We said we were friends - Don't Look at That

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Episode 3 — We Said We Were Friends

“Don’t Look at That.”

The problem with Rowan Mercer was that once he stopped looking intimidating for even two seconds…

he became dangerously attractive.

Which was extremely inconvenient for Aiden’s mental stability.

Especially after yesterday.

Especially after the smile.

Aiden blamed himself for thinking about it all night.

And even more for sketching it from memory.

—

By Thursday afternoon, campus was chaos.

The annual university festival was only a week away, meaning:

clubs were recruiting aggressively

students were running around carrying decorations

professors were suddenly assigning impossible workloads

And somehow the friend group still ended up together.

Kai walked backward through the hallway filming everyone dramatically.

“Welcome back to another episode of People Clearly in Love but Emotionally Unwell—”

Rowan grabbed the back of Kai’s hoodie without even looking.

“Watch where you’re walking.”

“See?” Kai pointed instantly. “This is why I survive. You care about me.”

“I care about lawsuits.”

“That’s basically affection.”

Theo laughed quietly beside Luca while balancing coffee cups in both hands.

Luca immediately stole one.

“You didn’t even ask,” Theo complained.

“You looked like you wanted to share.”

“That’s not how sharing works.”

Vincent snorted. “Watching you two flirt is exhausting.”

Theo nearly dropped the remaining drinks.

“We are NOT flirting.”

Luca looked deeply offended. “Theo. Don’t embarrass me in public.”

Noel muttered, “This group is beyond saving.”

—

That evening, Aiden stayed in the art building finishing the project draft with Rowan.

Unfortunately.

The classroom was nearly empty except for them.

Aiden sat cross-legged on a table sketching layouts while Rowan typed notes into his laptop nearby.

Silence filled the room comfortably for exactly four minutes.

Then—

“You chew your pen when you’re stressed.”

Aiden froze.

“…What?”

Rowan kept typing.

“You’ve been doing it for ten minutes.”

Aiden immediately lowered the pen.

“You notice weird things.”

“You do weird things.”

“Wow. Incredible comeback.”

Rowan ignored him.

Aiden narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Why do you even pay attention to me that much?”

The typing stopped.

For one second, the room felt strangely still.

Then Rowan leaned back in his chair.

“You’re loud.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“You’re impossible to ignore.”

Aiden stared at him.

Rowan looked completely calm after saying something insane like that.

“Do you flirt with everyone accidentally,” Aiden asked slowly, “or am I just unlucky?”

“I’m not flirting.”

“That’s somehow worse.”

A faint smirk appeared on Rowan’s face again.

Dangerous.

Absolutely dangerous.

—

An hour later, Rowan left briefly to get coffee from the vending machines downstairs.

Which should have been harmless.

Unfortunately, Kai Adler existed.

The classroom door suddenly burst open.

“AIDEN.”

Aiden nearly fell off the table. “What is WRONG with you?”

Kai walked in dramatically holding camera equipment.

“I came to save you from your academic enemies-to-lovers situation.”

“We are not—”

Then Kai noticed the sketchbook beside Aiden.

A slow grin appeared.

“Oh?”

Aiden’s soul left his body instantly.

“Don’t touch that.”

Too late.

Kai grabbed the sketchbook and flipped it open.

Page after page of drawings.

The friend group. Campus scenes. Random hands. Eyes.

And Rowan.

So much Rowan.

Rowan leaning against walls. Rowan sleeping during study hall. Rowan holding coffee. Rowan laughing once in the corner of a page.

Kai looked up slowly.

Then back down.

Then up again.

“Oh my GOD.”

Aiden lunged for the sketchbook immediately.

“KAI GIVE IT BACK—”

“You’re catastrophically down bad.”

“Shut UP.”

“You drew him like he’s a tragic novel protagonist.”

“I’m going to kill you.”

Kai dodged him while laughing loudly.

Unfortunately—

the classroom door opened again.

Silence.

Rowan stood there holding two coffees.

Kai still had the sketchbook open.

Aiden looked seconds away from death.

Nobody moved.

Nobody breathed.

Then Kai, because survival instincts did not exist inside him, slowly looked at Rowan.

“…So,” he said carefully, “fun fact.”

Aiden wanted the earth to collapse immediately.

Rowan’s eyes shifted toward the sketchbook.

Then toward Aiden.

A long silence followed.

Aiden couldn’t even speak.

His ears burned. His heart pounded violently. This was horrible.

Actually horrible.

Then Rowan walked forward calmly.

Took the sketchbook from Kai’s hands.

Closed it.

And handed it back to Aiden without opening a single page.

“I told you not to touch other people’s stuff,” Rowan said to Kai.

Kai blinked.

“…That’s your concern right now?”

Rowan ignored him completely.

Which somehow made everything worse.

Because Rowan had definitely understood.

There was no way he didn’t.

Aiden avoided eye contact so hard it became physically painful.

Kai looked between them with the excitement of someone watching live television.

“Oh this is INSANE—”

“Leave,” Rowan said.

Kai immediately pointed at them both. “Something weird is happening here.”

“Out.”

“I’m leaving but spiritually I’m still here.”

Then Kai disappeared before getting murdered.

The room became quiet again.

Too quiet.

Aiden gripped the sketchbook tightly.

“…You can laugh,” he muttered finally.

Rowan frowned slightly. “Why would I laugh?”

“Because it’s embarrassing.”

“You drawing things?”

“You specifically.”

Another silence.

Then Rowan placed one of the coffees beside Aiden carefully.

“I don’t think it’s embarrassing.”

Aiden looked up slowly.

Rowan met his eyes directly.

Calm. Steady. Too honest.

And for the first time since they met—

Aiden had absolutely no sarcastic response.

—

Outside, rain poured heavily over the campus lights.

Inside the empty classroom, neither of them noticed how close they were standing now.

Or maybe they noticed.

Maybe that was the problem.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgwD4K65ALy

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