The heavy quiet between us felt almost deafening against the distant hum of the festival. Desperate to break the awkward tension, I cleared my throat, forcing my voice to sound casual as I looked over at Luca.
"Hey... why did you actually leave the group back there?" I asked, keeping my eyes fixed on the pavement ahead. "If you stayed with them a bit longer, you would've had a lot more fun. I'm sure of it."
Luca offered a soft, easy laugh, shaking his head. "It's fine, really. I had already enjoyed myself quite a bit. Besides..." He paused, rubbing the back of his neck with a sheepish grin. "I actually had some student council duties I needed to take care of. They've been blowing up my phone trying to get me back for some committee work, so I really had to head out."
"Oh, is that so?" I murmured, raising an eyebrow. "Still, I thought you might regret leaving them so early."
"Not at all," Luca replied smoothly. "Actually, I wanted to leave for a while, but I couldn't find a graceful way to say it. When you mentioned you had to catch your train, it gave me the perfect excuse to make my exit. So, don't worry about it."
"Oh... I understand," I said, a small smile tugging at my lips.
For a moment, silence settled over us again. I scrambled through my brain, searching for another topic to keep the conversation flowing so the awkwardness wouldn't creep back in. Giving up on finding anything clever, I decided to just speak from the heart.
"You know..." I began softly, looking over at him. "Today was really amazing. I actually had so much fun. I think I'm going to remember this day for a very long time."
Luca turned his head, his eyes softening as he met my gaze, a warm smile spreading across his face. "Yeah, me too. It was a really good decision to come here."
His genuine expression made my chest flutter, washing away the last remnants of the tension. But the sweet, peaceful bubble we were floating in popped instantly.
Just a few seconds later, my heart slammed against my ribs. Up ahead, walking toward us down the street, were a group of students from our college, classmates we knew all too well. As soon as they spotted the two of us walking alone together, their steps slowed. They stopped dead in their tracks, pointing fingers, whispering behind cupped hands, and exchanging knowing, malicious grins.
The weight of their stares hit me like a physical blow. Panic surged through my veins, freezing me in my tracks.
Seeing me halt abruptly, Luca stopped too, turning back with a concerned look. "What's wrong? Why did you stop?"
My voice trembled as I looked toward the opposite side of the street. "Look... over there. Some of our classmates are coming. They're staring right at us."
Luca glanced across the street, taking in the whispering group of students. Instead of looking panicked or guilty, he merely let out a calm, reassuring breath. He stepped a fraction closer to me, his presence a steady anchor against the rising tide of my anxiety.
"It's fine," Luca said gently, his voice completely unfazed. "Let them look. We came to enjoy the festival, and sooner or later, people were going to see us together anyway. Don't worry about it, Iris."
"But they're going to start gossiping," I whispered, my voice tight as I stared at the cluster of students whispering behind cupped hands across the street. "They're going to try to tarnish your reputation. They'll twist everything."
Luca let out a soft, dismissive sigh, his expression entirely unbothered. "It's fine, Iris. They love to gossip about everything anyway. Even before this, when there was nothing between us, they still found things to make up and whisper about. Now that they've actually spotted us, they'll just have more fuel for their fire. But so what?"
He stepped slightly closer, his tone firm yet gentle. "Remember, you've spent so much energy trying to explain everything and it never stops them. Let them talk. That's all people like that know how to do. Some folks just live for gossip."
When I opened my mouth to argue further, especially regarding the fallout on his end, Luca cut me off with a reassuring smile.
"And as for my reputation, don't worry about that either," he said calmly. "If my actual friends know me, they'll believe the truth. If they're the kind of people who would abandon me over baseless rumors, then they aren't my real friends to begin with. So please, stop stressing over it. Enjoy this moment instead."
"You need to take care of yourself first, Iris" he continued with the same clam voice. "Stop carrying the weight of the world and everyone else's opinions on your shoulders. Worry about yourself."