Evening in Amsterdam descended slowly, like someone deliberately slowing their steps because they were not ready to go home yet.
The gray sky was neither dark nor bright.
Blair walked beside Pablo without much conversation, her bag hanging from her right shoulder, her pace steady as always.
They had just left campus after a day that felt longer than it should have been.
There had been no promises that day.
No plan to meet.
But somehow, they ended up walking in the same direction.
The small coffee shop beside Brunne Bookstore was still open.
Its windows were slightly fogged, and the yellow light inside made it look warm from the outside.
Pablo was the first to stop.
“Coffee?” he asked briefly, like someone who did not want to push.
Blair glanced at him, then nodded.
“Sure.”
They sat facing each other at a small wooden table, two cups of coffee steaming gently.
Outside, bicycles passed by, people came and went, unaware that two strangers were quietly opening small gaps in each other’s lives.
“From Monday to Saturday, Brunne works alone?” Pablo asked softly while waiting for his coffee.
“Yeah.
Even before I worked there, from Monday to Sunday he was on his own, and it never bothered him,” Blair replied.
Pablo nodded.
“Looks like he closed early today, though.”
“Or maybe didn’t open at all.”
A few seconds passed in a silence that wasn’t awkward.
Pablo looked out the window, then back at Blair.
“You look tired,” he said.
Blair didn’t answer right away.
She stared at the surface of her coffee, as if looking for something there.
“Not physically,” she said finally.
“More like… tired of thinking.”
Pablo nodded slowly, as if he understood without needing more.
“Me too,” he said. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
“But a different kind.”
Blair raised an eyebrow slightly.
“Can I ask something?”
“Sure.”
“You often look like someone who’s running away from something.”
Pablo let out a small laugh, not because it was funny, but because it was accurate.
“That obvious, huh?” He smiled faintly, then took a breath.
“I’m running from the version of life other people want to make for me.”
Blair didn’t interrupt.
She listened, like someone used to receiving stories without judgment.
“My father’s a doctor,” Pablo continued.
“He wanted me to be one too.
But I chose architecture.
Since then, my life has been… like this.”
Blair nodded slowly.
“Standing on your own?”
“Yeah.
And it turns out standing on your own is heavier than I thought.”
Blair looked at him for a long moment, then said quietly, “I get it.”
And for the first time that day, Pablo felt that those words weren’t empty.
When they stepped out of the coffee shop, the air had grown colder.
Blair checked her phone.
There was a message from Kattie.
I’m already in front of the apartment.
Don’t take too long.
“Kattie?” Pablo asked.
“Yeah.
My roommate.”
“Are you heading back to the apartment now?”
Blair nodded.
“If you want… our place is close from here.”
Pablo hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
“If it’s not a bother.”
The apartment was simple but neat.
Not cramped, not luxurious.
There was a small plant near the window, a half-filled bookshelf, and a gray sofa that looked well-used.
As soon as the door opened, a cheerful voice greeted them.
“Blair!”
A girl with shoulder-length brown hair stood in the living room, wearing an oversized sweater and cute socks.
“Oh,” she said with a wide smile.
“Hi.”
“Kattie,” Blair said.
“This is Pablo.
Our senior.”
Pablo nodded politely.
“Hi.”
“Oh my God,” Kattie said without any shame.
“Finally.”
Blair turned quickly.
“Kattie.”
“What?” Kattie laughed.
“I’m just happy you didn’t come home alone.”
Pablo smiled a little, slightly awkward.
“Is she always like this?”
“Worse,” Blair replied flatly.
The three of them sat in the living room.
Kattie made some tea while Blair went to the kitchen for a moment.
Pablo looked around the apartment.
It felt warm in a simple, honest way.
“You study architecture, right?” Kattie asked suddenly.
“Yeah.”
“Cool.
Blair always looks the most alive when she talks about campus.”
Pablo glanced at Blair, who had just come back.
Blair didn’t argue, only shot Kattie a warning look.
“I’m glad to meet you,” Kattie said to Pablo.
“Blair rarely brings people here.”
Pablo looked at Blair for a moment.
Blair looked away.
“Me too,” Pablo replied.
“This place feels… comfortable.”
And in that moment, Blair realized something.
It wasn’t about the coffee shop.
It wasn’t about campus.
It was about the fact that for the first time in a long while, she didn’t mind having someone walk home with her.
And that scared her, just a little.