Two weeks after their conversation in the quad, Adrian and Dante sat across from each other at the coffee shop near campus. Not their first meeting since Dante had decided to stay—they'd had several awkward, tentative conversations in the past fourteen days—but the first one that felt almost normal.
Almost.
"So," Adrian said, stirring his coffee even though he didn't take sugar. A nervous habit. "Classes are going okay?"
"Yeah. Caught up on most of what I missed." Dante's fingers tapped against his cup, a rhythm Adrian recognized as anxiety. "You?"
"Getting there. Professors are being surprisingly understanding."
"Good. That's good."
The silence stretched between them, heavy and uncomfortable.
Adrian searched for something to say, something that would break the tension. "At least I'm finally winning at something, right? Got you to stay. That's—"
Dante's expression went flat. "Don't."
"Don't what? I was just—"
