Chapter three:small sparks
365 Words
Vivian was still talking like she never ran out of words.
Something about group mates again, something about someone “acting like CEO of assignment,” and Sofia was just there laughing here and there, not really trying to follow everything.
She was sitting on the couch, legs tucked under her, eating snacks like she owned them.
“Honestly, I don’t even know why I do group work,” Vivian was saying, pacing a little now. “It’s like volunteering for stress.”
Sofia laughed. “You volunteer every semester though.”
“I’m learning from my mistakes,” Vivian said quickly.
Sofia shook her head, still smiling.
Then Vivian went off to the kitchen again, still talking as she walked. “Don’t finish everything oo!”
Sofia called back, “No promises!”
And that was when the room shifted a bit.
Not silence. Just less noise for a second.
Sofia looked up without thinking.
Adrian was there.
She hadn’t really seen him properly before—not like this.
He was just standing there for a moment, like he had come down from upstairs. Calm. Not trying to do anything. But somehow that made it worse in a way she didn’t understand.
Sofia paused mid-bite.
He looked… good.
Not in a loud way. Just naturally. The kind of handsome you don’t need to announce. Clean face, calm expression, that quiet confidence that made him feel like he didn’t need to talk to fill space.
He wasn’t even doing anything special.
That was the strange part.
He just existed like that.
Then his eyes moved.
Not searching. Just landing.
On her.
Sofia didn’t even hold it. She looked away first, like it was nothing, like she wasn’t aware of anything at all.
But she was.
She just didn’t want to admit it even to herself.
Vivian came back in talking again, balancing water and snacks. “I swear, if anybody touches my food again in this house—”
Sofia laughed a bit too quickly. “You said don’t finish everything, not don’t touch anything.”
Vivian gasped. “Same thing!”
Sofia leaned back, still smiling.
The room went back to normal noise again.
- Writer
