By Thursday, the campus no longer felt like a place of learning.
It felt like a waiting room.
XH noticed it in the smallest things. Students checked their phones more often than their notes. Conversations ended halfway, unfinished, like everyone was saving energy for something that had not yet arrived. Even the air felt heavier, as if it carried too many unspoken thoughts at once.
End of the week.
The phrase echoed everywhere now. It was not written on boards or posted on notices, but everyone felt it. Decisions were forming beneath the surface, invisible but inevitable.
XH woke up with a knot already in his chest.
He did not check his phone right away.
That alone told him something was wrong.
When he finally did, there were no new messages. June had not written. Kitty had not written. The silence felt deliberate.
He dressed slowly, hands moving out of habit, and stepped outside. The sky was pale gray, not threatening rain yet, but heavy with the promise of it. He pulled his jacket tighter and walked toward class.
Dr. Kim's lecture that morning was clinical and exacting. Blood flow dynamics. Pressure gradients. Barriers that allowed some things to pass and blocked others.
"As with people," Dr. Kim said calmly, chalk tapping once against the board, "not everything can pass freely. Boundaries exist for a reason."
XH froze slightly at the phrasing.
Dr. Kim continued. "When pressure increases on one side, something gives. Either the barrier adapts, or it breaks."
June's pen moved quickly. Kitty listened, eyes focused.
XH wondered if anyone else felt how closely the lecture mirrored their lives.
After class, Dr. Kim stopped XH as he gathered his things.
"Walk with me," Dr. Kim said.
It was not a request.
They stepped into the corridor together.
"You're distracted," Dr. Kim said plainly.
XH hesitated. "Yes."
Dr. Kim nodded. "Good. That means you care."
XH glanced at him. "About school?"
Dr. Kim gave a short smile. "About choice."
XH swallowed. "How did you know?"
Dr. Kim stopped walking and looked at him fully now.
"Because students who are only worried about grades ask different questions," he said. "You're worried about consequences."
XH nodded slowly.
Dr. Kim's voice softened slightly. "Whatever you are facing, do not let urgency replace integrity."
XH frowned. "What if waiting causes harm too?"
Dr. Kim studied him. "Then waiting is also a choice."
The words struck deep.
Dr. Kim placed a hand briefly on XH's shoulder. "Be decisive. Not reckless. There is a difference."
He walked away, leaving XH standing alone in the hallway.
Across campus, June sat in a quiet corner near the library, phone pressed to her ear.
"Yes, Mom," she said calmly.
Her mother's voice was sharp even through the phone.
"You are wasting time," her mother said. "Other students would kill for this opportunity."
June closed her eyes briefly. "I know."
"You cannot let emotions derail your future," her mother continued. "You have always been capable of more."
June's jaw tightened. "I am capable of choosing."
There was a pause.
Then her mother said, "You have until Sunday."
The call ended.
June stared at the dark screen, breath shallow.
She felt something twist inside her chest. Pride. Fear. Anger. Love.
All tangled together.
She stood abruptly and walked, needing motion.
Her steps took her toward the rooftop.
She did not plan it. Her body simply remembered.
When she reached the door, she hesitated.
Then pushed it open.
The wind hit her first.
And then she saw him.
XH stood near the railing, staring out over the campus like he was trying to memorize it.
She exhaled sharply.
"So this is where you go," she said.
XH turned, startled. "June."
They stood facing each other, the distance between them charged.
"I didn't plan to be here," he said.
June nodded. "Neither did I."
Silence stretched.
Then June spoke, voice steady but raw.
"My mom wants certainty," she said. "She wants guarantees. She wants me to stop hoping and start calculating."
XH swallowed. "What do you want?"
June laughed softly. "That's the problem. I want both."
She stepped closer. "I want ambition. And I want love that doesn't ask me to shrink."
XH's chest tightened. "I don't want you to shrink."
June looked at him sharply. "Then why are you still standing still?"
The question landed like a blow.
Before he could answer, footsteps echoed behind them.
Kitty stepped onto the rooftop.
She froze when she saw them together.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then Kitty exhaled slowly. "I didn't mean to interrupt."
June straightened. "You're not."
XH felt his heart pound.
Kitty stepped closer, eyes moving between them.
"I was looking for XH," she said honestly. "But I guess this makes sense."
June folded her arms. "Does it?"
Kitty met her gaze. "Yes."
The wind picked up, cold against their skin.
Kitty turned to XH. "Are you going to keep letting us collide like this?"
XH closed his eyes briefly.
"No," he said quietly.
Both girls stiffened.
He opened his eyes and looked at them.
"I can't keep pretending time isn't forcing something," he continued. "And I won't let either of you carry that weight alone."
June's voice trembled just slightly. "So say it."
Kitty's fingers curled at her side.
XH inhaled deeply.
"I don't have a final answer today," he said. "But I have honesty."
June's jaw tightened. Kitty did not move.
"I care about you both," XH said. "In different ways. And I won't insult either of you by pretending that isn't true."
June scoffed softly. "That's not clarity."
"No," XH agreed. "But it's the truth."
Kitty stepped forward. "Then here's mine."
She looked at June first. "I won't compete with you."
June raised an eyebrow.
Kitty continued. "And I won't disappear for him either."
She turned to XH. "If you choose, choose because you want to. Not because someone forced a deadline."
XH nodded slowly.
June laughed bitterly. "Deadlines don't disappear just because we don't like them."
Kitty's voice softened. "Neither do consequences."
The three of them stood there, the tension thick.
Then June sighed and shook her head.
"I need air," she said. "Before I say something I can't take back."
She turned and walked away.
Kitty watched her go, then turned to XH.
"She's hurting," Kitty said.
"I know," XH replied.
Kitty studied him. "So are you."
He nodded.
"And so am I," she added quietly.
They stood together for a moment.
Not touching.
Not leaving.
Finally, Kitty spoke again.
"I won't ask you to hurry," she said. "But I won't pretend this doesn't matter."
XH met her gaze. "It matters."
She nodded once and left.
That night, NS found XH sitting alone on the steps outside the dorm.
"You look like hell," NS said.
XH laughed weakly. "Fair."
NS sat beside him.
"You talked to both of them today," NS said.
XH nodded.
NS exhaled. "That was inevitable."
XH stared ahead. "I don't want to lose anyone."
NS's voice was quiet. "Sometimes you don't lose people. You just lose the version of them that could have existed."
The words hit hard.
NS stood. "Whatever you decide, I've got your back."
XH looked up at him. "Even if I mess it up?"
NS nodded. "Especially then."
Later, alone in his room, XH checked his phone.
No new messages.
Just time moving forward without permission.
He lay back on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
End of the week.
Not far now.
Outside, thunder rolled faintly in the distance.
The rain had not started yet.
But it was coming.
And when it did, he knew something would finally break.
Or finally change.
Either way, standing still was no longer possible.