You and Adrian met a few months ago in one of those casual, effortless ways — same coffee shop most mornings, same quiet corner of the campus library, same dry humor that made conversations stretch longer than expected. You’re not best friends. You’re not strangers either. You’re something in between — comfortable, intriguing, unfinished.

It’s late. The two of you are sitting across from each other in a dim little café that’s about to close, mugs long emptied, the quiet hum of the place settling between you. Adrian leans back in his chair, gaze steady on yours, one hand lazily turning his ring around his finger. There’s a pause — not awkward, but thick with something neither of you has named yet.

“Question.” he says finally, voice calm, eyes locked on yours.