The room was too quiet.
Elena lay sprawled across her bed, legs tangled in a blanket, her hair still pulled into the loose braid she'd worn all day. Her coffee cup sat empty on the windowsill, the fading scent of cinnamon and espresso still faint in the air.
She should have been tired.
But her thoughts were wide awake.
She kept seeing him—Alexander—across that small café table.
The way he sat, calm but present, his fingers tapping idly against the paper cup as he listened. Really listened. Most people, when they asked about her dancing or her classes, waited for the moment they could jump in with something about themselves. But not him.
He let the words sit between them like they had weight.
And every time she'd glanced up, thinking maybe he was bored, she found his eyes on hers—steady, unshaken. Almost like he saw her in a way that no one else did.
That thought alone made her stomach flip.
It wasn't just a nice day.
It was the feeling that something had clicked, like a puzzle piece sliding into place where it always belonged but had never been found before. She'd felt this flutter before with other people, but it was never like this—never this easy.
With him, it wasn't about filling silence.It was about sharing it.
Elena sighed, grabbing her phone and scrolling aimlessly before tapping Naomi's contact.
It only rang twice.
"Don't tell me you're calling to brag about your romantic coffee date," Naomi answered, her voice dripping with mischief.
Elena rolled her eyes, but she smiled. "It wasn't a date."
"Right. And I don't own three different shades of glitter boots. Go on, tell me everything."
Elena pulled the blanket up to her chin. "We just… studied. And talked. And had coffee."
"You say that like it's boring, but I can hear the smile in your voice."
Elena groaned. "Fine. It wasn't boring."
Naomi chuckled. "So what's going on in that overthinking brain of yours?"
"I don't know," Elena admitted. "I just… I like being around him. And not in a 'he's cute, so it's fun' kind of way. It's different. Calmer, somehow. He's… I don't know—safe, I guess? But not boring-safe. He's just… him."
"That's a big statement from you," Naomi teased. "You usually like the high-energy, all-eyes-on-me kind of guys."
"Yeah. And maybe I'm realizing that's not what I actually want."
Naomi hummed. "So what do you want?"
Elena paused, fidgeting with the pendant around her neck.
"I want this," she said softly. "Whatever this is. I don't even know how to label it. I just know that every time I leave, I'm already looking forward to the next time I see him."
Naomi was quiet for a second. Then: "That sounds like feelings, babe."
Elena laughed, embarrassed. "I know. It's just… he's never been in a relationship before. And I don't want to scare him off by moving too fast."
"Then don't," Naomi said simply. "You don't have to label it or force anything. Just let it grow. Let him grow into it. You clearly mean something to him, even if he's too quiet to spell it out."
Elena smiled, her chest warm at the truth of it. "Yeah. I think you're right."
"Of course I am," Naomi said, grinning through the phone. "Now promise me you'll see him again soon. Preferably somewhere cute. So I can live vicariously."
Elena laughed. "Deal."
After they hung up, Elena lay back on her pillow, staring at the ceiling.
She didn't have all the answers yet.She didn't need them.
What she did know was that Alexander wasn't just another passing crush.
He was something steady.
Something real.
And the more time she spent with him, the more she found herself wanting to see where this went.