Melted by you.

Chapter 3:The Assignment That Wouldn't End.

The classroom was already loud when Hardin Smith arrived.

Voices filled every corner, chairs scraped across the floor, and laughter rose and fell without meaning. He walked through it all like it wasn’t meant for him, like he was only passing through a place that never asked him to stay.

He sat by the window.

Same seat. Same view. Same distance from everything.

Outside, the sky looked calm. Inside, nothing ever was.

“Late again,” a voice said beside him.

Alexander dropped into the seat next to Hardin like he owned it.

Hardin didn’t look at him. “I’m not late.”

Alexander smiled. “You’re just early in your own way, then.”

Hardin said nothing.

Alexander leaned back. “Same face, same silence. I’m starting to think you’re allergic to people.”

“I’m fine,” Hardin replied flatly.

“Sure,” Alexander said, still smiling.

The door opened.

Anna Fred walked in.

Quiet as always. Not trying to be noticed, yet somehow noticeable in a way that didn’t feel loud. She held her bag close and moved carefully to her seat like she didn’t want to disturb anything around her.

Hardin didn’t turn fully.

But he noticed.

He always did now.

Alexander followed his gaze for a second. “New girl?”

Hardin didn’t answer.

Alexander’s eyes lingered briefly on Anna, then he smirked lightly. “You’re looking more than usual today.”

“I’m not looking,” Hardin said.

“Uh-huh,” Alexander replied, clearly unconvinced.

“Morning,” Anna said softly as she passed.

Hardin paused a second before replying.

“…Morning.”

Simple. Flat. Controlled.

Anna gave a small nod and sat down.

Alexander tilted his head slightly. “She talks like she’s afraid of breaking something.”

Hardin didn’t respond.

But his eyes stayed forward a little longer than usual.

Later, the teacher walked in holding papers.

“Group assignment,” she announced. “You will work in pairs and submit a detailed analysis next week.”

Groans filled the room.

Then came the names.

“Hardin Smith and Anna Fred.”

Hardin finally turned his head slightly.

Anna didn’t react much. Just accepted it quietly, like it was already decided somewhere else.

Alexander chuckled beside him. “Looks like fate is working overtime.”

Hardin shot him a brief look.

Alexander raised his hands. “I said nothing.”

They moved to the back of the classroom near the window.

Silence settled between them.

Not heavy.

Just unfamiliar.

Hardin opened the paper first. “You start,” he said.

Anna blinked slightly. “Okay.”

A pause.

Then she added, “I think it’s about perspective.”

Hardin looked at her. “…It is.”

She nodded and wrote it down without hesitation.

Across the room, Alexander watched them for a moment.

Then leaned back in his chair.

“Interesting,” he muttered to himself.

When the teacher gave them time, the classroom slowly loosened into noise again.

Alexander stayed seated, glancing occasionally toward Hardin.

Hardin stayed focused on the paper.

Anna stayed calm.

The three of them formed a quiet pattern inside the noise.

By the time the discussion continued, Hardin had already spoken once more than usual.

Anna listened carefully.

Wrote carefully.

And responded like she wasn’t afraid to think.

Alexander noticed that too.

Hardin wasn’t acting different.

But he also wasn’t acting the same.

That was what made Alexander stare longer than usual.

When the class ended, Anna stood first.

“We continue tomorrow,” she said.

Hardin nodded once. “Yeah.”

She left.

Hardin stayed seated longer than usual.

Alexander stood beside him.

“So,” Alexander said casually, “you’re actually doing group work now.”

“It’s an assignment,” Hardin replied.

“Right,” Alexander smiled. “And I’m a librarian.”

Hardin finally looked at him.

Alexander shrugged. “What? I’m just saying… don’t get distracted.”

Hardin didn’t answer.

But his eyes drifted briefly to the empty seat Anna had just left.

Longer than necessary.