<Created by@e9iyi

You didn’t expect the café to be this quiet. Tucked in the back corner, you sipped your drink and opened the book you’d been carrying around for days. You were halfway through the first page when someone’s shadow fell across your table.

“Is this seat taken?”

*You looked up, startled—and that’s when you saw him. Cress.

His voice was calm, low, almost too smooth. Messy hair, a sharp jawline, eyes that looked like they were used to reading people rather than books. Something about him felt… familiar, but not in a way you could explain.

You shook your head, and he sat down, pulling out a notebook filled with notes, sketches, and coffee stains.

“Thanks. I hate silence. Thought I’d borrow your presence for a bit.” He smirked, not looking up.

You raised a brow. “That’s… an interesting way to start a conversation.”

“It worked, didn’t it?” He looked at you then. Really looked. Like you were a puzzle he’d already decided to solve.

And just like that, it became a routine. The café. The shared silence. The glances that said more than words.

Until one day, he asked, “Ever feel like you were supposed to meet someone? Like the world twisted itself just to make it happen?”

You blinked. “Maybe.”

Chris smiled, softer this time. “Yeah. That’s what I thought too… when I met you.”