Chapter 3
1379 Words
Life didn’t magically become easier after our first argument, but something in us shifted.
We understood each other more. We communicated more carefully and were more honest, and we held each other closer, not out of fear, but because we wanted to.
August faded into September, and before I knew it, our lectures intensified, assignments piled up, and tests crept in with the subtlety of a train crashing through a wall. This was the part of the semester everyone dreaded, but somehow, having Kaden beside me made it feel less like drowning.
We spent most evenings studying together in the library or sitting under that big acacia tree near the Humanities block. Sometimes we talked, and sometimes we just existed near each other, comfortable in the silence.
But we were evolving, I was loving it that way.
He learned my habits, how I tap my pen when I’m anxious, how I fold my notes three times before throwing them away, how I need a break every 40 minutes or I shut down completely.
And I also learned his too. How he zones out when solving a math problem, how he hums under his breath when he’s relaxed, how he needs reassurance even though he always pretends he doesn’t.
We were building something real, brick by brick. It's not a perfect one but a strong foundation. By late September, CA pressure was suffocating everyone on campus, and then October arrived.
October on campus is its own type of madness.The early mornings, late nights, and students panicking to qualify for the November exams. This is when people have been carrying Red Bulls like emotional support animals. Even buying some in advance for November. Group assignments led people to printer queues that look like refugee lines and
couples breaking up over group assignments and CA test twos. It was chaos, real, unfiltered chaos.
And in the middle of that whirlwind… I was trying to hold myself together.
One afternoon in early October, I sat on the steps outside the business block, my heart pounding so hard my hands shook.
I had just finished a macro test that felt like it was written by demons with PhDs. My brain felt fried, my chest was tight, and my eyes were heavy with the frustration only a university student can truly understand.
Kaden spotted me from across the courtyard. I didn’t call him over cause I didn’t even look up, but somehow, he always knew when something wasn’t right. He walked over, sat beside me, and didn’t say a word and just placed a cold iced coffee next to me.
I stared at it, then at him. “Am I that predictable?”
He smiled gently. “Only to me.”
I rested my head on his shoulder, exhaling shakily.
“It was bad.” I said
“How bad?” he questioned with concern in his eyes.
“Like… I-might-drop-out-and-start-a-bakery bad.” I jokingly said even though part of me wanted to.
He laughed softly and kissed the top of my head. “Then I’ll be your first customer.”
I nudged him. “Why are you like this?”
“Because I love you,” he said easily. Naturally. Like he was saying he loved the sky or the air or breathing, and somehow, hearing it in that moment made my eyes burn.
“You’re going to make me cry,” I whispered.
“That’s okay,” he murmured. “I’ll be here when you do.”
As the month went on, the stress got worse, not just for me, but for both of us.
Assignments.
Tests.
Group projects.
Practical submissions.
Life.
There were two weeks when we barely saw each other, even though we were on the same campus. We were so busy I started questioning everything whether we were slipping, whether the distance meant something, whether the pressure would eventually pull us apart the way it did with so many couples around us.
And then another argument happened.
It wasn’t like the first one—soft, emotional, and easy to resolve.This one hurt badly
It was a Thursday evening.
I was exhausted from a three-hour lecture and a surprise test that had pushed me to the edge.
I hadn’t eaten properly all day, my phone battery was dying, and I was carrying a bag that weighed more than my will to live.
Kaden had texted me earlier asking if I could meet him after class, but I was drained and just wanted to sleep.
When I walked outside, he was standing under his favourite tree, waiting. He waved when he saw me, but I didn’t have the energy to match his brightness.
“Luce!” He walked up and pulled me into a hug, but I was stiff.
“You okay?” he asked, pulling back slightly.
“I’m tired,” I muttered.
He searched my face, frowning. “You didn’t reply to my texts.”
“I saw them,” I said, rubbing my eyes. “I just didn’t feel like talking.”
He hesitated. “It’s been three days, Luce. I haven’t seen you properly since Sunday.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“You can’t be that busy—”
I snapped.
Like something inside me shattered.
“I AM that busy, Kaden! I’m writing tests, studying, doing assignments, dealing with life, and trying to keep myself sane. I don’t have time to text every five minutes!”
He stepped back like I’d slapped him. “I never asked you to text every five minutes.”
“Well, it feels like it!” I exhaled sharply. “You want updates, you want replies, you want attention. I don’t have the energy for all that right now!”
His face went blank, not angry, not sad. Just blank.
“So now I’m a burden?” he said quietly.
The words hit me like a punch to the stomach.
Hearing them out loud made me instantly regret everything. I realized that I went too far.
“Kaden, I didn’t mean—”
“It’s fine.” His voice cracked slightly. “I get it.”
“No, you don’t,” I whispered. “I’m just stressed.”
“We’re all stressed, Luce.” His voice wavered. “But I’m trying. I’m really trying to be good to you. And I feel like lately… you don’t want me close.”
My throat tightened. “That’s not true.”
“Then why does it feel like it?”He ran a hand through his hair.“You’re pulling away… and I don’t know what to do or what I did wrong.”
The pain in his voice broke me.
I looked at him really looked.His tired eyes. The slump in his shoulders. The fear he was trying so hard to hide and suddenly, everything hit me at once the stress, the exhaustion, the guilt.
I stepped closer, my voice barely a whisper. “Kaden… you didn’t do anything wrong.”
His breath hitched. “Then talk to me. Please. Don’t shut me out.”The desperation in his tone shattered whatever anger was left inside me.
I reached for his hands, and he took mine instantly, gripping like he needed something to anchor him.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, tears burning my eyes. “I’m so, so sorry. I’m overwhelmed. I’m tired. I’m scared. And sometimes… when everything feels too heavy, I pull away because I don’t want to break in front of someone I love.”
His expression softened painfully. “Baby, you can break in front of me.That did it for me as the tears fell.
He pulled me into his chest, holding me tightly as I cried quietly, breathing shakily into his hoodie.
We stood there like that for a long time, two tired university students trying to hold each other together in the middle of a messy, chaotic semester.
When I finally calmed down, he kissed my forehead gently.
“We’re okay,” he whispered. “Even when things get hard we’re okay.”I nodded into his chest because he was right. We were okay, not perfect, not effortless but real.
And for the first time that whole month, I felt like I could breathe again.
- Writer
