Just let me help, okay?”

  Ivy sighed, trying to mask her growing discomfort as Maze’s attentiveness edged into overbearing. “I appreciate it, Maze, but you don’t have to follow me like... like a puppy.”

  Maze paused, her brows knitting together. “I’m not following you like a puppy. I just... want to be here for you.”

  “You are here for me,” Ivy said softly, trying to keep her tone gentle. “But you don’t have to hold my hand through everything.”

  Maze frowned her grip on Ivy’s hand loosening. “I’m just worried about you. You’re acting like you’re fine, but you’re not, Ivy. Let me—”

  “I am fine,” Ivy cut in, her voice firmer than before. She stepped away slightly, her arms folding across her chest. “I just... I need a little space, okay? This isn’t about you, Maze.”

  The words hung between them momentarily, Maze’s expression flickering between hurt and concern. Then, she nodded slowly, taking a step back. “Alright,” she said quietly. “I hear you. But I’m still carrying all your bags.”

  Despite herself, Ivy smiled. “Fair enough.”

  They continued shopping, Maze dialing back her hovering slightly, though the tension lingered like a faint shadow. As they moved through the store, Ivy tried on a few pieces, and Maze made a show of holding up shirts and dresses, pyfully vetoing some with exaggerated disgust.

  “Absolutely not,” Maze said, holding a neon pink crop top at arm’s length like it was radioactive. “This is the enemy of fashion.”

  Ivy snorted, shaking her head. “It’s just a shirt, Maze.”

  “A shirt with an agenda,” Maze retorted, stuffing it back onto the rack.

  It lightened the mood just enough, and it felt like old times for a moment. Still, Ivy couldn’t entirely shake the unease curling in her chest. Maze’s care was endearing, but it also felt suffocating in a way she couldn’t quite articute.

  ***

  Harper entered her apartment with a light heart, carrying a paper bag of carefully selected lunch items. The savory aroma of pies and earthy mushroom soup clung to the bag, a little effort she thought might bring a smile to Ivy’s face. But the smile she’d anticipated faded quickly as she found the apartment empty.

  “Ivy?” Harper called out, her voice cutting through the silence. She set the bag on the kitchen counter and walked toward the bedroom. The perfectly made bed and the absence of movement or sound felt wrong. She checked the bathroom, the balcony, and even the undry room. Nothing.

  Harper pulled out her phone, dialing Ivy’s number with a growing knot in her stomach. It rang once, twice, three times—straight to voicemail. “Ivy, it’s me. Call me back when you get this, okay? I just... want to make sure you’re alright.” She hung up and stared at her phone, willing it to ring, her foot tapping out an anxious rhythm against the floor.

  She scrolled to her tracking app, something she’d hesitated over but installed on Ivy’s phone anyway, just in case. Harper hated invading someone’s privacy, but the thought of losing Ivy to the chaos surrounding her had been too much to bear. Now, with her hands trembling, she opened the app. A red dot blinked steadily on the map, miles away from her apartment at a nearby mall.

  “What the hell?” Harper muttered under her breath. She grabbed her car keys and stormed out, her pace brisk, her mind spinning with unanswered questions. Why would she just leave? Did something happen? Why didn’t she say anything?

  Harper barely registered the familiar streets as she drove, her jaw clenched and her knuckles white against the steering wheel. By the time she pulled into the mall parking lot, her pulse was racing with a mix of worry and frustration. She followed the blinking dot on her phone, weaving through the busy crowd, her sharp bck boots thudding against the polished floor tiles with every determined step.

  Finally, Harper spotted her.

  Ivy stood in the department store, holding up two tops, a green floral one in her left hand and a blue one in her right. Her head tilted slightly, her brows furrowed in deliberation. Harper stopped in her tracks, her breath catching for a moment. The anxiety that had wound tightly in her chest began to unravel, repced by something gentler yet no less intense.

  She watched Ivy bite her lip in thought, her petite frame swamped by the oversized cardigan she wore. The sight should have been ridiculous, but Harper thought she’d never seen Ivy look more endearing. For a second, Harper simply stood there, her eyes drinking in the sight of Ivy’s soft, vulnerable presence in the middle of the bustling store.

  But the relief was quickly overtaken by a simmering frustration. Why didn’t she tell me? Why did she leave without a word? Harper straightened, brushing a hand down her bck button-down to steady herself. The irritation mixed with the lingering fear, creating a firestorm of emotions she wasn’t prepared to contain...

