A Heartbeat Away

The next morning, Elara woke up to the sound of her alarm blaring. She groaned, reaching for her phone and silencing it with a sluggish tap. Sunlight streamed through her curtains, painting warm patterns across her bedsheets. She blinked, feeling the weight of last night's thoughts still lingering.

Recognize Your True Feelings.

The system's task echoed in her mind. What did it even mean? How was she supposed to just 'recognize' something as complex as her own emotions?

Sighing, she pushed off her blanket and sat up. There was no use thinking about it now. She had classes to get to.

By the time she arrived at the lecture hall, the room was already half-full. She spotted Theo sitting near the middle, chatting animatedly with a couple of classmates. Damien, as always, was perched at the far end of the room, earbuds in, flipping through his notes.

She hesitated for a moment before making her way to an empty seat. Just as she sat down, a voice called out.

"Elara!"

She turned to see Adrian slipping into the seat beside her, a wide grin on his face. "Did you finish the readings for today?"

Elara exhaled a laugh. "Barely. Some of those case studies were so dense, I think my brain melted halfway through."

Adrian chuckled. "Tell me about it. I tried making notes, but I kept zoning out."

She glanced at his notebook, where a few half-written sentences trailed off into doodles. She raised an eyebrow. "Well, I see you put in some effort."

He laughed. "Hey, at least I tried. Unlike Theo, who probably skimmed the material ten minutes before class."

From the other side of the room, Theo glanced up, as if he had sensed he was being talked about. He narrowed his eyes playfully at Adrian before turning back to his conversation.

Elara shook her head, smiling. "Typical."

The lecture began, and soon enough, her focus shifted entirely to the professor's voice. The discussion was intense, and she found herself scribbling furiously in her notebook, occasionally exchanging glances with Adrian whenever something particularly confusing came up.

But at the back of her mind, the system's message refused to leave her alone. Recognize your true feelings.

She had spent years burying them, ignoring them, pretending they didn't exist. And now, the system wanted her to confront them? How was she supposed to do that?

After class, Elara packed up her things when Damien's voice called out. "Elara."

She turned to see him standing by the door, his usual unreadable expression in place. "Walk with me."

Surprised, she nodded and followed him out of the lecture hall. They walked in silence for a while, the sounds of students chattering and the distant rustle of leaves filling the air.

Finally, Damien spoke. "You're different lately."

Elara nearly stopped in her tracks. "What?"

He didn't look at her, keeping his eyes on the path ahead. "You've always been careful. But lately… you seem conflicted."

She swallowed. Was she really that easy to read?

Damien glanced at her then, his gaze sharp. "You're thinking about something. And it's distracting you."

Elara hesitated before sighing. "I guess… I've just been realizing some things about myself."

"Like what?"

She bit her lip, considering her words carefully. "Like… maybe I've been avoiding something important for too long."

Damien didn't press further, but there was an understanding in his eyes. "Sometimes, the things we avoid the most are the things we need to face."

Elara exhaled a soft laugh. "That sounds like something out of a motivational book."

He smirked. "Maybe. But that doesn't make it any less true."

They reached the campus courtyard, where a few students were lounging around, chatting or reading. Damien slowed his pace, then turned to her. "Whatever it is, I think you'll figure it out. You just need to stop running from it."

Elara felt her heart tighten. Stop running from it…

Could she really do that?

Before she could respond, Damien gave her a small nod and walked away, leaving her standing there with her thoughts spinning.

She had spent years convincing herself that she didn't need to act on her feelings. That they were just passing emotions that didn't need to be confronted.

But maybe… just maybe, it was time to stop pretending.

And the first step was figuring out exactly who had been occupying her heart all this time.