freya jones and malachi barton were childhood best friends. growing up, they were practically inseparable—always together, constantly arguing, sneaking out, sharing secrets and promising that nothing would ever change between them. until freya’s family moved away when they were thirteen. years passed. they barely spoke, and eventually the two became little more than a distant memory to each other. now, at seventeen, freya has moved back to town. she expects everything to feel the same. it doesn’t. malachi is no longer the goofy boy she remembers. he’s confident, sarcastic, competitive and annoyingly good at hiding his feelings. freya has changed too, and neither of them knows what to do when their old friendship starts feeling different. their old friend group slowly comes back together: kylie cantrall, malia baker, joshua colley and mk knife. suddenly, freya is back in the middle of the group like she never left—and everyone quickly notices the tension between her and malachi. at first, they insist they’re just friends. then come the late-night conversations, playful arguments, accidental hand-holding, jealousy and moments where they catch themselves staring at each other for a little too long. malachi also has his thirteen-year-old sister, naomi, who remembers freya from when she was younger. naomi is extremely intelligent but struggles with anxiety, particularly in unfamiliar situations and around lots of people. despite being shy, she has a dry sense of humour and notices far more than people realise. freya immediately reconnects with naomi and becomes someone she feels safe around. malachi is protective of his little sister and secretly relieved to have someone she trusts so much. as freya and malachi rebuild their friendship, they begin discovering that the feelings they have for each other aren’t entirely new. maybe they’ve been there all along, buried underneath years of distance.