The four of us spent a long time in the restaurant talking about all manners of things. The conversation moved easily from one topic to another, from new inventions being discussed in the engineering department to the latest gossip circulating across campus. Lee insisted on explaining some strange technological concept he had heard about, while Chloe kept interrupting him with stories she had overheard from other students. Katherine listened with quiet amusement, occasionally correcting something Lee exaggerated. Sometimes they argued over who the most beautiful woman on campus was, while at other moments the discussion shifted toward strange developments happening around the world. Most of the talking came from them while I added bits here and there, listening more than speaking and enjoying the energy around the table.
Times like this were always the happiest moments. The restaurant was filled with students laughing and talking, plates clinking softly while warm lights reflected off polished tables. Sitting there with my friends, listening to their endless conversation, always brought a smile to my face.
Soon another round of ice cream arrived. Mostly vanilla and chocolate flavors, chosen by Chloe and Lee while Katherine and I simply accepted whatever they ordered. The bowls were placed in front of us, cold mist rising faintly from the surface.
Lee scooped a generous spoonful into his mouth before looking at me. Chloe followed his example, clearly enjoying the dessert far more enthusiastically than the rest of us.
"So," Lee said casually while taking another spoonful, "what are your plans for the break?"
Chloe nodded quickly while eating. "Yeah Orion, what are you doing during the break?"
Normally I would have taken time to consider the question.
Instead I found myself staring at them.
Ice cream had gathered near Chloe's lip, and Lee was not doing much better himself. Both of them were so focused on finishing their ice cream that they had not noticed.
The sight was honestly ridiculous.
I leaned back slightly and frowned. "Are you guys kids?"
They both stopped eating.
"What?" Chloe asked, confused.
I pointed lightly toward them. "Only kids eat their ice cream like that."
Realization slowly spread across their faces.
Embarrassment followed immediately.
Both of them quickly wiped their mouths with their hands, trying to clean themselves, though the rushed movement only made the situation worse.
Shaking my head, I reached across the table and picked up a napkin. Leaning slightly closer, I gently wiped the corner of Chloe's lips.
"Be more careful next time."
To me the action felt completely natural. Something simple. Something normal.
To Chloe it clearly was not.
She froze the moment the napkin touched her face, her eyes widening slightly as if she had not expected that at all. For a brief second she did not even move.
When I finished, I tossed the napkin aside and leaned back again.
Only then did I notice something strange.
The atmosphere at the table had changed.
"What's going on?" I asked, looking between them.
No one answered.
I turned toward Lee first. He was staring at me with a wide grin on his face, the kind of stupid grin he always wore when he thought something was funny. Katherine was quieter, but the look on her face said almost the same thing. It was the expression of someone watching an awkward situation unfold.
Trying to understand what I had missed, I turned to Chloe.
She was blushing.
Not slightly.
Her face had turned completely red.
"Are you alright?" I asked, leaning forward slightly. "Your face looks red. Are you having a fever?"
The more I spoke, the redder she became.
Suddenly she pushed her chair back and stood up.
Then she ran.
Fast.
Like a deer startled by headlights.
The restaurant door swung slightly behind her as she disappeared outside.
I slowly turned back toward Lee.
He burst into laughter.
Katherine tried to remain composed, but even she was laughing quietly.
Several nearby students turned to look at us, confused about why someone had suddenly run out of the restaurant and why Lee was laughing so loudly.
Katherine looked at me calmly. "I think you should run after her."
"What's going on?" I asked again.
She simply smiled.
"That's for you to figure out, smartest man alive," she replied with a hint of sarcasm.
Shrugging my shoulders, I stood up and left the restaurant to follow Chloe.
While walking outside, I kept replaying the entire situation in my head. Every moment repeated itself as I tried to understand what I had done wrong. Eventually my thoughts returned to the moment when I wiped the ice cream from her lips.
Did she not like that?
Did I cross a boundary without realizing it?
I searched for answers but found none.
After a while I pushed the thoughts aside. "I'll figure it out later," I muttered quietly. "Right now I just need to find her."
I began asking people around the area if they had seen her.
After several attempts I finally received an answer from a girl sitting alone on a bench along the path that led toward the old library. This section of the campus was much quieter than the main areas. The library nearby was one of the older ones, filled mostly with traditional books instead of digital archives or holographic records. Most students had long since lost interest in places like that. Few people had the patience to read books that were thousands of pages long.
When I asked her about Chloe, she thought for a moment before nodding.
"Oh, you mean Chloe? I saw her earlier. She went behind the library. If you move quickly you might catch up with her."
"Thank you," I replied.
As I walked away I tried to remember where I had seen the girl before. Something about her seemed familiar, though I could not place it. After a moment I cleared the thought away and focused on finding Chloe.
It took some time, but eventually I did.
She was sitting beneath one of the larger trees behind the library. I had never really explored this part of the campus before, and seeing it now made me realize how peaceful it was. Trees stretched across the area while natural archways of branches formed overhead. Nearby a small lake reflected the sky, its surface barely disturbed except for the occasional ripple from fish beneath the water. Birds rested in the branches above while squirrels moved quietly across the grass.
