THE LINE WE WEREN'T MEANT TO CROSS

*Chapter 4: Something Shifted*

I didn’t plan to stay late again.

But Thursday came, and my regression model crashed for the third time. The library was full, the computer lab smelled like stale pizza, and my thesis deadline was three weeks away.

So at 8:02 PM, I found myself walking toward the third floor.

His door was closed this time.

I told myself I’d just knock, ask one quick question about the error message, and leave. Professional. Clean. Nothing like last time.

“Come in,” his voice said before I even knocked.

He was on the phone, but he waved me in and pointed to the chair. I sat, USB in hand, trying not to notice how tired he looked. Dark circles under his eyes. Same loosened tie.

He finished the call in under a minute. “Department stuff,” he said, rubbing his forehead. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine,” I said. “I can come back.”

“No,” he said quickly. Then softer, “I don’t mind helping.”

I pulled up the code on his screen. We leaned in together, shoulders almost touching, trying to figure out why the model kept overfitting. His hand brushed mine when he reached for the mouse. Neither of us pulled away immediately.

“Here,” he said, his voice low. “Try running it like this.”

It worked. The error disappeared.

I exhaled, relief and something else making my chest tight. “Thank you.”

“Anytime, Lena,” he replied.

We didn’t look at each other right away. When we did, it was like the elevator again. Not inappropriate. Not safe either.

Something had shifted.

The line between advisor and student was still there on paper.

But in this quiet office, at 8:47 PM, it felt thinner than ever.

I packed up fast, said goodnight, and left before I could say something I couldn’t take back.

But I knew I’d be back.