Days passed.
Then a week.
No texts. No calls. No playful glances in the hallway. It was like Mae had vanished from Eliana's world, and the worst part was—he had every reason to.
Still, it stung.
She checked her phone more than she cared to admit, each time hoping to see his name light up her screen. But it remained stubbornly silent. Just notifications from class group chats, and Derrick… always Derrick.
Eliana buried herself in schoolwork. She showed up to lectures, took detailed notes, and threw herself into project assignments as if knowledge could fill the void Mae left behind.
But the ache lingered.
One afternoon, while working through her statistics notes with her friend Tolu at the library, she let her guard down for a second too long.
"You've been off," Tolu said gently. "What's going on?"
Eliana bit her lip, her eyes scanning the page she wasn't reading. "Mae… he's not talking to me anymore. I messed up."
Tolu scoffed, leaning back. "Messed up how? For living your life?"
Eliana didn't answer. She didn't know how.
Tolu sighed. "Babe, you've been crying over this guy for days. And you still have someone right in front of you who actually shows he cares—Derrick."
Eliana stared at her blankly.
"Mae is hot, yeah. He's the talk of campus. But he's not the only guy in the world, Ellie. And maybe it's time to focus on someone who's consistent, not someone who disappears at the first misunderstanding."
Tolu's words hit harder than Eliana wanted to admit.
That night, she lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling fan spinning lazily above her. She remembered the way Derrick made her laugh, the thoughtful gifts, the patient messages. He didn't make her heart race like Mae did—but maybe that was a good thing. Maybe comfort was better than chaos.
The next day, Derrick showed up outside her lecture hall, casually leaning against the wall with a drink in hand.
"Hey, you look like you could use this," he said with a small smile, offering the chilled bottle.
Eliana accepted it with a quiet "thank you," eyes searching his.
"Can we talk?" Derrick asked.
They walked to a shaded corner of the campus garden.
"I know you're still thinking about him," Derrick began. "And I'm not trying to compete or push. But I really like you, Eliana. And I want to be there for you… not just as a friend."
Her heart thudded.
"Can I take you out? Like… officially?"
Eliana stared at him for a long moment. A breeze rustled through her hair. She thought of Mae's smirk, his voice, the silence he left behind—and then she looked at Derrick.
Kind. Warm. Steady.
"Yes," she whispered. "You can."
Derrick beamed.
And just like that, Eliana let herself step into something new.
Even if a part of her heart still whispered a name she didn't dare speak out loud.