Kristen looked at him like he was a sick puppy. Noah knew what she was going to say before she said it.

"Noah," she began, "this is the time of life when people fall in love. You might want to try finding someone who will appreciate you as you deserve, rather than waiting for something that might never happen."

He sighed. If only he could.

It wasn't that Violet didn't appreciate him; she did. She told him so constantly. But it was a best-friend kind of appreciation, not what he wanted. In fact, she probably appreciated him more than anyone else in the world. He always felt comfortable, needed, and important around her. That's how their relationship had worked for as long as he could remember.

"You say that like I haven't tried," Noah said, his tone tinged with frustration. "I've been hanging out with other people lately, trying to fill the void she left, but it hasn't worked."

It started on Halloween. He'd reconnected with some high school friends he'd drifted from and crashed their party. Even though they watched the same movies he usually watched with Violet, it felt completely different.

After that, whenever Violet was busy with Jeremy and he wanted to hang out, he'd reach out to one of those friends for dinner, board games, or a movie. Sometimes they were available; other times, he ended up at home watching TV with the dog.

Noah was ambivalent about people. Growing up, if he wasn't with Violet, he was content doing his own thing or hanging out with school friends—it depended on whether anyone asked him. He had fun with these new friends, but if he had to choose between them and his best friend, he'd pick her every time. After graduation, most of his friends went to college. He ended up spending a lot of time with Violet and her fellow dance majors since he didn't have any coworkers his age.

Violet was an introvert who only seemed to reach out to others in an attempt to be more like her extroverted twin. All her life, she'd only truly wanted a couple of close friends.

Noah perfectly filled the role of "her person." He wasn't exactly like her—he genuinely enjoyed other people's company—but he always preferred hers. Seeing her ten times for every time he saw other friends was perfectly fine with him. Now, it seemed to be the other way around, and it wasn't working.

"Have you ever tried telling her how you feel?" Kristen asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No," Noah said miserably, "because I'm afraid of losing her completely. She's a hopeless romantic and only sees me as a brother. I've never known life without her. I can't let that happen."

She shook her head sadly. "You're pitiful, my friend. I really don't know what to tell you."

"Thanks," Noah replied sarcastically, then sighed. Kristen didn't deserve that; she was only trying to help. "I'm sorry. I haven't really felt like myself lately."

She shrugged. "No worries. But if you ever need someone to hang out with when she's ditching you for that guy, my boyfriend and I have a lot of free time. You're welcome to join us. We play a lot of video games."

This time, his thanks were sincere. That was really kind of her.

After they parted ways, Noah decided he needed to be more aggressive if he wanted some of Violet's time. Tomorrow, she had a short break for dinner between her matinee and evening performances.

He knew her usual restaurant—it was close to Lincoln Center, where the performances were held, and the only place nearby with healthy options. He would simply meet her there.

As predicted, Violet headed toward her usual restaurant between shows—today was the final performance of Cinderella, and he planned to have dinner with her before the closing night show. She always took a shortcut through a couple of alleys to avoid crowds, despite Noah's warnings.

He saw her turning into one a few hundred feet ahead. An older man followed closely behind her. That was suspicious.

Noah quickened his pace to ensure the man didn't try anything. The man followed Violet through two alleys before reaching out to grab her shoulder.

Noah's protective instincts kicked in. He leaped forward, knocking the man to the ground with a single kick. Violet nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Noah! What—"

"This guy was trying to grab you," he explained sheepishly.

"Who are you?" she demanded, hands on her hips, looking cold and fierce.

The man groaned, clutching his stomach. "Sorry to scare you. I was only trying to say hi. I saw your show and thought you did a great job."

That wasn't any less creepy. Stalking her after her show? That sounded like something a deranged fan would do.

"You didn't answer my question," Violet said frostily.

The man laughed. "For a second, I thought I was talking to your father twenty-six years ago. He used to give me the same attitude. I should have introduced myself; my name is Michael Gray, and I'm an old friend of your parents'."

She eyed him suspiciously. An old friend of her parents'? Noah didn't buy it either. He knew all her parents' friends, and he'd never seen or heard of this man.

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