CHAPTER 3: Something in the silence

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Chapter 3: Something in the Silence

They met again on a Thursday afternoon, just outside the student union. The sky hung low with gray clouds, and the air buzzed with the scent of rain that hadn't yet fallen. Daisy stood leaning against a pillar, arms folded, eyes scanning the crowd.

"You're early," Calvin said, walking up beside her.

"I like knowing I'm prepared," she replied, not looking at him.

"Even for unpredictable human behavior?" he teased, motioning to the bustling students.

Daisy almost smiled. Almost. "Especially for that."

They moved into the crowd, searching for their first case study. They'd agreed to observe strangers, take notes, and later analyze the emotions beneath the surface.

But for the first ten minutes, they barely said a word.

Then Daisy spoke quietly. "Do you always act like nothing touches you?"

Calvin blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You sit still, you smile just enough, you listen more than you talk. That's not a complaint—it's just... a question."

Calvin thought about that. "It's not an act. I just don't like rushing people. Or myself."

She glanced at him sideways. "You ever lose control?"

His voice was low. "Yes. Once. And it cost me more than I thought it would."

That silenced her.

They sat on a stone bench and began observing two girls arguing across the quad. Daisy took notes, but her mind wasn't on them. It was on Calvin—his stillness, his mystery, the pain behind that answer.

"What did it cost?" she asked after a while.

He didn't answer right away.

Then, softly: "Someone I loved stopped trusting me. And I couldn't blame her."

A pause.

Daisy looked down at her page, heart beating faster. She didn't know what surprised her more—that he told her, or that she wanted to hear more.

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