Compared to the loud stadiums, entertainment parks, and crowded student centers across campus, this place felt completely different. Calm. Preserved. Connected to nature.
I walked closer and stopped beside her.
"Can I sit with you?"
Chloe looked up at me for a moment before nodding.
"Sure."
I sat down beside her.
For a while neither of us spoke. The quiet atmosphere surrounded us while the wind moved gently through the trees.
After a moment I said quietly, "This place is beautiful."
Chloe nodded. "It is."
"I didn't realize the campus had somewhere this peaceful."
"I come here sometimes when I need quiet."
"To clear your mind?"
"Something like that."
After a short silence I finally asked, "Chloe… did I do something earlier that upset you?"
She looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"In the restaurant. You ran out."
Realization appeared on her face.
"Oh."
"Was it something I did?"
She hesitated.
"Was it the napkin?" I asked.
Her face immediately turned red again.
"You mean when you wiped the ice cream from my lips?"
"Yes."
For a moment she simply stared at me.Then she looked away.
"You didn't do anything wrong."
"Then why did you run?" I asked
She stayed silent.
Instead she suddenly asked, "Orion… do you like Sofia?"
The question caught me off guard.
"What?"
"Do you like her?"
I frowned slightly. "Why are we talking about Sofia?"
"Just answer."
I thought about it for a moment.
"I'm not sure."
Chloe studied my face carefully.
"What does that mean?"
"I mean I don't know exactly how I feel about her," I replied slowly. "Being around her feels… different."
Chloe looked away toward the lake.
"I thought so."
After a moment she spoke again, her voice quieter.
"I like you, Orion."
The words surprised me.
She continued before I could respond.
"I've liked you for a long time. Seeing you makes me happy. Being around you makes everything feel better. I always want to stay beside you."
She paused.
"But I know you like Sofia."
"I don't know if that's true," I said.
Chloe looked back at me.
"How do you feel when you're around her?"
I did not answer immediately.
She seemed to understand the silence.
"You see?" she said softly.
Eventually she admitted that she felt ashamed for thinking it, but part of her was happy Sofia was not here right now.
Encouraging herself, she finally asked the question she had been holding back.
"Do you like me?"
I hesitated.
She noticed.
"Please tell me the truth."
I sighed.
"I do like you… as a friend."
The hopeful expression on her face weakened slightly, though she tried not to show it.
After a quiet moment she stood up.
"We should go back."
Before leaving she asked me to close my eyes. Confused but trusting her, I did.
Then I felt something soft touch my lips.
When I opened my eyes Chloe was standing in front of me, blushing deeply.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I know I shouldn't have done that. But I couldn't stop myself. I love you Orion. I always have. I know you only see me as a close friend and you probably like Sofia more, but I will try my best to win you over."
I nodded absentmindedly while watching her walk ahead.
After taking a deep breath, I followed her back toward the restaurant.
The moment we stepped inside, Lee stopped talking mid sentence. His eyes moved from Chloe to me, then back to Chloe again. Katherine observed us more quietly, but her attention was just as sharp.
The lively atmosphere of the restaurant surrounded us again. Students were still talking and laughing at nearby tables, waiters moving between rows of seats carrying trays of food. Yet for some reason the noise felt distant now.
Lee leaned back in his chair slowly.
"Well," he said, folding his arms, "you two took your time."
Neither Chloe nor I answered right away.
Katherine tilted her head slightly. "Everything alright?"
Chloe nodded quickly and sat down, though she avoided looking directly at anyone. I took the seat beside her, feeling the strange tension hanging around the table.
Lee looked between us again, clearly trying to read the situation. "Did something happen out there?"
Chloe immediately shook her head. "Nothing happened."
Her voice came out a little too fast.
Lee raised an eyebrow.
I cleared my throat. "We just talked for a while."
"That's it?" he asked.
"That's it."
Katherine watched Chloe carefully for a moment before speaking again, her voice calm. "You ran out of here like the building was on fire."
Chloe forced a small laugh. "I just needed some air."
Lee leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "And Orion followed you."
"Because you told me to," I replied.
"That's not the point."
Katherine glanced between the two of us again, then leaned back slightly, choosing not to press further. "As long as everything is fine."
For a short while the conversation struggled to restart. The easy rhythm we had earlier did not return immediately. Chloe kept her focus on the table while Lee occasionally glanced at me with curiosity.
Eventually he broke the silence again.
"I'm going back home tomorrow."
The sudden announcement shifted the mood completely.
Katherine looked surprised. "Tomorrow already?"
Lee nodded. "Yeah. My parents called earlier today. Apparently my mother has decided she misses me too much."
He shrugged casually, though there was warmth in his voice.
"Besides," he added, "I haven't been home in months. Might as well go see them before the next semester gets crazy."
Katherine nodded slowly. "That makes sense. I'll probably leave tomorrow as well."
Lee looked at her. "Really?"
