The night air in Los Angeles was cooler than usual. A breeze swept gently through the trees that lined the UCLA campus, rustling the leaves with soft whispers. Lights shimmered from the dorm buildings, but this far out, near the practice field benches, it was quiet.
Ryan sat on the edge of the wooden bench, his forearms resting on his knees. Beside him, Ivy leaned back, gazing up at the stars.
It had been only an hour since their semifinal win, but the chaos had finally died down. No reporters, no team meetings, no shouts of celebration. Just the two of them under the stars.
"You ever get nights like this back in Rosehill?" Ivy asked softly.
Ryan smiled faintly. "Not exactly. Stars, yeah. Quiet, definitely. But it always felt heavier somehow. Like the silence carried memories with it."
She turned her head toward him, curious. "Tell me about it. I know you're from a small town, but that's about it."
He hesitated, then nodded. "Alright. You asked for it."
"It's called Rosehill"
"It's small. Like, blink-and-you-miss-it small," Ryan began. "Two stoplights, one diner, and a bookstore that smells like old paper and fresh coffee. That's home."
Ivy smiled. "That actually sounds… kind of charming."
"It is," Ryan said. "In its own weird way."
He leaned back, eyes looking past the stars, as if trying to find something hidden behind them.
"I moved there with my mom—Sarah—when I was fifteen. We lived in an apartment above her café. She opened it from scratch, just her and some old recipes she brought from California."
"She sounds strong."
"She is," Ryan said, voice softening. "The strongest person I know. She left Rosehill once, years ago. Got pregnant with me, moved to California on her own. But when things got tough, she went back. And she rebuilt her life."
Ivy watched his eyes, the way they glimmered with admiration.
"What about your dad?" she asked gently.
Ryan looked away for a second, then shrugged. "Long story. Complicated. Let's just say I grew up without him… but I met him eventually. He still lives in Rosehill."
She didn't press. She just nodded, like she understood the silence between his words.
Ben
"There's this one guy," Ryan continued, "Ben. He's my best friend. Kind of a weirdo, in the best way. Talks too much, cracks bad jokes, watches old sci-fi movies like they're religious texts."
Ivy chuckled. "Sounds like a fun guy."
"He is. He was the first person who didn't treat me like an outsider when I moved there. Everyone else kept their distance. Ben just… sat next to me at lunch one day and started talking like we were already friends."
He smiled at the memory. "He's got this big heart. Always tries to fix things, even when it's not his mess."
Ivy tilted her head. "You miss him?"
"Every day."
There was a beat of silence before Ivy said, "You ever tell him that?"
Ryan smirked. "Nah. He'd cry and then make it weird."
She laughed softly. "Still, you should."
Savannah
"There's also Savannah," Ryan said. "She's one of the kindest people I've ever known. She used to help out at my mom's café on weekends. We dated for a while."
"Oh?" Ivy raised an eyebrow.
Ryan smiled. "Relax, it wasn't like that. We were young. I think we were both trying to fill spaces in our hearts that weren't meant for each other. We realized it early, and we stayed friends."
"She must've been someone special if you trusted her like that."
"She was. Still is. She always believed in me, even when I didn't believe in myself."
Ivy was quiet for a moment. "You have a good circle. Real people."
Ryan nodded. "They kept me grounded."
Anna
Then he paused.
Ivy noticed the change in his tone before he said a word.
"And then there's Anna," Ryan said slowly.
"She was… different. We didn't talk for a long time when I first got to Rosehill. I'd see her in the hallways, hear her name in conversations. Everyone liked her. She had this… fire. Like she wasn't afraid of anything."
Ivy leaned forward, sensing something deeper.
"What happened between you two?"
Ryan took a breath.
"We got close. Really close. But things got complicated. She's… family. Half-sister, technically."
Ivy's eyes widened slightly, but she didn't flinch.
"We didn't know," Ryan added quickly. "Neither of us. Not until much later. It broke us for a while."
"But you're okay now?"
"We talk. It's not the same, but… there's peace between us. She's doing great—going into Columbia, actually. Wants to fix the world."
Ivy nodded slowly. "I'm glad you told me."
"You sure?" he asked, half-joking, half-nervous. "Most people would run."
Ivy smiled gently. "Ryan, everyone has a past. What matters is what you carry from it—and how you carry it."
Stillness Between Them
For a long moment, they sat in silence. Not the awkward kind, but the kind that fills the air when two people understand each other.
The lights from the nearby gym flickered out, one by one. Somewhere in the distance, the faint sounds of campus nightlife murmured, but here, it was just them.
Ryan turned to her. "Sometimes I wonder what life would've been like if I never left."
Ivy tilted her head. "Do you regret coming here?"
"No," he said softly. "But Rosehill made me who I am. It gave me scars, sure, but it also gave me roots. You ever feel like that about home?"
"I do," Ivy said. "I miss my brother. He's back in Oregon. We don't talk as much as we should. But yeah, I know what it's like to miss pieces of your life while trying to build something new."
Ryan looked at her, truly looked, and for the first time he felt that invisible wall inside him shift just a little more.
"I think I'm glad I ended up here," he said.
"Yeah?"
He nodded. "Because if I didn't… I wouldn't have met you."