More Than Just Us

Someone New

Kaye was used to waiting for Kiko. She always teased him about it, but secretly, she didn’t mind. Waiting for him had become a habit, something as natural as breathing.

That afternoon, she sat under the big acacia tree near the campus gates, scribbling in her notebook. The leaves rustled overhead, shadows dancing across the page. She was halfway through a line when her phone buzzed.

Kiko: On my way. With Lianne. Don’t leave yet.

Kaye’s pen stilled.

With Lianne.

Her chest tightened in a way she didn’t expect. She shook her head, forcing a smile. Of course he could bring someone. They weren’t exclusive. He was her bestfriend, not hers.

She closed her notebook and shoved it into her bag just as he appeared, his voice as familiar as ever.

“Kaye!”

She looked up and saw him—still in his white shirt, hair tousled from the wind. But beside him was a girl she didn’t recognize, her long dark hair shining in the sunlight, laughter spilling easily as Kiko said something only she could hear.

“There you are,” Kiko said when they reached her. “Sorry, we got held up. You don’t mind, right? This is Lianne.”

Lianne smiled warmly, extending a hand. “Hi, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Kaye blinked, quickly slipping her hand into Lianne’s. “Oh. Hi.”

Her voice was calm, polite. Inside, though, her thoughts were tumbling. He talks about me? To her?

“Lianne’s in my class,” Kiko explained. “She’s great with presentations, so we’ve been working on some stuff together.”

Kaye nodded, her smile steady though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “That’s nice.”

Kiko glanced between them, oblivious to the shift in Kaye’s tone. “Anyway, I told her about our favorite café, and she wanted to check it out. That okay with you?”

Kaye hesitated. The café had always been theirs, their secret hideout where countless memories were tucked between worn-out couches and the smell of coffee. But she swallowed the lump in her throat.

“Of course,” she said. “The more, the merrier.”

The three of them squeezed into a booth by the window. Kiko sat in the middle, naturally, cracking jokes that had both girls laughing. Or at least, pretending to.

Kaye stirred her iced latte slowly, listening to the easy rhythm of Kiko and Lianne’s conversation. He leaned toward her often, nodding with genuine interest, the same way he always had with Kaye.

“You should’ve seen Kiko in class,” Lianne was saying. “Everyone else was nervous, but he just—”

“Owned the stage,” Kaye finished automatically, forcing a smile.

“Exactly!” Lianne grinned. “He’s like that, isn’t he?”

Kaye’s chest tightened. Yes. I know. I’ve always known.

At some point, Kiko turned to her. “You’re quiet today. Everything okay?”

Kaye looked at him, his eyes full of the same concern that always disarmed her. She almost said what was really on her mind. That she didn’t like sharing him. That she missed when it was just them.

Instead, she smiled. “I’m fine. Just tired.”

He frowned slightly, but didn’t push.

Lianne nudged him then, pointing out something on her phone, and his attention shifted back. Kaye watched the way his smile softened as he leaned closer.

And for the first time, she felt like an outsider in her own story.

Later that evening, after Lianne left, Kiko walked her home.

“You didn’t talk much back there,” he said.

Kaye shrugged. “You were busy entertaining.”

“Entertaining? Come on, don’t be like that.” He nudged her lightly. “I wanted you there. You’re the reason I even brought her to the café. I told her you’d make her feel welcome.”

Something inside her melted, even as her chest ached. He still thought of her. She still mattered.

But the question pressed against her tongue. What if one day, I’m not enough? What if she takes the space I’ve always had beside you?

She didn’t ask. She simply smiled and said, “Well, she’s nice.”

“Yeah,” he said, his grin returning. “She is.”

And that small, simple confirmation was enough to unravel her.

That night, alone in her room, Kaye opened her notebook. Her pen moved quickly, spilling the words she couldn’t say aloud.

"You’re slipping away from me, piece by piece. And I don’t know how to hold on without breaking everything we are."

She closed the notebook, pressing it to her chest.

Because for the first time, waiting for Kiko didn’t feel so easy anymore.