Next To You

1

It was only the second day of the semester, and Jade had already unofficially claimed a seat; second row, third from the left. She didn’t love sitting that close, but with her eyesight, she didn’t have much of a choice.

Her bad vision was something she inherited from her mom’s side. Most of her cousins started wearing glasses even before middle school. Jade was stubborn, she had this belief that her eyesight will go back to normal, but the front-ish row helped. A compromise between pride and practicality.

To her right, her best friend Shery was already scrolling on her phone, a half-eaten snickers in hand. Beside Shery sat Cassie, sipping an iced latte and doodling flowers in the margin of her planner. Behind them, Trish had flopped dramatically into her seat, earbuds in, mouthing the lyrics to her favorite K-pop group. It was their unofficial crew formation, tight enough for whispering during boring lectures, but spaced just far enough to pretend they were taking this seriously.

Shery nudged Jade with her elbow. “Hey, what’s the plan later during our vacant?”

Cassie perked up. “We should check out the newly renovated library. I heard they put in these super quiet study rooms. It’s supposed to be really aesthetic now.”

“Or,” Trish chimed in from behind them, popping out one earbud, “we could hit that new café near our building. The one with the hanging plants and overpriced drinks?”

“I’m in,” Jade replied, “as long as there’s caffeine involved.”

“You always say that,” Cassie teased.

As they kept chatting, the classroom door creaked open at 8:15a.m., and Jade glanced up mid-sentence.

And then she stopped talking.

A guy had just stepped in and he looked completely out of sync with the usual sleepy, hoodie wearing crowd. He wore a brown polo shirt, had his backpack slung over one shoulder, and moved like he wasn’t in a rush. He looked somehow… enthusiastic.

Jade blinked, momentarily forgetting what Cassie had just said. Something about soundproof study rooms?

He scanned the room quickly, his eyes landing on the open seat beside Jade. She suddenly became hyper aware of her half drunk coffee, her barely written in notebook, and the fact that she was still holding her pen mid air.

He walked over and leaned slightly toward her.

“Hey,” he said in a soft voice. “Is this seat taken?”

She shook her head. “Nope. Go ahead.”

“Thanks,” he said, sitting down with a quiet exhale. “I just got in from the province last night. Missed the first day.”

Jade glanced at him. “That explains the energy. You’re way too put-together for an 8 a.m. class.”

He smiled, easy and warm. “First day back. Gotta make it look like I have my life together.”

She smirked. “Fake it till the midterms.”

He laughed, then extended his hand slightly. “I’m Neil, by the way.”

“Jade.” she replied, shaking his hand. “

As the professor started talking about Plato’s Cave and how the paper we’re holding isn’t real (or something like that), Neil leaned over and whispered, “Do you happen to have the syllabus? I think I missed it in the email chaos.”

Jade wordlessly tore a page from her notebook and scribbled down the course site. Underneath, she added a quick line:

You owe me a coffee for this.

Neil read it, grinned, and whispered back, “Deal.”

She turned back to face the front, trying not to smile too much. The board looked clearer today probably because of her seat.

Or maybe it was because of the guy sitting beside her.

Behind her, Trish leaned forward and whispered, “So… library or café?”

They didn’t get to answer Trish as their professor barged in.

Later that morning, after class ended and the professor wrapped up his ramblings about Plato’s Cave, the girls stuck to their original plan.

They went to see the newly renovated library.

To their surprise, the rumors were true. Everything looked sleek and modern; soft lighting, clean wood tones, and a scent that was somehow equal parts fresh coffee and new furniture. But it was the lounging area near the back that sealed the deal: two ridiculously comfy couches, facing each other with a long table between them. It even had a fancy built in wireless charger glowing faint blue in both ends of the table.

“This is it,” Shery declared, dropping her tote onto one couch with theatrical flair.

Jade sank into the seat beside her. “Okay, this is dangerous. I might never leave.”

On the opposite couch, Cassie had already kicked off her shoes, curling up beside Trish. “It’s like being hugged by a cloud.”

They sat like that for a moment, the silence cozy instead of awkward. The kind of silence that only comes from being with people who knew you down to your dumbest inside jokes and most vulnerable confessions.

Cassie broke the silence with a grin. “Okay, real talk now. We didn’t get to catch up yesterday because someone had a mystery errand.” She looked meaningfully at Trish, who just gave a smug shrug.

Shery leaned in. “I’ll go first. I visited Mom in Singapore. Brought back souvenirs too.”

She reached into her tote and tossed a small paper bag across the table. “Jade, that one’s for you.”

Jade opened it and smiled. “A keychain?”

“Singapore Merlion. I saw it and thought, yep, gotta add to her collection.”

Jade held it up, admiring the tiny merlion hybrid. “It’s perfect. Thanks, Sher.”

