The silence between them wasn't empty anymore—it was filled with everything neither of them had fully said yet, and the more Zein tried to ignore it, the clearer it became that there was no escaping it now.
"This is wrong," she said.
"Why?" Ace asked.
"Because it is," she replied.
"That's not an answer," he said.
"It doesn't need to be," she insisted.
"It does for me," he replied.
Zein looked away briefly.
"…we shouldn't be like this," she said.
"Like what?" he asked.
"This," she said.
"Still can't define it?" he asked.
"…I don't want to," she replied.
"Why?" he asked.
"…because if I do, it becomes real," she said.
Ace took a step closer.
"It already is," he said.
Zein shook her head.
"No, it's not," she said.
"Yes, it is," he replied.
"No, it's not," she repeated.
"Then why are you still here?" he asked.
Zein didn't answer immediately.
"…I don't know," she said softly.
"Say it," he said.
"I won't," she replied.
"Say it," he repeated.
Zein closed her eyes briefly.
"…because I don't want to leave," she admitted.