Ten days after the rain that brought them together beneath the same umbrella, Isabella found herself doing something she had never done before: she arrived at class early, not to review her notes or prepare questions for her professor, but simply to make sure she could sit in her usual seat, directly behind Christian.
She had noticed small changes in herself over the past few weeks—things she had never paid attention to before. She had started counting how much time remained before Professor Wirawan's class began, not because she was nervous about the material, but because she knew Christian would show up and make the first joke of the day, whether it was about her blue planner, her hair, which Christian claimed was always too neat, or Isabella's habit of carrying two spare pens wherever she went.
That day, as usual, Christian strolled into class, took a seat in the front, then turned around when he saw Isabella was already there.
"Well, look at that. The group leader's early today," he said, raising an eyebrow. "What's going on? Trying to beat me to it before class even starts?"
"I always arrive on time," Isabella replied, even though she knew she had arrived earlier than usual that day.
"Fifteen minutes before class isn't on time, Bel. That's straight-up obsessive."
"At least I've never been late because of a coffee line."
Christian laughed, the sound already becoming familiar to Isabella—something she waited for without openly admitting it. "You're getting better at teasing me lately."
"I learned from the best," Isabella replied with a small smile.
Light conversations like that had become a new routine for the two of them. What had once felt like a small war had turned into a kind of game they both enjoyed. Isabella no longer felt like she had to win every argument, and Christian no longer seemed intent on proving he was superior.
After class, Naya approached Isabella in the cafeteria with a lunch tray and sat across from her, wearing an inquisitive expression.
"You've seemed different lately," Naya said, getting straight to the point as usual.
"Different how?" Isabella pretended not to understand, even though she knew exactly where this conversation was headed.
"You smile to yourself more often. And you don't talk about being annoyed with Christian anymore, not like you used to."
Isabella fell silent, stirring her food without actually eating it. "We're just closer now because of the group project."
"Just closer, or is there something else?" Naya narrowed her eyes, her smile loaded with meaning.
"There's nothing going on," Isabella answered quickly, even as her face began to heat up.
"Bel," Naya said, setting down her spoon and looking at her best friend more seriously. "I've known you since freshman year. You've never paid this much attention to anyone else, especially not someone you supposedly hated because he took your spot."
Isabella let out a long sigh, giving up on pretending in front of her own closest friend. "I don't know, Nay. At first, I really did hate him. But now..."
"Now?"
"Now I always wait for him to say something that makes me laugh. I always notice when he looks tired or has a problem. And I don't know when all of that started to change."
Naya broke into a wide smile, clearly not surprised by the confession. "That's called having a crush, Bel. You like Christian."
Isabella fell silent. The words sounded so simple, yet somehow so heavy at the same time.