By the middle of the week, Campus 2 had settled into a rhythm that felt deceptively gentle.
Morning lectures blurred into one another. Coffee cups appeared and disappeared. People stopped getting lost between buildings. The chaos of the first weeks had softened into something manageable, almost comforting.
XH told himself this was a good thing.
Routine meant stability. Stability meant he had time. And time, he believed, would eventually tell him what to do.
That belief followed him into class.
Kitty arrived before him today, already seated, notebook open, pen aligned neatly along the margin. She looked calm, focused, like she had slept well. When she noticed XH hovering near the doorway, she glanced up and smiled.
The smile stayed a fraction longer than it had yesterday.
XH felt a small, irrational relief.
He took the seat behind her this time, close enough to see the neat curves of her handwriting, the way she underlined certain words twice instead of once. He wondered if she always did that, or if it was something new.
TR slid into the seat beside him and leaned over immediately."You two are doing that thing."
XH frowned. "What thing?"
"The thing where you're close but pretending you're not," TR said. "It's exhausting to watch."
XH nudged him lightly. "Focus."
"I am focused," TR replied. "On your emotional incompetence."
PL turned around from the row ahead. "Are we talking about this now or later?"
"Later," JP said without looking up. "Preferably never."
The lecturer began speaking, drawing diagrams on the board. Today's topic moved deeper into fundamentals, things that would matter later, when pressure arrived for real.
XH tried to pay attention.
Every time Kitty shifted, his focus wavered. Every time she paused, like she was thinking about something that wasn't the lecture, he felt the urge to lean forward and ask.
He didn't.
He kept telling himself there would be a better moment.
During the break, the room emptied slowly. Conversations sparked and died. Chairs scraped. Bags zipped.
Kitty stayed seated, scrolling through her phone.
XH stood, hesitated, then turned back toward her.
"Did you… understand that last part?" he asked.
Kitty looked up, surprised, then smiled softly. "Yeah. Mostly."
"Mostly?"
"The explanation made sense. The example didn't."
XH laughed quietly. "Same."
They stood there for a moment, both clearly capable of leaving, neither moving.
TR cleared his throat loudly behind them. "Am I interrupting something invisible again?"
"Yes," Kitty said at the same time XH said, "No."
They laughed, easing the tension.
They ended up walking toward the courtyard together, the group spreading out around them like a loose formation. TZ Royal kicked a pebble across the path absentmindedly. HS talked quietly with JP about study schedules. PL complained about hunger again.
NS walked a few steps behind XH, hands in his pockets, expression unreadable.
XH noticed him slow down deliberately.
"Hey," XH said, falling back a step. "You skipping lunch?"
NS shrugged. "Not hungry."
XH didn't believe him, but he didn't push. "You sure?"
NS nodded once. "Yeah."
They rejoined the group near the benches. Kitty sat down beside XH this time, close enough that their knees almost touched.
Almost.
PL dropped onto the grass dramatically. "If I die here, tell my family I was brave."
"You were loud," JP corrected.
"That's bravery," TR said.
Kitty laughed, shaking her head. XH watched the way her shoulders relaxed when she did, like laughter was something she let herself enjoy fully.
For a moment, it felt easy again.
Then someone mentioned study groups.
"We should start doing those seriously," HS said. "Before things pile up."
"Agreed," JP replied immediately. "Efficiency now saves suffering later."
TR groaned. "I hate when you talk like a motivational poster."
Kitty glanced at XH. "Do you usually study alone?"
"Sometimes," he said. "Sometimes with… whoever's around."
She nodded. "Maybe we could study together. For anatomy."
The suggestion landed quietly, but it stayed.
"I'd like that," XH said.
Her smile returned, warmer this time. "Okay."
NS looked away.
That evening, the study session happened naturally. No planning. No announcements. Just a few messages exchanged, and suddenly they were sitting around a table in the common area, books spread out, notes half-organized.
Kitty sat across from XH, her book open, fingers tracing diagrams slowly. TR lasted ten minutes before giving up and leaning back in his chair.
"I'm going to contribute moral support," he declared.
"You're going to distract us," JP corrected.
"Same thing."
As the night went on, the noise softened. TR eventually left with PL, arguing about food. TZ followed, waving casually. HS stayed for a while longer, then packed up quietly.
Soon, it was just XH, Kitty, JP, and NS.
JP finished first, closing his laptop with finality. "I'm done. Send me questions if you get stuck."
He left without ceremony.
Silence settled.
Kitty stretched slightly, then leaned forward. "This part," she said, pointing to a diagram, "I keep mixing it up."
XH moved closer, angling his chair toward her. He explained slowly, carefully, aware of how close their hands were as they hovered over the page.
She nodded along, eyes following his finger.
"That makes sense," she said. "You're good at explaining things."
XH smiled. "You're good at listening."
Their eyes met.
The moment lingered.
NS cleared his throat quietly.
"I'm heading out," he said.
XH looked up. "Already?"
NS nodded. "Yeah. You guys… seem fine."
The pause before fine said everything.
After NS left, the room felt smaller.
Kitty closed her book slowly. "He's been quiet lately."
XH hesitated. "Yeah."
"Did I do something?"
"No," XH said quickly. "It's not you."
She studied him for a moment. "Then what is it?"
XH opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
"I don't know yet," he said finally.
Kitty didn't look disappointed.
She looked tired.
"That's okay," she said gently. "You don't have to know everything right away."
He nodded, grateful and guilty all at once.
They packed up together, walking back toward the dorms side by side. The campus lights cast soft shadows, and the air had cooled just enough to feel comfortable.
At the entrance, Kitty stopped.
"I'm glad we're doing this," she said. "Studying together, I mean."
"Me too," XH replied.
She smiled, then added, almost casually, "It feels… familiar."
The word settled heavily between them.
"Familiar is good," XH said, because it was true.
Kitty nodded. "Yeah. It is."
She hesitated, like she might say something else.
Then she didn't.
As she walked away, XH realized something he hadn't fully admitted before.
Familiar felt safe.
But safety, he was beginning to understand, wasn't the same as certainty.
And certainty was what he kept avoiding.
Behind him, somewhere across Campus 2, NS stood alone for a moment longer than usual, watching the lights turn off one by one.
And the space between them all grew, quietly, without anyone naming it.