“You and your keychain obsession,” Trish teased. “One day she’s gonna need a second key ring just for the accessories.”

Cassie chuckled. “I didn’t do anything that fancy. Mostly stayed home and binge-watched like ten different comedy series. Brain is soup now.”

“Was one of them that fake medical show where the female lead almost died and now, she can se ghosts?” Trish asked.

“Obviously.”

“And me,” Trish said, sitting up straighter with a proud smirk, “I went to the Bruno Mars concert.”

“No way!” Shery leaned in. “How was it?”

“Incredible. The man can sing, dance, flirt, and hypnotize all at once. I almost left with a parasocial relationship. Bonus, I watched day 2 and it wasn’t sold out. I somehow got upgraded to lower box.

They all laughed except Jade, who had suddenly gone quiet.

Cassie noticed first. “Jade? You okay?”

Jade let out a long breath, staring down at the Merlion keychain in her palm. “Not exactly.”

The three of them immediately sobered, their expressions shifting from playful to concerned.

“What happened?” Shery asked gently.

Jade hesitated. “It’s Andre. We… we decided to part ways.”

“What do you mean?” Trish asked. “Like, you two aren’t talking anymore?”

Jade nodded. “He left for London last week. For his master’s.”

“Okay, but you knew that, right?” Cassie said carefully. “You guys talked about it before.”

“I did. We did,” Jade said softly. “But… it didn’t end well.”

She looked up, eyes clouded with something heavier than just missing someone. “He asked me to be his girlfriend. Right before he left.”

The three girls exchanged shocked glances.

Shery was the first to speak. “Wait.. what? Like, finally?”

Jade gave a faint, sad smile. “Yeah. Finally. And I turned him down.”

Cassie blinked. “Why?!”

Jade sat back, the couch suddenly feeling a little too soft, too comforting. Her voice lowered as she began to explain.

It was late afternoon. The sun had started to dip below the horizon, painting the street outside in honey gold.

They were sitting at their usual hangout spot bench on their subdivision’s clubhouse. Andre was quiet for once, fiddling with the edge of his fingers.

“You leave tomorrow,” Jade said, trying to sound casual.

He nodded. “Yeah. It’s happening.”

Then, suddenly, without looking at her, he said, “Jade… I need to tell you something.”

She glanced at him. “Okay?”

“I like you,” he said, voice steady. “Not just as a friend. And I’m kinda scared to leave without saying it. I know it’s bad timing, but I need to ask… will you be my girlfriend?”

Jade’s heart twisted. She’d imagined this moment so many times growing up. in between group projects, late-night phone calls, and walking home from school together. But now that it was real… it felt wrong.

“I… Andre,” she said quietly. “I don’t know if I can.”

He turned to her, brows furrowed. “Why not?”

She hesitated, then said, “Because I’m scared. My sister just went through this awful breakup, and I saw how it tore her up. I don’t think I’m ready. And I really, really don’t want to lose what we already have.”

Andre pulled back slightly. “So… what? You’re rejecting me because of your sister’s breakup?”

“It’s not just that. I’m just… scared of ruining what we have.”

He stood up suddenly. “You know what’s worse than ruining something? Never taking the risk. You think I’m doing this for fun? I’m going overseas, Jade. I’m risking it because I care about you.”

She opened her mouth, but he wasn’t finished.

“You’re so caught up in your fear that you didn’t even ask what this means for me. What if while I’m gone, some other guy just slides in and—”

“That’s not fair—”

“No,” he cut in, voice sharp. “What’s not fair is you letting your trauma be the excuse not to even try.”

And with that, he turned, grabbed his bag, and left.

No hug. No proper goodbye. No closure.

Just the fading sound of his footsteps, and the sting of her best friend walking away from her.

Back in the present, Jade blinked away the memory and the ache it left behind.

Shery was staring at her, stunned. “He really said that to you?”

Jade nodded. “I didn’t expect him to take it so badly.”

Trish crossed her arms, scowling. “I’m sorry, but that’s messed up. Childhood friend or not, you don’t just throw someone’s trauma in their face like that.”

“We really thought you two would end up together,” Cassie added softly. “You were our OTP.”

Shery sighed. “Same. I had your wedding playlist already in my head.”

“I know,” Jade whispered. “I’m so sorry girls.”

Trish sat up suddenly. “Okay, you know what? Screw this sad vibe. Let’s go to that café I mentioned.”

Shery looked around. “But we just sat down!”

“Too many feelings!” Trish said loudly, causing someone a few feet away to shush them.

Cassie laughed and stood up. “Café it is.”

Jade stood too, clutching the keychain in her hand.

She wasn’t over it. Not yet.

But with her girls beside her, maybe she didn’t have to be alone on this one.