Chapter 4: Something Has Changed

Sophie told herself that nothing had changed.

But it had.

Since that night—since the question they both refused to answer—something felt different between her and Jack. Their conversations still flowed, still carried the same easy rhythm, but there was a weight to them now. A quiet awareness lurking beneath their words, as if they both knew they were avoiding something.

Sophie hated uncertainty. She had built her life on structure, on knowing what came next. But this? This was something she didn't know how to categorize.

So, she did what she always did when emotions threatened to disrupt her carefully ordered life. She buried herself in work.

Her days were predictable, methodical. Morning lectures, meetings with students, research deadlines. She spent hours reviewing research papers, advising students, and finalizing details for an upcoming conference. She stayed later in her office than she needed to, telling herself she was being productive, that she was simply too busy to think about anything else.

But it was a lie.

Because no matter how much she worked, she couldn't stop thinking about him.

Jack.

His words lingered in her mind at the most inconvenient moments. A joke he had made two nights ago would surface in the middle of a faculty meeting, making her smile when she was supposed to be paying attention. A passing comment about an obscure travel destination would send her spiraling into thoughts about where he might be, what he might be doing at that very moment.

And worst of all, she caught herself checking her phone too often, her fingers hovering over the screen, waiting for something.

It was ridiculous. They had agreed to wait. To keep things as they were. But now she couldn't ignore the shift inside her—this restless ache that only seemed to grow stronger the more she tried to push it away.

She wanted more.

And that terrified her.

That night, she sat curled up on her couch, a cup of tea in her hands, laptop open. The glow of the screen was the only source of light in her dim apartment. It had become a routine now—waiting for their usual time, the moment when Jack's name would appear in the chat.

She could, of course, message him first.

But something about that felt different now.

She was still debating when the screen flickered with a new message.

Jack: You there?

A relieved exhale slipped past her lips before she could stop it.

Sophie: Yeah. Long day.

Jack: You mean another thrilling day in the world of academia? Tell me—did you discover the secret formula to putting students to sleep?

She smiled, shaking her head.

Sophie: No need. That formula is already well-documented. It's called "PowerPoint presentations and monotone voices."

Jack: Ah, deadly. Truly the silent killer of enthusiasm.

It was easy, falling back into this, even with the weight of everything unsaid between them.

Sophie curled her fingers around her mug, letting the warmth seep into her palms as she watched the cursor blink, waiting for his next message.

Jack: You okay?

The question was casual, but she knew Jack. Knew he didn't ask things like that unless he meant them.

She hesitated. She could lie. Say she was fine. That nothing was wrong. That she wasn't lying awake at night wondering why their decision to wait felt so much heavier than she expected.

But she was tired of pretending.

Sophie: I don't know.

The reply took longer this time.

Jack: That makes two of us.

Something in her chest tightened.

Sophie: I thought waiting would make things easier.

Jack: Yeah? And how's that working out for you?

She let out a soft laugh, though there was no humor in it.

Sophie: Terribly. You?

Jack: Worse.

She swallowed hard. This was dangerous territory.

Sophie: So… what do we do?

The cursor blinked. Seconds stretched.

Then—

Jack: We keep pretending nothing's changed?

A lump formed in her throat. That wasn't the answer she wanted. But maybe it was the only one that made sense.

Sophie: And if that stops working?

Jack didn't answer right away.

Finally, his message appeared.

Jack: Then I guess we figure it out. Together.

She stared at the words, heart pounding.

Together.

They weren't ready yet. But maybe—just maybe—one day, they would be.

Sophie closed her laptop, setting it aside as she curled deeper into the couch. She wasn't sure what the future held, but for tonight, knowing Jack was still there—knowing he felt it too—was enough.

For now.