Chapter seven: The Way He Looked at Her
1337 Words
Tunde knew something was off.
He had noticed it the moment Nafisa stepped back into the café the previous day.
She wasn’t the same girl who had been sitting across from him minutes earlier.
Her energy had shifted.
Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.
And most importantly—
She kept glancing toward the door.
As if someone was out there.
Watching.
At first, he ignored it.
Everyone had distractions.
Everyone had secrets.
But then he saw it.
Through the glass.
Her.
Standing outside.
With Professor Adrian Hale.
Too close.
Too intense.
Too… familiar.
Tunde leaned back in his chair now, replaying the scene in his head as he walked across campus the next morning.
It didn’t sit right with him.
Students didn’t stand that close to professors.
Professors didn’t look at students like that.
And whatever had passed between them—
It wasn’t normal.
⸻
Nafisa, on the other hand, was trying very hard to act like everything was normal.
Which was becoming increasingly difficult.
She walked into class that morning with Zara beside her, her grip slightly tighter on her bag than usual.
“You look like you didn’t sleep,” Zara commented.
“I didn’t,” Nafisa replied honestly.
Zara raised an eyebrow.
“Still thinking about him?”
Nafisa didn’t answer.
That was enough.
Zara sighed.
“Nafisa… this is getting serious.”
“I know.”
“No, I don’t think you do,” Zara said, stopping her just before they entered the lecture hall. “Yesterday at the café—you left me on read for like an hour, and when I called you, you sounded… different.”
Nafisa swallowed.
“I just needed air.”
“With your professor?” Zara asked bluntly.
Nafisa froze.
Zara’s eyes widened slightly.
“Oh my God.”
“Keep your voice down!” Nafisa hissed.
Zara stepped closer, lowering her voice but not her intensity.
“You met him outside??”
Nafisa looked away.
“It just… happened.”
Zara let out a breath.
“This is exactly how these things get messy.”
“I know.”
“But you’re still doing it.”
“I’m not doing anything!” Nafisa snapped quietly. “I’m trying to stay away from him.”
“Then why does it feel like you’re being pulled toward him instead?”
Nafisa didn’t have an answer for that.
Because Zara was right.
⸻
The lecture hall felt heavier that day.
Or maybe it was just them.
Adrian stood at the front as usual, calm and composed—but something about him felt… different.
Less distant.
More aware.
His eyes moved across the room briefly.
And stopped.
On Nafisa.
The moment was quick.
Barely noticeable.
But Tunde saw it.
And this time—
He didn’t look away.
⸻
The lecture began.
But for the first time, Tunde wasn’t listening.
He was watching.
Every small interaction.
Every glance.
Every shift in body language.
And slowly, a pattern began to form.
Adrian didn’t just look at Nafisa randomly.
He looked at her like—
He knew her.
Too well.
⸻
“Nafisa.”
Her name cut through the room again.
She stiffened slightly before looking up.
“Yes, Professor?”
Adrian held her gaze for a second longer than necessary.
“Explain the concept we discussed earlier.”
Nafisa’s heart pounded.
Not because she didn’t know the answer.
But because of the way he was looking at her.
Like this wasn’t just a question.
Like this was something else.
Still, she answered.
Confident. Clear.
Adrian nodded once.
“Good.”
But his eyes lingered.
Just for a second.
And that second was enough.
⸻
Tunde leaned back in his chair slowly.
Yeah.
Something was definitely going on.
⸻
After class, he didn’t waste time.
“Nafisa,” he called, catching up to her before she could leave.
She turned, slightly surprised.
“Oh—hey.”
“We need to talk.”
Her stomach tightened slightly.
“About what?”
Tunde studied her carefully.
“About yesterday.”
Nafisa’s heart skipped.
“I told you, I just needed air.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about.”
She went still.
Tunde stepped closer, lowering his voice.
“I saw you.”
Her breath caught.
“Saw… what?”
“You. Outside the café.”
Her pulse spiked.
“With Professor Hale.”
Silence.
Loud.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Nafisa forced a small laugh.
“You’re overthinking it.”
“Am I?” Tunde asked calmly.
“Yes.”
“Because from where I was sitting, it didn’t look like a normal conversation.”
Her grip tightened on her bag.
“It was nothing.”
Tunde held her gaze.
“Then look me in the eye and say that again.”
Nafisa hesitated.
Just for a second.
But that second was enough.
Tunde exhaled slowly.
“Yeah… that’s what I thought.”
⸻
Across the hallway, Adrian watched the entire exchange.
His expression unreadable.
But his attention fixed.
On them.
On how close Tunde was standing.
On the tension between them.
And something about it—
Didn’t sit right with him.
⸻
Back with Nafisa, panic was starting to settle in.
“Tunde, you’re making this bigger than it is.”
“Then explain it,” he said simply.
She couldn’t.
Not without exposing everything.
“I can’t,” she admitted quietly.
Tunde’s expression shifted.
Not angry.
Not yet.
But something else.
Realization.
“Okay,” he said slowly. “So there is something.”
Nafisa shook her head quickly.
“It’s not what you think.”
“Then what is it?”
She opened her mouth—
Then closed it again.
Because no answer was safe.
⸻
Tunde ran a hand through his hair.
“This is risky, Nafisa.”
Her chest tightened.
“I know.”
“You could get into serious trouble.”
“I know.”
“And him?” Tunde continued. “He’s a professor. This isn’t a small thing.”
“I know!” she snapped softly.
The silence that followed was tense.
Then Tunde stepped closer again, his voice softer now.
“You deserve something… normal.”
The words hit her unexpectedly.
“Something that doesn’t feel like a secret,” he added.
Her eyes dropped briefly.
Because part of her knew—
He was right.
⸻
But another part of her…
Didn’t want normal.
⸻
From where he stood, Adrian saw the shift.
The way Nafisa looked down.
The way Tunde leaned closer.
The way the space between them seemed to close.
And something inside him snapped—
Just a little.
⸻
Before he could stop himself, Adrian moved.
Closing the distance between them.
“Tunde.”
Both of them turned.
The air shifted instantly.
“Professor,” Tunde said, straightening slightly.
Adrian’s gaze flicked briefly to Nafisa—
Then back to him.
“I believe you have somewhere to be.”
The tone was calm.
But firm.
Tunde held his gaze for a second longer than necessary.
Then nodded.
“Of course, sir.”
He glanced at Nafisa once more before walking away.
But the look he gave her—
Said everything.
This wasn’t over.
Not even close.
⸻
Now it was just the two of them.
Again.
Too close.
Too exposed.
“You shouldn’t be standing around like that,” Adrian said quietly.
Nafisa frowned slightly.
“Like what?”
“Drawing attention.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“I wasn’t doing anything wrong.”
“From the outside, it doesn’t look that way.”
She crossed her arms slightly.
“Maybe you’re the one overthinking it.”
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
Adrian’s expression hardened slightly.
“Be careful, Nafisa.”
“With what?”
“With how close you get to people.”
Her breath caught slightly.
“Is that concern… or control?”
The question hung between them.
Sharp.
Dangerous.
Adrian didn’t answer immediately.
Because the truth?
It was both.
⸻
And that was the problem.
- Writer
