Tuesday morning arrived with a physical weight. Layla lay in bed for a long time, staring at the ceiling, her hand instinctively touching the cheek where Jade's palm had rested just hours before. The warmth was gone, replaced by the cool morning air and a gnawing sense of confusion. She reached for her phone, her heart skipping a beat as she checked her notifications.
Nothing… nothing at all.
No text from Liam. No "Hey, it's me" or "Looking forward to lunch." The digital silence felt like a glitch in the perfect program he usually ran. She sighed, tossed the phone onto her duvet, and forced herself to get ready.
When she stepped outside, Jade was already at his car. He didn't look up immediately, but she could tell he knew she was there. The air between their driveways was thick, charged with the memory of his breath against her face and the shrill interruption of her mother's phone call.
"Good Morning," Layla said, trying her absolute best to play it cool. She adjusted her backpack strap, her voice steady even if her heart was doing a frantic rhythm.
Jade finally looked up at her. His smoky eyes were hooded, unreadable. He didn't smirk. He didn't make a joke about her "loud" side. He just nodded toward the passenger seat. "Get in, neighbor. We're going to be late."
The drive to campus was defined by a silence so heavy it felt like a third passenger in the car. Usually, they bickered about the music or the traffic, but today, the only sound was the low hum of the heater and the occasional click of the turn signal. Layla looked out the window, watching the Montreal streets blur past, wondering if she should say something. Sorry about last night? Why did you do that? Does this mean you like me? Every time she opened her mouth to speak, she saw the "defeated" look Jade had worn when he walked into his house. She realized that for someone as confident as him, showing vulnerability was probably more terrifying than any chemistry exam. So, she stayed silent, matching his mood until they pulled into the parking lot.
"See you later," she said as she climbed out.
Jade just gripped the steering wheel, staring straight ahead. "Yeah. Later."
The morning classes were a blur of frustration. Every time the door to the lecture hall opened, Layla's head snapped up, expecting to see Liam's tall frame and doe eyes, but he was nowhere to be found and the seat next to Sarah remained empty. By the time lunch rolled around, Layla was vibrating with a mix of worry and annoyance.
"Where is he, Sarah?" Layla asked as they walked through the quad.
Sarah looked down at her own phone, her brow furrowed. "He's not answering his texts. He didn't even show up for his morning Algorithm lab, and he never misses that. He's probably just... dealing with some stuff."
Dealing with what? Is he always like this? Layla wondered. The perfect boy had promised a text and a date, and now he was a ghost. It felt like the universe was constantly shifting the goalposts.
As they walked, Layla caught sight of a tall figure by the fountain. It was Jade. He was leaning against a pillar, talking to a group of people, but the second he saw her, his gaze locked onto hers. It happened again twenty minutes later near the library. And again by the student union.
"Is it just me, or is Jade literally everywhere today?" Sarah muttered, noticing the coincidence.
Layla felt a prickle of heat on her neck. It didn't feel like a coincidence. It felt like Jade was orbiting her, a constant reminder of the choice she had made in the parking lot and the moment she had interrupted in the driveway. Every time their eyes met, her "loud" inner voice screamed for her to go talk to him, but her shy exterior kept her glued to Sarah's side.
"Anyway, focus on the good stuff," Sarah said, pulling a crumpled set of papers from her bag. "Thailand. The deadline is tomorrow. If we don't sign these today, the spots will be gone."
Layla looked at the registration form. Her mother's voice echoed in her head, Be careful, Layla. Don't rush into things. She knew she should wait, should call her mom and talk about the cost and the distance. But her life felt so messy and out of control in this moment that she needed something solid. She needed a future that didn't involve staring at empty driveways or waiting for texts that never came.
"Give me a pen," Layla said.
"Really? Without checking with your mom?" Sarah asked, looking surprised.
"She'll understand," Layla lied, her hand trembling slightly as she signed her name at the bottom of the form. "I need this, Sarah. I need to get away from... everything."
As she handed the papers back, she felt a sudden, sharp chill. She turned around to find Jade standing just a few feet away, watching her. He didn't say anything, but the look in his eyes wasn't smug anymore. It was hurt. He had seen her sign the papers, the papers that meant she would be spending her summer in a foreign country with Sarah and, more importantly, with Liam.
He turned and walked away before she could say a word. Layla stood there, the signed contract feeling like a heavy weight in her hand. She had made her choice. She had signed her summer away to chase a boy who hadn't even texted her back, while the boy who had offered her his heart was disappearing into the crowd once again.
"What have I done?" she whispered to herself.
"You've started an adventure!" Sarah cheered, oblivious to the storm brewing in Layla's chest.
Layla forced a smile, but as she watched Jade's broad shoulders vanish into the distance, she felt like she had just failed the most important experiment of all.