By the third day, I was already lying to myself.
"I don't care."
That's what I told myself as I walked in.
That I wasn't looking for him. That whether he showed up or not didn't matter. That the strange tension, the lingering glances—it was all in my head.
But the truth?
I noticed his absence before I even realized I was looking for him.
My steps slowed slightly as my eyes scanned the usual spot.
Empty.
A small, unexpected disappointment settled in my chest.
Annoying.
I dropped into my seat, a little harder than necessary, trying to shake it off. It didn't mean anything. People don't show up all the time. He probably had somewhere better to be.
And I definitely didn't care.
I pulled out my phone, pretending to be interested in something—anything—but my focus kept slipping.
It was quiet today.
Or maybe it just felt that way.
I exhaled, leaning back, staring ahead without really seeing anything. This was better. Normal. No unnecessary distractions. No confusing eye contact.
No him.
So why did it feel… off?
I frowned slightly, annoyed at myself more than anything.
You're being ridiculous.
I knew that.
Still, when the door opened a few minutes later, my head turned before I could stop it.
And there he was.
Like nothing had happened.
Like he hadn't just disrupted my entire mood by not being there.
He walked in casually, unbothered, his presence filling the room in that quiet, effortless way I was starting to hate.
Or maybe… not hate.
I quickly looked away, but it was too late.
He had seen me.
I knew it.
I could feel it.
And sure enough, a few seconds later—that familiar feeling returned.
Heavy.
Focused.
On me.
I clenched my jaw slightly, staring straight ahead, refusing to give in immediately this time.
Don't look.
I lasted longer than I expected.
Maybe a full minute.
Then—
I looked.
And just like I thought…
He was already watching me.
No hesitation. No surprise.
Like he had been waiting.
Something about that realization sent a small, unsettling warmth through me.
"You're staring," I muttered under my breath, even though he couldn't hear me.
Or maybe I wanted him to.
I held his gaze this time, more intentionally.
And for the first time—
He didn't look away either.
The air between us felt… different.
Thicker.
Charged.
Like something was slowly building, piece by piece, and neither of us was stopping it.
I swallowed, trying to ignore the way my heart had started doing that annoying, uneven thing again.
This is nothing.
But the longer we looked at each other, the less I believed that.
Because this didn't feel like nothing.
It felt like the beginning of something.
And whether I liked it or not…
I had noticed him first.