By Monday morning, something had changed.
Emma felt it the moment she stepped onto campus.
People were looking at her.
Not everyone.
Just enough to make her suspicious.
She adjusted the strap of her bag and continued toward the lecture hall.
A pair of girls standing near the stairs whispered as she passed.
One of them glanced at her.
Then at the other.
Then both of them smiled.
Emma frowned.
"What?"
They immediately looked away.
Emma kept walking.
Maybe she was imagining it.
Probably.
She reached the lecture hall and found Ethan already sitting in their usual seats.
He looked up.
"Morning."
"Morning."
She sat beside him.
Then she noticed the expression on his face.
"What?"
He looked confused.
"Nothing."
"You're staring."
"So are you."
"I'm trying to figure out why everyone is acting strange."
Ethan paused.
"Everyone?"
"People were whispering when I walked in."
He looked away.
Emma narrowed her eyes.
"You know something."
"No."
"Ethan."
He sighed.
"Okay."
She leaned closer.
"What?"
He lowered his voice.
"Apparently, we're dating."
Emma blinked.
"What?"
He looked at her.
"That's the rumor."
She stared at him for a moment.
Then burst out laughing.
Ethan smiled despite himself.
"What's so funny?"
"Us?"
"Apparently."
"Dating?"
"Apparently."
Emma shook her head.
"Who started that?"
"I don't know."
"You don't?"
"No."
She studied him.
"How do you feel about it?"
The smile disappeared from his face.
"I don't know."
Emma's laughter faded.
She hadn't expected that answer.
"You don't know?"
"No."
He looked down at his notebook.
"It's weird."
"Yeah."
"People talking about us like that."
"Yeah."
She waited.
"And?"
He looked at her.
"And I don't completely hate it."
Emma's heart skipped.
"Oh."
"Yeah."
She looked down.
Neither spoke for a moment.
Then Ethan smiled.
"You?"
She glanced at him.
"I don't completely hate it either."
His eyebrows lifted.
"Really?"
"Don't make a big deal out of it."
"I wasn't."
"You were about to."
"I was thinking about it."
"That's worse."
He laughed.
Before they could say anything else, the professor walked in.
"Good morning, everyone."
The room quieted.
Emma opened her notebook.
But she couldn't concentrate.
Not after what Ethan had said.
I don't completely hate it.
She glanced at him.
He was already looking at her.
Their eyes met.
He smiled.
She looked away quickly.
---
At lunch, the rumor had somehow grown.
Emma sat across from Ethan in the cafeteria.
Her friend Maya dropped into the seat beside her.
"So..."
Emma immediately knew that tone.
"No."
"You don't even know what I'm going to ask."
"Yes, I do."
Maya grinned.
"Are you and Ethan dating?"
Emma groaned.
"Where did you hear that?"
"Everyone knows."
"Everyone?"
"Pretty much."
Ethan leaned back in his chair.
"This is getting ridiculous."
Maya looked at him.
"So you're not dating?"
"No."
"Yet?"
Emma nearly choked on her drink.
"Maya!"
"What?"
Ethan coughed, trying not to laugh.
Maya looked between them.
"Interesting."
"There's nothing interesting happening," Emma said.
"Sure."
"Nothing."
"Okay."
Maya smiled.
"I believe you."
Emma knew immediately that she didn't.
After Maya left, Emma looked at Ethan.
"She's impossible."
"She's not wrong."
Emma froze.
"What?"
He shrugged.
"I said she's not wrong."
"About what?"
"Nothing."
"Ethan."
He smiled.
"You're becoming predictable."
"So are you."
She looked at him.
"What does that mean?"
"It means you ask too many questions."
"Maybe because you never answer them."
"Fair."
They both smiled.
---
Later that afternoon, Emma was walking across campus when Lucas caught up with her.
"Hey."
She turned.
"Hi."
He walked beside her.
"So."
Emma sighed.
"Don't."
"I haven't said anything."
"You're about to."
He smiled.
"Are you and Ethan really together?"
"No."
"Really?"
"Really."
He nodded.
"Good."
Emma stopped.
"Good?"
Lucas turned toward her.
"Yeah."
"Why?"
He hesitated.
"Because I was hoping the rumor wasn't true."
Emma's expression changed.
"What do you mean?"
Lucas looked nervous for the first time since she'd known him.
"I like you, Emma."
She stared at him.
He continued.
"I've wanted to ask you out for a while."
Emma didn't know what to say.
Lucas was nice.
She liked talking to him.
But her heart immediately went somewhere else.
To Ethan.
To the rain.
To the almost-kiss.
To the way he'd looked at her when he'd said he cared about her.
"I'm sorry," she said softly.
Lucas smiled, but there was disappointment behind it.
"Because of Ethan?"
Emma hesitated.
"I don't know."
That was the most honest answer she could give.
Lucas nodded.
"Okay."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be."
He gave her a small smile.
"Just... figure out what you want."
Then he walked away.
Emma stood there.
Her heart felt strangely heavy.
She had expected to feel confused.
Instead, she felt certain.
She wanted Ethan.
The realization scared her.
Because wanting someone was easy.
Admitting it was another thing entirely.
---
That evening, Emma found Ethan sitting outside the library.
He looked up when she approached.
"Hey."
"Hey."
She sat beside him.
"How was your day?"
"Complicated."
He smiled.
"Mine too."
She looked at him.
"Why?"
He hesitated.
"People keep asking about us."
Emma smiled faintly.
"Same."
He looked at her.
"Lucas asked you?"
She nodded.
"What did you tell him?"
Emma noticed the tension in his jaw.
"I told him we're not dating."
Ethan looked away.
"Right."
"But..."
He looked back.
"But what?"
Emma took a breath.
"I told him I didn't know."
"Didn't know what?"
"How I feel."
Ethan went quiet.
Emma watched him carefully.
Then she said—
"I think I know now."
His eyes met hers.
Her heart pounded.
"Ethan..."
He waited.
"I think..."
She stopped.
The words suddenly felt impossible.
"I think I like you."
Silence.
Ethan stared at her.
Emma's face warmed.
"Say something."
He opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
She smiled nervously.
"You don't have to say it back."
He shook his head.
"No."
"No?"
"No, that's not it."
He turned toward her completely.
"Emma..."
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"I've been trying not to say it for weeks."
Her heart stopped.
"Say what?"
He smiled.
"That I like you too."
Emma stared at him.
Neither moved.
Neither looked away.
Then Ethan laughed softly.
"So I guess the rumor was wrong."
Emma smiled.
"About what?"
He reached for her hand.
"That we're dating."
She looked at their intertwined fingers.
"Yeah."
A small smile appeared on her face.
"Not yet."
Ethan's eyes widened slightly.
"Not yet?"
Emma squeezed his hand.
"Don't make me regret saying that."
He smiled.
"I won't."
For once, there was no uncertainty in his eyes.
No fear.
No hesitation.
Just hope.
And as they sat together beneath the evening sky, Emma realized something.
Sometimes rumors weren't entirely wrong.
Sometimes they simply arrived before the truth was ready.
And maybe—
their truth had finally begun.