The space between us

Chapter 8_ The space that keeps closing

The afternoon sun was bright enough to make the pavement shimmer, but Ryan didn’t seem to mind. He walked beside Ethan, his hoodie sleeves pushed up, hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans. They were heading to the small café just off campus—a place they’d been going to since their second year.

It was the kind of spot where the barista already knew their orders, where the smell of roasted coffee beans seemed to sink into the wood-paneled walls.

“You’re quiet today,” Ryan said as they crossed the street.

Ethan adjusted the strap of his backpack. “Just tired.”

Ryan gave him a sidelong glance. “Tired or… overthinking?”

Ethan nearly tripped. “Why would I be overthinking?”

Ryan grinned faintly. “Because you always get this faraway look when something’s stuck in your head. Like you’re having a conversation no one else can hear.”

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When they reached the café, it was nearly empty except for a couple in the corner. Ryan held the door open, his hand brushing against Ethan’s arm as he gestured him inside. It was such a small touch, but Ethan felt it—more than he should have.

Ryan ordered for both of them without asking, just like he always did.

“Still like caramel lattes?” Ryan asked, though he already knew the answer.

“You remember?”

“Of course I remember.” His tone was so casual, like remembering Ethan’s drink preference was as natural as breathing.

They settled into their usual table by the window. The sunlight streamed through, casting warm patterns across the tabletop.

---

Ryan leaned back in his chair, studying Ethan. “You’ve been hanging out with Lily a lot lately.”

Ethan nodded slowly. “Yeah, we’ve… talked about some things.”

Ryan tilted his head. “Things about me?”

Ethan froze. “…Maybe.”

Ryan’s grin widened, but there was something softer in his eyes. “She’s nosy. But she’s also not wrong most of the time.”

Ethan looked down at his latte. “She thinks I should be honest.”

“And do you want to be?”

The question hit harder than Ethan expected. He stared at the swirl of foam in his cup, afraid that if he looked at Ryan now, he’d give everything away.

---

They talked about lighter things after that—classes, Daniel’s new obsession with indie board games, Lily’s upcoming photography exhibit. But through it all, Ethan couldn’t shake the feeling that Ryan’s attention kept slipping back to him in quiet moments.

It was in the way Ryan nudged the sugar packet toward him without being asked, or how he slid his own plate closer so Ethan could reach the fries. It was the way his knee brushed against Ethan’s under the table and didn’t move away.

And then there was the moment—small, fleeting—when Ethan reached for his drink and Ryan’s hand almost, almost covered his.

---

On the walk back to campus, the air had cooled slightly. Ryan walked close enough that their shoulders occasionally bumped.

“You know,” Ryan said after a long stretch of silence, “I’ve been thinking about something.”

Ethan’s chest tightened. “About what?”

Ryan glanced at him, smiling in that way that made Ethan’s stomach feel weightless. “About how some people… just feel like home. You don’t really notice it at first, but then one day you realize they’ve been your favorite place to be all along.”

Ethan’s steps faltered. His heart was pounding so loud he could barely hear the traffic. “That’s… poetic.”

Ryan shrugged like it was nothing. “Just an observation.”

---

They reached the campus gates, and Ryan slowed his pace. “I’ve got class, but… I’ll walk you to yours first.”

Ethan blinked. “You don’t need to—”

“I want to,” Ryan said simply.

The warmth in his tone lingered long after they parted ways, and Ethan found himself wondering if maybe Lily was right. Maybe there was something in the way Ryan stayed close, in the way his words seemed to brush against truths he wasn’t ready to say out loud.

Maybe the space between them wasn’t as wide as Ethan had always feared.

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