Unexpectedly In Love

3 Accidentally Friends

I didn't expect to see Ethan the next day.

But he was there.

Same café.

Same table.

Same annoying smile.

And apparently, my usual coffee was already waiting for me.

I stopped beside the table and stared at the cup.

Then I looked at him.

"What is this?"

He looked up from his phone.

"Coffee."

"I can see that."

"Then why did you ask?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Why did you order my coffee?"

He shrugged.

"You always order the same thing."

I froze.

"You remembered?"

"Of course."

I sat down across from him.

"That's kind of creepy."

He laughed.

"Or maybe I just pay attention."

I took the cup.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

I took a sip.

Exactly how I liked it.

I hated that he remembered.

Not because it was bad.

Because it was nice.

And I wasn't used to people remembering the little things.

⸻

"Okay," Ethan said after a few minutes.

"Okay what?"

"We need rules."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Rules?"

"Yes."

"For what?"

"Our friendship."

I almost choked on my coffee.

"Our what?"

"Our friendship."

I laughed.

"We're friends now?"

He looked offended.

"Are we not?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"We've only known each other for a few days."

"And?"

"And that's not enough to call someone a friend."

He leaned closer.

"So what am I?"

I stared at him.

I didn't know why that question suddenly made me nervous.

"You're..."

I paused.

"Annoying."

He smiled.

"That's not a category."

"Fine. You're the annoying guy who keeps buying me coffee."

"That's better."

I shook my head.

"You're impossible."

"Rule number one," he said, ignoring me. "You have to stop calling me annoying."

"No."

"Fine. Rule number two."

He raised two fingers.

"No disappearing without telling me."

I frowned.

"Why?"

"Because I don't like being ignored."

I looked at him for a moment.

There was something different in his voice.

Something I couldn't quite explain.

"Okay," I said quietly.

He smiled.

"Good."

"And my rule?"

He nodded.

"Go."

"Don't ask too many questions."

He laughed.

"That's impossible."

"Then we're not friends."

"Okay, okay."

He raised his hands.

"I'll try."

I smiled.

Maybe having a friend wasn't so bad.

⸻

Over the next few days, Ethan slowly became part of my routine.

It happened so naturally that I didn't even notice it at first.

A message in the morning.

Good morning.

A random photo during lunch.

Look what I found.

A stupid meme at midnight.

This reminded me of you.

Sometimes we'd talk for hours.

Sometimes we'd only exchange a few messages.

But somehow, he was always there.

And I started getting used to it.

Too used to it.

One night, my phone suddenly went silent.

No message.

No meme.

Nothing.

I checked the time.

11:47 PM.

I frowned.

Why hadn't he messaged?

I put my phone down.

Then picked it up again.

Nothing.

I sighed.

"Seriously, Lyss?"

I placed the phone on my bedside table.

Five minutes later, I checked again.

Still nothing.

I rolled my eyes at myself.

"Girl, what are you doing?"

I turned my phone off.

I was not waiting for Ethan.

I was just...

checking.

That's all.

⸻

The next morning, I woke up to several missed notifications.

My eyes immediately went to Ethan's name.

Ethan: Good morning.

Ethan: Sorry, nakatulog ako kagabi.

Ethan: Don't be mad.

I stared at the messages.

Then I smiled.

I quickly typed a reply.

Me: Who said I'm mad?

His reply came almost immediately.

Ethan: You.

Me: When?

Ethan: You didn't reply last night.

Me: I was sleeping.

Ethan: At 11:47?

I stared at the screen.

How did he know?

Me: Stalker.

Ethan: You checked your phone at 11:47.

I froze.

Me: How would you know?

Three dots appeared.

Then disappeared.

Then appeared again.

Ethan: Because I was about to message you.

I smiled.

I hated that I smiled.

Me: Sure.

Ethan: You're smiling right now.

I immediately stopped smiling.

Me: No, I'm not.

Ethan: You are.

Me: Shut up.

Ethan: See you later?

I stared at the message.

My fingers hovered over the keyboard.

Then I typed:

Me: Maybe.

His reply came almost instantly.

Ethan: I'll take that as a yes.

I shook my head.

Annoying.

Very, very annoying.

But somehow...

I liked it.

⸻

That afternoon, Ethan and I decided to walk around after coffee.

Nothing special.

Just walking.

We talked about random things.

Our favorite movies.

Our childhood.

Things we wanted to do someday.

"What's your biggest fear?" he suddenly asked.

I stopped walking.

"Why do you always ask weird questions?"

"That's not weird."

"It is."

"Okay, then what's yours?"

I looked ahead.

I didn't answer immediately.

Because I knew the answer.

I was afraid of being hurt again.

But I couldn't say that.

So I shrugged.

"Being alone."

It was the safest answer I could give.

He looked at me.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"What about you?"

He smiled faintly.

"Being misunderstood."

I looked at him.

"Why?"

He shrugged.

"Sometimes people only see what they want to see."

I didn't know what to say.

So I simply nodded.

We continued walking.

Neither of us spoke for a while.

But somehow, the silence felt comfortable.

Then Ethan suddenly said,

"You know..."

"What?"

"I think we're becoming friends."

I laughed.

"I think you're becoming less annoying."

He looked at me, pretending to be offended.

"That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

"Don't get used to it."

He smiled.

"I won't."

We kept walking.

And for the first time in a long time, I wasn't thinking about the past.

I wasn't thinking about what could go wrong.

I wasn't thinking about how everything eventually ended.

I was just there.

Laughing.

Walking beside someone.

Feeling happy.

And maybe that was the problem.

Because happiness had started to feel dangerous.

The moment you become too comfortable with something...

you start becoming afraid of losing it.

And I knew that feeling too well.

⸻

That night, I lay in bed staring at my phone.

Another message from Ethan.

Ethan: Goodnight, Lyss.

I smiled.

Me: Goodnight, annoying guy.

His reply came almost immediately.

Ethan: Sleep well, coffee girl.

I laughed quietly.

I placed my phone beside me and closed my eyes.

I didn't know it yet.

But somewhere between the coffee, the random messages, the teasing, and the late-night conversations...

Ethan had stopped being a stranger.

He had become my friend.

And without realizing it...

he was slowly becoming someone I didn't want to lose.