subtly a greeting here, a casual nod there. Then came the small gestures. If I forgot to bring a pen, he always seemed to have an extra tucked away. If I missed a line in my notes, he would neatly

s just being polite or treating everyone the same way. But slowly, I began

ery blended into a soothing backdrop as I tried to focus on my textbook. Each line pulled me deeper into a world of ideas, but my concentration was repeatedly

mornin

d saw Ethan standing beside my seat. He held a cup of coffee, his expression as calm as eve

lanced away quickly.

e caffeine," he said, extending th

e and the need to maintain my dist

tly, his tone teasing. "You yawned at le

reep up my neck. "Are you co

Not on purpose. I jus

termined to ignore him. "Thanks, but no

at beside me anyway. He set the coffee down in front of me and

cus back on my textbook, though my mind

fter class, Gift and Favour were already

mirked as we strolled together. "Bec

tered, pushing open the doo

n't just go out of their way like that for some

gh part of me couldn't help but notice t

on. He's not annoying. H

a small smile tugging at m

e finished with a

ded my attention. He was simply there, consistently present, and no matter how much I tried to push him away, he remained unruffled. He took every little interaction in stride, responding with

d solitude, yet here he was, testing the boundaries maybe for fun, maybe out

hings after class, Ethan approached my

this," he

ng out one of my notebooks. "Oh," I mut

s eyes searching, then asked,

blunt question. "

even try to get close," he said quietl

and I bit back a retort. "I just don't lik

mile, as if amused. "And you've al

Ethan simply nodded, as if confirming something he had already suspected. "Alright, Ava. I'll see you tomor

part of me secretly wanted him to continue. For the first time, I wa