"My family has been asking when I'm coming back too," she replied. "And honestly… a few days away from campus might be nice."
Chloe stayed quiet for a moment before they all looked toward her.
"What about you?" Lee asked.
She hesitated slightly. "I'm not sure yet. My dad won't be around for most of the week, so there's no rush for me to go home."
Then Lee turned to me.
"And you?"
"Tomorrow," I answered.
"Looks like everyone is disappearing at once," he muttered.
The thought seemed to settle over the table. The realization that the four of us would soon be leaving created a quiet feeling none of us had expected.
Lee suddenly clapped his hands once.
"Well then," he said, forcing energy back into his voice, "we shouldn't waste the rest of the day sitting here."
"What do you have in mind?" Katherine asked.
"If we're all leaving tomorrow," he replied, "we should explore more of the campus before we go. There are still a lot of places we haven't seen yet."
Chloe looked up for the first time in a while. "That actually sounds nice."
Katherine nodded. "Alright. Let's do it."
The four of us left the restaurant together and spent the rest of the afternoon wandering across different parts of the campus. Some areas were lively and full of students, while others were quiet and peaceful like the place behind the library.
Lee insisted on visiting the engineering building to show us a prototype drone someone had been working on. Chloe dragged us toward the art district where students had painted massive murals across several walls. Katherine even led us to a small garden hidden between two academic buildings where white flowers covered almost the entire ground.
By the time evening began to settle across the campus, the sky slowly turning shades of orange and purple, we found ourselves standing near the path that led toward the dormitories.
None of us said anything for a moment.
"Well," Lee finally said, rubbing the back of his neck, "this is where we split."
Katherine stepped forward first and hugged him. "Safe trip tomorrow."
"You too."
Then Lee turned toward me and pulled me into a quick hug. "Try not to get into trouble while I'm gone."
"I'll try."
Katherine hugged me next, her expression calm but warm. "Take care of yourself.
"You too."
Chloe stood slightly behind them, watching quietly.
When Lee noticed the moment, he exchanged a glance with Katherine.
"Come on," he said casually. "Let's walk ahead."
The two of them began moving down the path, leaving Chloe and me alone.
For a moment neither of us spoke.
The evening air was cool, and the campus had grown quieter as students returned to their dorms.
"I don't really know what to say about earlier," I admitted.
Chloe looked down slightly.
"I know things got… complicated."
She gave a small nod but stayed silent.
"You're important to me," I continued. "More than you probably realize. I don't want to lose you because of what happened today."
Her fingers tightened together slightly.
"I can't promise anything right now," I said honestly. "But I meant what I said before. I'll try to make space for you in my heart. Even if it takes time."
Chloe slowly lifted her head.
A soft smile appeared on her face, brighter than I expected.
"That's enough for me," she said gently. "I didn't expect more than that."
Before I could respond she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me.
The hug lasted longer than I expected.
I could feel the warmth of her body against mine, the quiet rise and fall of her breathing as she held on tightly, as if memorizing the moment.
For a second I hesitated.
Then I hugged her back.
Neither of us spoke.
Eventually she pulled away slightly but stayed close enough that I could still see the faint redness in her eyes.
"Thank you for being honest with me," she said softly.
Before I could react she leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss against my lips.
It lasted only a second.
But the meaning behind it was clear.
She stepped back immediately after.
"Bye Orion," she said quietly. "I'll see you soon."
Then she turned and began walking down the path toward the dormitories.
I stood there watching her until she disappeared around the corner.
Only then did I turn and head back toward my own room.
By the time I reached the dorm building the sky had already darkened and most students had returned to their rooms, leaving the hallway quiet.
I unlocked my door and stepped inside, and the moment I crossed the threshold the light turned on. I looked up and saw the woman with long green hair standing beside my bed, watching me calmly as if she had been there for some time.
"You're here," I said.
"You sound surprised," she replied softly. "You usually don't appear in my room." "Tonight is different." Something in her voice made the air feel heavier. I stepped further inside. "What happened?" She studied me for a moment before speaking again. "You've encountered it already, haven't you?" My chest tightened slightly and my mind briefly returned to that strange moment inside my own consciousness, the darkness, the voice, and the words it had spoken.
Fragment of brilliant light. The memory surfaced clearly in my mind as I looked back at her. "So you know." A faint smile touched her lips.
"Yes." I waited before asking,
"What is it?"
She shook her head slowly. "That isn't something I'm going to explain tonight." I frowned slightly.
"Then why are you here?" Her gaze sharpened as she answered, "Because the time has come."
"For what?"
"For you to begin learning the truth." I watched her carefully.
"The truth about what?"
Her voice became quieter. "The fragment of brilliant light."
Something deep inside my chest stirred faintly the moment she said those words and she noticed immediately, though her expression didn't change. "Get some rest tonight, Orion," she said as she turned toward the door. "Tomorrow we begin." She opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, leaving the room silent again, but the presence inside my chest had already begun to stir, faint but unmistakable, like something that had been waiting a very long time had finally realized I was ready to listen.