Page 118 of The Prime-Time Experiment

The host’s smile sharpened knowingly. “Your social media announcement nearly broke the internet.”

Declan winced slightly beside her. “Yeah, that was… a lot.”

Riley tilted her head a fraction. “The response appeared statistically disproportionate to the variable.”

A quiet laugh escaped him. “That’s one way to put it.”

Another wave of laughter echoed from the audience through the television speakers before the host leaned forward slightly, her expression softening.

“But I do have one final question.”

Her gaze shifted between them more carefully this time, the energy of the interview settling into something quieter.

“After everything, what would you say was the most important outcome of this experiment?”

There was a brief pause, before Declan answered first, “Her.”

Onscreen, Riley didn’t retreat inward or pause to organise a response into something safer, she simply looked at him fully for a moment before turning back toward the host.

“Him.”

The interview ended gently after that, less like a conclusion and more like the final note of something that had already said everything it needed to.

For a second, the living room stayed quiet, then Dee groaned loudly, dragging both hands down her face.

“Oh my god,” she complained. “That was actually sickening. You’re both unbearable.”

Tyler snorted from the opposite end of the couch. “Seriously. I need warning next time. That was intense.”

Leanne turned on them instantly, wiping under her eyes with absolutely no embarrassment. “That was beautiful,” she informed them thickly before narrowing her gaze. “You two are emotionally stunted.”

“I’m just saying,” Dee shot back, pointing accusingly toward the television, “if I have to watch one more soft little longing stare—”

“There were no stares,” Riley said calmly.

“There were at least twelve,” Tyler cut in immediately.

“It was what you’d call ‘statistically prolonged eye contact’,” Dee added, like that somehow made the situation significantly worse.

Declan laughed quietly beside her, his arm tightening around her shoulders. “You’re all just jealous.”

“Of what?” Tyler asked flatly. “Open communication?”

“Yes,” Leanne snapped. “Try it sometime.”

From the floor, Ebony still hadn’t looked away from the television screen. “I found it informative,” she said quietly.

That finally dissolved the room into softer laughter, the teasing energy easing into something warmer now, more familiar than chaotic.

Riley’s attention drifted back toward the television, though the interview already ended, replaced seamlessly by another segment. Her gaze lingered there for a moment longer, but her focus didn’t. It remained somewhere quieter, detached from the movement on the screen and the ongoing noise of the room around her.

The room itself hadn’t really settled either.

Leanne was already enthusiastically recounting her favourite part of the interview to Charlie despite the fact he had been sitting beside her the entire time. Dee had immediately joined in, adding increasingly exaggerated details that had absolutely not happened. Tyler continued trying unsuccessfully to correct both of them while being ignored in real time.

Ebony, meanwhile, had shifted her attention entirely. She was watching Riley now, calmly observant, like she had already noticed something Riley herself was only just beginning to fully understand.

Riley registered all of it without effort. Without sorting it, or the need to analyse the social dynamics. No need to mentally organise each interaction into something structured and interpretive. It simply existed around her.