He clenched his jaw, trying to shake off the memories that lingered like shadows. *Love?* He scoffed at the thought. It wasn't real, just a lie people told themselves until it inevitably fell apart. His ex had proven that much.

A sharp knock on the door broke his thoughts. He turned to see Ethan leaning against the doorframe, a half-smile on his face. "You gonna stay cooped up in here all day, or are you finally coming out with the living?"

Aiden smirked slightly but said nothing. Ethan walked into the room, dropping onto Aiden's bed with a groan. "Come on, man. Sarah's waiting at the café. The group's already there. You need to stop sulking."

"I'm not sulking," Aiden muttered, grabbing his jacket.

"You've been like this for months," Ethan continued, standing up and tossing Aiden a glance. "You've got a whole group of friends who'd kill for your attention, but you're still hung up on the past."

Aiden threw his jacket over his shoulder, not bothering to argue. What was the point? No matter how many friends surrounded him, that emptiness remained. Trust was a dangerous thing, and love was a word he'd stopped believing in. But if there was one thing he could rely on, it was the presence of Ethan and Sarah. The two of them had stuck by him through everything, his only anchors in a sea of uncertainty.

"Alright," Aiden said, pushing past Ethan. "Let's go."

---

On the other side of campus, Elena stood in her usual spot by the window of her shared dorm room, watching the chaos of her large family through the screen of her phone. Aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings—they were all gathered for yet another family dinner back home. She could practically hear the laughter and conversations from miles away, but it didn't faze her. 

She loved them, of course, but she always felt like an outsider, even among her own family. While they were busy falling in and out of love, making plans for the future with someone by their side, Elena saw things differently.

*Love is temporary,* she thought. It wasn't bitterness—it was simply the truth she had come to accept. Relationships, romance, all of it, seemed so fleeting. She had seen it too many times to believe it could last. Her older sister's heartbreaks, her cousin's tears after yet another breakup—it was all just proof that love was a distraction, and Elena wasn't about to let herself fall for it.

Besides, making friends had never been easy for her. It had taken her months just to open up to the small group of girls she now spent time with. Trust wasn't something she gave out freely, and love? That was just a myth people told themselves to feel better. She preferred her solitude, where emotions couldn't hurt her.

Her phone buzzed with a message from one of her friends, asking if she was coming to meet them in the library.

*Maybe,* she thought, grabbing her bag. But deep down, she knew she preferred her space. The library, however, was quiet, and that was where she wanted to be right now.