Summary:

“It’s a mystery,” he added, quieter. “Small town one.” The silence stretched again, but it didn’t scrape at him the way it usually did. It just hovered, fragile. Shane waited for the joke. For the comment about it being boring or pretentious or a waste of time. He waited for the familiar sting. It didn’t come. Instead, Ilya nodded once, slow and deliberate, like that answer had settled something. “Okay,” he said. “I can do that.” or Shane and Ilya have spent months dancing around each other, teasing, competing, and sharing quiet, stolen moments. Between hockey practice, frat house chaos, and long nights watching Twin Peaks, the tension finally breaks—and neither of them can deny what’s been there all along.