Maya's POV
If anyone had told me at the start of the semester that I'd fall for Kade this quickly, I wouldn't have believed them. I was the quiet girl, the one who avoided attention, the one who never understood how relationships even started.
But somehow, with him… it felt easy.
Or at least, I thought it did.
Kade had a way of making me feel chosen. He checked on me a lot, asked where I was, wanted to know when I was coming back to the block, and made jokes that always pulled a smile out of me even on stressful days. The attention was new, surprising, and warm — the kind of thing I'd never had before.
And because it was new
I'd push aside the other things like ow he never asked how my day really went
How he didn't remember my classes or deadlines.
How whenever I tried talking about my schoolwork, he changed the topic back to himself or to "us."
I only saw the parts that made me feel wanted.
---
Outside whatever was happening between us, school kept moving like a world of its own.
Lectures were piling up already — endless slides, rushed notes, group assignments that made me talk more than I wanted to.
There were campus events popping up every week: club introductions, department meetings, block gatherings where everyone shouted over music.
Lily was everywhere, bouncing from her new club to room parties she didn't even plan to attend until someone dragged her out. She always came back breathless with stories.
And me?
I was balancing classes, my quiet routine, and this new feeling blooming in my chest.
Whenever I stepped out to go for a school activity, Kade would stop me in the hallway.
"You're going out again?"
"You can skip that one."
"Come sit with me instead."
It didn't sound controlling at the time — just like someone who wanted to be around me all the time.
Someone who liked me.
I didn't realize yet that he only cared about the part of my life that involved him.
Still, every time he called my name or walked up to me, I felt that excited flutter in my chest. I liked being wanted.
I liked being chosen.
And I was falling for him, fully and honestly.