The day after Danielle asked me to study together, I pretended it didn’t happen. I told myself it was probably just politeness maybe he said it without really meaning it. People like him didn’t usually notice people like me.
But then… why did my chest tighten every time I replayed the moment?
I shook my head, focusing on the chalkboard. Our professor was writing down a list of requirements, but the words barely registered.
“Jade,” Aizen’s voice broke through my thoughts. He had that sharp tone he used when he noticed something out of place. “You didn’t write anything down.”
I blinked at my blank paper. “Right.” Hastily, I scribbled down the requirements.
Blake leaned back in his chair, smirking. “You sure you’re okay, Jade? You’ve been weird since yesterday.”
Skyler tilted his head thoughtfully. “Weird, but… softer. Happier, maybe.”
I sighed, wishing the ground would swallow me. “You’re overthinking.”
But my friends exchanged looks that made me want to disappear.
Later that day, we gathered at our usual corner table in the cafeteria. The smell of fried chicken and warm rice clung to the air, laughter and chatter buzzing around us.
Blake was ranting about his “tragic” test score while Aizen poked holes in his logic. Skyler listened patiently, adding gentle corrections here and there.
And me? I tried to blend into the background, but my eyes betrayed me.
Because across the room, Danielle sat with a group of MedTech students. His laugh rose above the chatter, bright and genuine, the kind of sound that made the cafeteria feel less suffocating.
He didn’t notice me. Or maybe he did, but he was too busy to care.
Still, I couldn’t look away.
Blake followed my gaze and nearly choked on his drink. “Oh-ho! There he is. The mystery MedTech boy!”
I glared. “Lower your voice.”
Skyler chuckled softly, while Aizen leaned back, studying me with unnerving sharpness.
“You like him.” It wasn’t a question. Just a statement, delivered flat and calm.
Heat crawled up my neck. “I don’t.”
Blake whistled dramatically. “Lies. All lies.”
Before I could defend myself further, Danielle suddenly looked up—and his eyes met mine.
For a split second, the world stilled. Then, casually, he raised his hand in a small wave.
Blake slammed his palm on the table. “HE WAVED. This is history!”
I buried my face in my hands as Skyler chuckled and Aizen smirked knowingly.
By afternoon, I thought I’d escaped them. I found refuge in the library, the only place quiet enough to hear my own thoughts.
I had just opened a book when footsteps stopped at my table.
“Jade, right?”
My heart jumped. Slowly, I looked up. Danielle stood there, holding a thick MedTech book against his chest, his smile softer than the cafeteria one.
“I thought that was you,” he said. “From the clinic.”
My throat tightened. “Yeah.”
“Mind if I sit?”
I nodded mutely, and he slid into the chair across from me. For a few moments, silence hung between us not uncomfortable, but heavy with something unspoken.
Finally, Danielle tilted his head. “So… English major?”
I nodded again. “Literature.”
He grinned. “Knew it. You’ve got the ‘serious student’ vibe. Meanwhile, I’m out here drowning in anatomy terms.”
A laugh escaped me before I could stop it. His grin widened at the sound, as if I’d given him a gift.
We talked for a while about books, professors, even food from the canteen. Nothing deep, nothing dangerous. But each word felt like it chipped away at the wall I’d built around myself.
Then, as he scribbled something in his notes, he said it casually, almost like a passing thought:
“You know, you looked… uneasy earlier, in the cafeteria. Your friends are loud.”
I froze. “You noticed?”
“Hard not to,” he said with a laugh. “The one with the pencil mustache—he’s… Blake, right?”
I groaned, covering my face. “Yes. And the other two are Aizen and Skyler.”
“They seem like good friends,” Danielle said warmly. “Not everyone has that.”
Something in his tone made me look at him differently. As bright as he seemed, there was a shadow there too something unspoken.
But before I could ask, he leaned forward, tapping his pen against the book. “So… about studying together. Still up for it?”
The logical part of me screamed say no. Protect yourself. Don’t let him get close.
But instead, I heard myself whisper, “…Sure.”
Danielle’s face lit up like morning sun. “Great. Then it’s a deal.”
That night, I lay awake in bed, staring at the cracks on the ceiling.
I should’ve said no. I should’ve protected myself. Protected him.
But I hadn’t.
And for the first time in a long while, the shadows didn’t feel as heavy.
For the first time in a long while, I felt afraid…not of dying, but of what it would mean to live.
ns216.73.216.168da2
and then Add to home screen.