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Scene 5 — The Smile That Terrified Him
(A moment too delicate to touch… yet impossible to look away from.)
The room had quieted. Only the soft hum of distant clinking filled the space, like the echo of something sacred. Then, Sarah looked at him.
Not by accident.
Not in fear.
But truly—looked.
Their eyes locked, cautiously, like two souls peeking through a crack in a long-frozen window. Not tense. Not uncomfortable. Just... searching. There was something warm in that gaze, something Andrew wasn't ready for—and that scared him more than silence ever had.
It was Sam, of course, who broke the stillness.
> "All right," he groaned theatrically. "I feel like a side character no one invited. Background filler. Wallpaper."
Sarah giggled—light and melodic.
> "You're not a side character," she replied with a spark. "You're more like... a knife."
Sam blinked, mock-offended.
> "Wow. That was sharp. Point taken."
Andrew didn't laugh. He wasn't even breathing right. His eyes never left Sarah.
And in his mind—chaos.
Why now? Why like this?
She still had that shy edge, yes. Still hesitant. Still careful. But she wasn't scared. Not anymore.
She was opening up. Because of him.
That truth... pierced.
He thought:
> She should hate me. I brought her here without choice. She's small. Fragile. I frightened her. I was the storm.
But she smiled.
Like none of that mattered.
Like the shadows had never touched her.
Like he hadn't once been the thing she feared.
And that smile—so soft, so fearless—it shattered him.
It terrified him.
Because for the first time in years...
He was the one who felt seen.
And he didn't know if he deserved it
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"She smiled like he hadn't broken her—and that was the thing that broke him."
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