Pablo realized something had changed not because of one big moment, but because of small things he couldn’t quite point at.
Blair stopped looking at him for too long.
She held words back more often.
And somehow, her presence was no longer automatic.
They still met on campus.
Still greeted each other.
Still sat not too far apart when they happened to be in the same place.
But Pablo began to recognize the pattern.
The pattern of someone carrying something alone.
That afternoon, Pablo stood near the faculty notice board, pretending to read the same flyer for five minutes straight.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Blair step out of the literature building.
She stopped for a moment.
Took out her phone.
Typed quickly.
Then smiled softly before slipping the phone back into her bag.
A smile she never showed him.
His chest tightened.
Not pain.
More like an awareness arriving without permission.
He didn’t ask.
He didn’t approach.
Pablo waited until Blair walked away before heading in the opposite direction.
At the campus café that evening, the three of them sat together with Kattie.
The atmosphere was light.
Kattie talked a lot.
Blair laughed at the right moments.
Pablo smiled along, but mostly listened.
“Pablo’s been really busy lately,” Kattie said while stirring her drink.
“You’re rarely around.”
Pablo shrugged.
“Same old.”
Blair glanced at him briefly.
A short look.
Neutral.
Safe.
“Chasing something?” Kattie asked.
“No,” Pablo answered quickly.
Too quickly.
He knew what he was chasing wasn’t something he could name.
As afternoon slipped into evening, they parted one by one.
Streetlights flickered on, their reflections calm on the water, as if nothing were wrong.
Pablo stopped.
Took out his phone.
Opened his chat with Blair.
No new messages.
He wanted to send something.
Anything.
But his fingers froze.
He knew his place.
He was no one.
Not yet.
Maybe never.
And somehow, that made him feel pushed aside by something he hadn’t even seen clearly.
***
That night, in his apartment, Pablo sat on the floor with his back against the sofa.
The coffee in his hand had gone cold a long time ago.
He didn’t drink it.
Didn’t move.
Just stared out the window, as if answers might be waiting there.
He wasn’t angry.
He wasn’t offended.
He just felt displaced.
Which was strange, considering he had never claimed a place to begin with.
He knew.
He hadn’t seen them together directly.
There was no scene he could turn into proof.
But there was an instinct he couldn’t deny.
Something from Blair’s past was moving closer again.
And that was enough to fill his chest with feelings he never asked for.
Jealousy.
Not the loud kind.
Not the possessive kind.
But the quiet kind that wonders whether you matter enough to be chosen.
Pablo exhaled and took a sip of the cold, bitter coffee.
It fit his mood.
His phone vibrated.
Finally.
A message from Blair.
Hi Pablo, are you okay?
A simple question.
Not excessive.
But Pablo read more into it. This chapter was taken from novelping.com without permission.
He read care.
And that was exactly what made him hesitate.
He typed a reply.
Deleted it.
Typed again.
Finally:
I’m okay.
Just thinking a lot.
A few seconds passed before Blair replied.
About what?
Wanna share?
Pablo smiled faintly.
If he was honest, this would become a different conversation.
But honesty also meant opening something Blair might not be ready to hold.
About things that can’t be asked for.
Blair read the message for a long time.
She could feel it.
You’re mysterious lately lol
Pablo let out a silent laugh.
I’m just learning where the boundaries are.
A long pause followed.
Blair finally replied:
I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.
And that was when Pablo felt his chest tighten slightly.
You didn’t do anything
I just realized there are things that aren’t mine to claim.
A few minutes later, Blair replied.
Yeah, I understand.
But Pablo knew understanding and feeling were two different things.
Elsewhere, Blair stood by her bedroom window, looking out at the city.
Her phone was still in her hand.
The chat she had just opened remained on the screen.
She reread Pablo’s messages.
Short.
Neutral.
No hidden meaning.
Blair realized something that made her chest feel heavy.
Nothing was wrong.
Nothing was excessive.
But the distance was starting to exist.
And she wasn’t sure who had placed it there first.