Breakfast ended…
But something didn't.
The plates were cleared.
Voices softened.
People moved on like it was just another normal morning.
But for Stephan—
nothing felt normal.
He stayed quiet.
Even when everything around him returned to usual.
Ketty was talking.
Stevan was laughing.
The atmosphere was light again.
But his attention—
was somewhere else.
On her.
Pixel stood up slowly.
"I have some work," she said calmly.
Her voice wasn't loud.
Yet somehow—
he heard it clearly.
Stevan looked up immediately.
"So soon?"
There was disappointment in his tone.
A small, genuine kind.
"I'll come later," Pixel said softly.
"Promise?"
Pixel looked at him.
And then nodded.
"Promise."
It was a simple moment.
Small.
Normal.
But something about it—
felt real.
Unforced.
Stephan noticed that.
Not the words—
but the way she said them.
Later—
they were back at the beach.
The sun was softer now.
The air calmer.
Waves moving steadily.
The noise from earlier had settled into something more peaceful.
Stevan saw her first.
"Pixel!"
He ran towards her without hesitation.
"You came!"
"I said I would," she replied.
Calm.
Certain.
Like she always kept her word.
Stevan started talking immediately.
Non-stop.
About random things.
About what he did.
About what he wanted to do.
Pixel listened.
Actually listened.
She responded.
Smiled slightly.
Asked small questions.
Like she genuinely cared.
Like she wasn't just being polite.
And that—
stood out.
Stephan watched them from a distance.
His gaze fixed.
Unmoving.
Something about the way she interacted with Stevan—
felt different.
Natural.
Soft.
Real.
And for some reason—
that didn't feel normal to him.
Meanwhile—
Ketty stood beside him.
Trying.
Trying to hold his attention.
Trying to keep the moment alive.
"So… you didn't sleep much, right?" she asked, her tone light.
Stephan looked at her briefly.
"Hm."
Just that.
A short response.
Nothing more.
Ketty didn't give up.
She smiled slightly.
"You think a lot."
No response.
Instead—
"Since when do you know Pixel?" Stephan asked.
The question came suddenly.
Without warning.
Ketty paused.
A little surprised.
"Since college started."
Stephan's gaze didn't shift.
"She's always like that?"
Ketty followed his line of sight.
Looked at Pixel.
Then nodded.
"Yeah… she doesn't get involved much."
There was no jealousy in her voice.
No irritation.
Just honesty.
"That's just how she is," Ketty added softly.
Stephan didn't reply.
But his eyes—
stayed there.
On Pixel.
A little later—
Pixel walked towards them with Stevan.
Ketty turned to her and said lightly—
"Why did you come here? We were talking."
Her tone wasn't harsh.
Just slightly playful.
Then she added—
"Take Stevan with you… I want to talk to Stephan for a while."
Pixel didn't react.
Didn't question.
Didn't hesitate.
She simply nodded.
"Come," she said to Stevan.
And just like that—
she turned.
And walked away with him.
No second thoughts.
No glance back.
Nothing.
Now—
only Stephan and Ketty were left.
Ketty tried again.
Talking.
Smiling.
Trying to fill the space.
Trying to make it work.
But Stephan—
wasn't there.
His answers were short.
His expressions minimal.
His attention—
gone.
Somewhere else.
And finally—
he stood up.
"I'll come in a bit."
Ketty looked at him.
Confused.
A little disappointed.
But she didn't stop him.
Didn't ask why.
Stephan walked away.
His steps slow at first.
Then steady.
He moved towards his friends—
Johan and Hill.
They noticed him immediately.
"Well, well…" Johan smirked.
"Left someone mid-conversation?"
Hill chuckled.
"That doesn't look like you."
Stephan didn't respond.
He just stood there.
Quiet.
Johan leaned slightly closer.
"Let me guess…"
His eyes shifted towards Pixel—
standing at a distance with Stevan.
Laughing softly at something he said.
"It's about her, isn't it?"
Stephan frowned.
"No."
The answer came quickly.
Almost too quickly.
Hill let out a soft laugh.
"Then why are you here?"
There was a pause.
A longer one this time.
Stephan didn't answer.
Didn't even try.
And that silence—
said everything.
Johan smiled.
Slowly.
"Interesting."
"For the first time…" Hill added,
"you're the one getting distracted."
Stephan looked away.
Back towards Pixel.
And this time—
he didn't stop himself.
Didn't look away.
Didn't pretend.
He just watched.
The way she stood.
The way she listened.
The way she existed—
without trying to be noticed.
And yet—
he couldn't ignore her.
He had tried.
At first.
But now—
it was different.
Because for the first time—
he wasn't just noticing her.
He wasn't just observing.
He was…
losing focus.
On conversations.
On people.
On everything else around him.
And for someone like Stephan—
who was always in control—
that felt unfamiliar.
Unsettling.
And dangerously real.
Because for the first time—
his attention wasn't his own anymore.
It kept going back to her.
Again.
And again.
And again.
And he didn't know how to stop it.