“Feed me,” Alax said, pointing at the pasta on the table.

  We were all having lunch in the cafeteria.

I sat next to Alax, and Rowan was on his other side. Nora, David, and Jake sat across from us.

  The moment Alax spoke, everyone paused and looked at him, forks halfway to their mouths.

  I blinked at him, surprised. “What?”

  “I can feed you,” Rowan offered calmly, picking up some pasta on his fork and holding it out to Alax.

  But Alax shook his head and turned to me. “No, you feed me,” he said with a cheeky grin.

  I nodded quietly, trying not to draw more attention. I took the fork from Alax’s plate, scooped up some pasta, and gently fed it to him.

  Rowan’s eyes didn’t leave us, not for a second.

  He said nothing, but I could feel it, his gaze, his silence. And it wasn’t just curiosity.

  It was something else… something that made my heart feel heavier by the second.

  I didn’t know what was going on in his mind, but whatever it was,

  It was bothering me deeply.

  He was confusing me, pushing me away when I tried to talk to him, always avoiding, always distant. But now, when I’ve stopped trying… when I barely have time to think about him… he’s the one trying to talk to me.

  It’s like the moment he saw me with Alax, something shifted. His eyes were different, watchful, almost jealous.

  Why now?

  Was he just being himself, moody, unpredictable, unreadable?

  Or was this something else?

  Was he finally taking a step toward me?

  The step I’d been waiting for… far too long?

Sometimes, all it takes is one honest step, maybe the other person is just waiting for you to begin, so they can take the rest of the steps.

Alex and I were in the library. I was working on my laptop while he sat across from me, doing absolutely nothing except watching me.

I wasn’t uncomfortable.

But I didn’t want him to fall for me.

My heart already belonged to Rowan. And once my heart chose someone, it didn’t change. Love was supposed to happen once. And mine had already happened.

“Stop looking at me,” I said, eyes still fixed on the screen.

“I’m not looking at you,” he replied calmly.

I glanced up.

He was staring directly at me.

“Then how did you know I was looking at you?” he teased, a smirk forming on his lips.

I rolled my eyes. “Why don’t you go hang out with your friends?”

“Come with me,” he said instantly.

“I need to finish my pending assignments. Rowan may have finished his, but I still have mine,” I replied, clicking on my keyboard.

He leaned back in his chair. “Do you want help?”

“No. Just take care of your hand,” I said, remembering the minor injury he’d been complaining about earlier. Then I went back to typing. “And tell me if you need anything.”

“Smile at me.”

My fingers froze mid-air above the keyboard.

I didn’t move at first.

But after a few seconds, I felt it, his eyes on me again.

Slowly, I looked up.

He was already watching me.

For a split second, my heart reacted. A quiet, unfamiliar pull I wasn’t ready to understand.

I shut it down immediately.

I broke eye contact and started typing again.

Because my heart had already chosen.

And I wasn’t going to let it betray me.

My comfort note

Dear comfort note,

I’m confused. I don’t know what to do. Rowan is really bothering me lately. Why is he doing this? Why is he playing this weird, silent game with me? I like him. And I think he knows. At least a part of him does. Then why is he acting like this? He steps in every time I’m with Alax. Every single time. And the way he looks at us... it’s like he’s jealous. But then, why won’t he say anything? Why won’t he talk to me?

And now there’s Alax.

I can’t ignore Alax or his feelings. I don’t know why, but... I keep thinking about him.

Still, I like Rowan. I really like him. I wanted to be with him. I approached him first. And if he took even one step toward me now, I know I’d go with him. I’d choose him.

I can’t fall for Alax. I don’t want to fall for him. But then... why is he bothering me so much lately? Why do I feel this... weird closeness? Is it just because he saved me? Am I just grateful? Is that why I’m thinking about him more than I should?

That has to be it.

That has to be the reason I’m confused.

There can’t be any other reason. Right?