  The atmosphere in the department store shifted like a storm cloud rolling in. Harper’s relief upon finding Ivy turned into a white-hot fury as Maze sauntered into view, holding up a soft pink cardigan. Harper’s jaw clenched as she watched Maze approach Ivy from behind, pulling the smaller girl into a possessive embrace. Maze nuzzled against Ivy’s hair, murmuring something Harper couldn’t hear. Ivy was startled, her face flushed as she scolded Maze, shoving her away, but she still accepted the cardigan with a small, reluctant nod.

  That was all Harper needed to see. Her blood boiled, her fists curling at her sides as she stormed toward them, her heavy boots eating up the distance. By the time Maze noticed her, it was too te.

  “Harper—” Ivy began, but Harper was in Maze’s face, shoving her down onto the ground and towering over her before the words fully formed.

  The thud of Maze hitting the ground echoed through the store like a thundercp. Maze stared up, her eyes wide with shock as she brought a hand to her shoulder, feeling the sting of Harper’s shove. Around them, shoppers froze, and the telltale glow of camera phones lit up the air like a swarm of fireflies.

  “What the hell, Harper?!” Maze shouted, her voice echoing off the department store walls. Anger bzed in her eyes, and without hesitation, she lunged at Harper, grabbing the colr of her button-down and yanking her forward. “What gives you the right to come in here and pull that crap?”

  Harper didn’t flinch, her hands shoved nonchantly into her pockets as she met Maze’s furious gaze with icy indifference. “What gives you the right,” Harper said, calm but razor-sharp, “to put your hands on what’s mine?”

  “Yours?” Maze scoffed, her grip on Harper’s shirt tightening. “Last I checked, Ivy’s a grown woman. She’s not some property for you to cim.”

  “And yet, here you are, acting like some desperate, clingy puppy,” Harper shot back, her lips curling into a smirk. “Do you think Ivy doesn’t see right through you?”

  Maze’s face twisted with fury. “At least I was honest with her! Unlike you, hiding the fact that her house burned down like some coward. What kind of ‘protector’ does that make you?”

  The words hit Harper like a sp, but she didn’t let it show.

  “Oh, don’t bother to act innocent. I saw your manager, Kim, on the news site. There is no way you didn’t know about it since this morning,” Maze sneered, releasing Harper’s colr but moving from foot to foot, barely containing her anger.

  Harper tilted her head, her smirk widening. “I’ve been protecting Ivy from the chaos brought into her life by this industry because of people like you. If I wanted, I could end this whole charade right now. She’d see exactly who you are.”

  “You think you’re better than me?” Maze snarled, her voice rising. “You’re just a self-righteous asshole who thinks money can solve everything!”

  “Money solves a lot of things,” Harper replied coolly, leaning in so their faces were inches apart. “But you wouldn’t know that, would you? All you have to offer Ivy is empty promises and drama.”

  “Say that again, I dare you,” Maze growled, her fists shaking as she fought the urge to swing. The tension crackled between them like a live wire, the crowd around them now fully engrossed in the escating scene. “At least I’m not pretending she’s mine.”

  “That’s rich coming from you,” Harper shot back, her voice rising. “I saw you just now. Hands all over her, ignoring her boundaries like you’re entitled to her attention. You’re no saint, Maze. Don’t pretend otherwise.”

  Standing frozen a few feet away, Ivy felt her heart hammering in her chest. The intensity between the two women was suffocating, the tension like a live wire sparking dangerously between them. She tried to step in, raising her voice. “Girls, stop! This isn’t—”

  “Stay out of it, Ivy,” both Maze and Harper barked simultaneously, their voices slicing through the air like a whip. Ivy flinched, stepping back as the two returned to their heated standoff.

  “Unlike you, I don’t manipute people,” Maze growled, her face inches from Harper’s. “Ivy deserves better than someone who hides the truth from her. Someone who thinks she can just swoop in and control everything.”

  Harper’s smirk faded, repced by a gre that could rival a thunderstorm. “And she deserves better than someone willing to sabotage her life just to keep her close. I doubt she is the one who put her phone on silent. I don’t think I noticed that my calls weren’t getting picked up. Real cssy move, Maze.”

  Maze’s grip faltered briefly, her expression betraying her guilt. But she recovered quickly, narrowing her eyes. “You don’t get to decide what’s best for her, Harper.”

  “And neither do you,” Harper said, her voice cold and final.

  Ivy started moving back in the chaos, taking the chance to slip away. Her hands trembling, she slipped between gawking onlookers and darted toward the exit. The voices of Harper and Maze faded into the background as she pushed through the crowd, her heart pounding in her chest.

  The cool air outside hit her like a spsh of water, grounding her momentarily. But as she stood on the curb, trying to catch her breath, a fresh wave of anxiety swept over her. Ivy didn’t know where to go or what to do, but she knew one thing for certain—she couldn’t stand being caught in the crossfire any longer.