Chapter 3

Ethan’s POV

The café was almost empty.

Only a few people sat near the windows, quietly talking or looking at their phones. The soft yellow lights made the place feel warm and calm, completely different from the bright studio we had just left.

I sat across from Adrian, holding my cup of coffee carefully with both hands. I wasn’t even sure why I felt so nervous. It was just coffee. Just a normal conversation.

But nothing about this night felt normal anymore.

“You’re very quiet,” Adrian said, watching me.

I looked up quickly. “I’m not always like this.”

Adrian smiled slightly. “Then what are you like?”

I thought for a moment before answering.

“I think too much,” I said honestly. “And I notice small things people usually ignore.”

Adrian leaned back in his chair, still watching me carefully.

“That explains the photos,” he said softly.

I felt my face grow warm and quickly looked down at my coffee again. The silence between us wasn’t uncomfortable. It felt calm, like neither of us needed to pretend to be someone else.

“Why photography?” Adrian asked after a moment.

I shrugged lightly. “Because it’s easier than talking.”

Adrian didn’t laugh at the answer. Instead, he nodded slowly, like he understood exactly what that meant.

“I started singing for the same reason,” he said quietly. “It was easier than explaining how I felt.”

I looked up again, surprised.

For a few seconds, we just looked at each other without saying anything. The noise of the café faded into the background again, just like the noise in the studio had earlier.

“You don’t act like a celebrity,” I said

Adrian smiled slightly. “That’s because I don’t feel like one most of the time.”

“Then what do you feel like?” I asked.

Adrian didn’t answer immediately. He looked out the window for a moment, watching the quiet street outside.

“Someone who is always being watched,” he said softly. “Even when I’m alone.”

I didn’t know why those words felt so heavy. In that moment, I realized that Adrian’s life probably wasn’t as perfect as it looked from the outside.

“I didn’t watch you like that today,” I said quietly.

Adrian turned his head slowly and looked at me again.

“I know,” he replied.

Something about the way he said those two words made my heart beat faster again.

The café suddenly felt smaller, warmer, and quieter.

“Do you ever feel lonely?” Adrian asked softly.

I hesitated. No one had ever asked me that so directly before.

“Yes,” I admitted after a few seconds.

Adrian didn’t look surprised.

“Me too,” he said.

The words were simple, but they felt important.

I looked at the coffee in front of me again, the feeling of nervousness had dissipated. I felt calm.

“Tonight doesn’t feel real,” I said quietly.

Adrian smiled again, the smile was softer than before.

“Maybe that’s a good thing,” he replied.

Outside, the streetlights reflected softly on the empty road. Inside the café, the quiet space between us felt warmer than it should have.

I didn’t know where this was going.

I didn’t know what would happen tomorrow.

But after so long, I didn’t feel alone anymore.

And somewhere deep inside me, a small voice whispered something I wasn’t ready to admit yet.

[ ]

It was 2am when I got home.

I sat on the edge of the bed and stared at my phone for a long time.

I didn’t even know what I was waiting for.

A message? A call? Something that would prove the night hadn’t just been a strange dream.

Finally, I placed the phone beside me and lay back slowly, staring at the ceiling. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the same thing again—the way Adrian had looked at me in the studio, the quiet smile at the café, the calm way he spoke like he didn’t need to impress anyone.

I sighed and turned to my side.

“This is stupid,” I muttered quietly.

I had only met him once. Just once. There was no reason to think about him this much or feel nervous every time I remembered his voice.

And yet, I couldn’t stop.

The soft vibration of my phone suddenly broke the silence.

I sat up immediately and grabbed it, my heart beating faster than it should have.

A new message.

Unknown number.

I opened it slowly.

“Did you get home safely?”

“Adrian” I whispered

I stared at the message for a few seconds, trying to understand why such a simple question made my chest feel so warm.

I typed a reply, erased it, typed again, erased it again.

Finally, I sent:

Ethan: “Yes. Thank you”.

I almost placed the phone down again, but another message appeared almost immediately.

Adrian: “Good. I didn’t want you walking home alone that late”.

I smile slightly at the message.

I didn’t know what to say, so I just typed what felt honest.

Ethan: “You didn’t have to worry”.

The reply came quickly again.

Adrian: “I know. I wanted to”.

I froze.

I read the message again slowly, like I wasn’t completely sure I had understood it correctly.

I placed the phone on the bed and ran a hand through my hair, trying to calm the strange feeling growing in my chest again.

Why did that message feel so important?

Why did it feel like something was slowly changing in my life without asking permission?

The phone vibrated again.

Adrian: “Are you working tomorrow?”

I stared at the message, my heart beating faster now.

I didn’t know what this was. I didn’t know what Adrian wanted. Maybe it was nothing.

I swallowed slowly and typed:

Ethan: “No”.

A few seconds passed.

Then another message appeared.

Adrian: “Good. I want to see you again”.

I stopped breathing for a moment.

I didn’t know what to think, what to feel, or what to say.

All I knew was that the quiet life I had been living for years suddenly didn’t feel so quiet anymore.