It was three o’clock.

Classes were finally over, but I felt no relief.

Just a dull fatigue, clinging to my skin like a second invisible layer.

It wasn’t just the weight of the hours spent listening, vaguely smiling, pretending.

It was deeper. Heavier.

As if every minute spent in that classroom, feigning indifference toward Lucy, was slowly eating me from the inside.

My neck was stiff, my shoulders tense.

My head buzzed with too many voices, too many thoughts.

My eyes stung from holding back too many glances, too many emotions.

I just wanted to… disappear for a moment.

Find a quiet corner. Get away from everything — especially him.

But of course, fate never let me escape that easily.

As I packed my things with slow, mechanical gestures, a shadow loomed above me.

And without even looking up, I knew.

— You’re avoiding me.

His voice wasn’t accusatory. It was soft, low, almost concerned.

I froze for a second. Breathed in slowly. Then resumed my movements without answering.

— You pretend not to see me in the hallways. You vanish the second I come near. And when I talk to you, you almost run away.

Still that calm voice. But behind it…

There was something else.

Confusion.

Maybe even hurt.

I closed my bag and stood up, still refusing to meet his gaze.

— Did I do something? he asked after a pause. Or is it something about me?

I tightened the straps of my bag, eyes locked on the floor, and finally replied in a neutral tone.

— It’s nothing.

— Then tell me. Why are you avoiding me?

I slowly looked up at him.

His green eyes were staring at me, serious, almost pleading.

And that’s when I felt the panic rising in my throat.

I didn’t want him to look at me like that.

I didn’t want him to worry.

I took a step back.

— I have my reasons, I said simply, my voice a little harsher than I intended.

He raised his eyebrows slightly, surprised by the tone. But he didn’t move.

— And you don’t want to tell me?

I shook my head gently.

— No.

A silence fell between us. I thought he was going to insist, argue, maybe ask one of those questions I hate — the kind that open cracks.

But he just sighed, slowly.

— You know… I don’t want to force you. But I’m here, if one day you want to talk. Or even if you just want to sit next to someone in silence.

I didn’t answer.

I didn’t have the strength.

And yet, a small part of me — the part I wished I could silence — had registered every word.

And stored them away like something precious.

I kept my eyes fixed on the ground, hands gripping my bag straps, inwardly praying he would leave, that he would stop offering me that kindness I didn’t deserve.

But before another word could be said, a syrupy voice rang out behind him.

— Lucy! You coming? I had some questions about the architecture project, remember?

I looked up reluctantly.

A girl approached with confident steps, her shiny handbag tossed over one shoulder. Her long, perfectly straightened hair slid down a flawlessly ironed uniform.

She stopped beside him like my presence didn’t matter — like I was just a smudge on the background.

Her gaze landed on me. Cold. Judging. Contemptuous.

A barely perceptible smirk formed on her lips.

As if she wanted to say “Get lost” without wasting the words.

Lucy glanced briefly at her, then back at me.

— I have to go, he said, his voice gentle but tinged with disappointment. But my offer stands, Nia.

I simply nodded, without a word.

He walked away with her beside him, clinging like a possessive shadow.

Just before reaching the door, she turned back one last time, eyes scanning me with a hostile, almost triumphant glint.

I didn’t flinch.

But inside, an odd feeling of discomfort grew.

I already knew.

That kind of girl. That kind of look.

That kind of rivalry I never wanted, but seemed to provoke just by existing.

---

The light in my room was dim, bathing the walls in an orange glow.

Sitting at my desk, I tried to prepare for tomorrow’s classes.

Notes were scattered before me, pens lined up, everything was ready to help me focus.

But nothing worked.

My eyes had been stuck on an unfinished sentence for ten minutes.

My mind was drifting.

Lucy.

The more I tried to avoid him, the more he invaded my thoughts. His smile, his voice, the way his eyes seemed to see me like no one else…

And the way he just was, without ever forcing anything.

It was unbearable.

Because I knew that if I let my guard down… I’d grow attached.

And I wouldn’t survive a second abandonment.

I dropped my pen abruptly and ran my hands over my face to refocus.

My gaze caught the reflection in the window.

And then…

Something was there.

In the corner of the room, near the door.

The air suddenly grew heavy, denser, like the oxygen itself had been sucked out.

The silence became deafening.

I froze.

A shape, blurry, slowly formed — like a black mist taking human form.

Its body didn’t seem solid or tangible.

Just a mass of shadow, with two pale eyes, drowning in indescribable sorrow.

— Help me… Don’t leave me…

The voice was hoarse, distant, distorted — like a cry buried in a dream. Or a nightmare.

My lips trembled. No words came out.

My throat was dry.

My hands turned icy cold as drops of cold sweat trickled down my back.

My heart pounded too hard.

My vision blurred.

I couldn’t move.

My legs were stone. My arms too.

Only my wide eyes kept staring at that… thing.

That floating pain.

— Please… don’t forget me…

The voice grew more desperate, closer, more… human.

A tear rolled down my cheek. Then another.

I wasn’t crying on purpose.

It was like my body was reacting on its own.

As if something deep inside me recognized that pain.

— NO! I gasped in a strangled breath.

I curled against the wall, breathing fast, ragged.

My fingers clutched at my shirt, as if trying to rip something out of me.

My breath turned erratic.

A silent scream rose in my throat, never escaping.

I was losing control.

And then…

Just as it had come, the silhouette vanished.

Evaporated into the air, without a sound.

Only silence remained. And me.

Curled up on my bedroom floor, trembling, tears streaming down my face, hands still clenched, breath wheezing.

As if the shadow had left behind a glacial void in my chest.