CHAPTER 4: Almost

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Chapter 4: Almost

Daisy stared at her laptop screen later that night, the glow painting shadows on her face. She was supposed to be editing their notes from the day's observation, but her mind drifted—again.

To Calvin.

To the way he spoke with calm precision, but never coldly. To that quiet hurt behind his words.

Lina strolled in, dropping her bag on the floor and kicking off her shoes. "You've got that look."

"What look?"

"The one that says you're thinking about a boy and you hate that you are."

Daisy sighed. "It's not like that."

"Daisy," Lina said, flopping onto the bed. "You're writing in size 18 font and haven't blinked in four minutes. If you're not into him, I'm worried about your brain."

Daisy smiled faintly, but said nothing. She didn't know how to explain it—this not-quite-connection, this space between caution and curiosity.

Meanwhile, across campus, Calvin sat at a quiet booth in the campus diner, his older brother Marcus opposite him. Marcus stirred his coffee, eyes tired.

"You're distracted," Marcus said.

Calvin exhaled. "There's this girl—Daisy."

Marcus raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"She's... different."

"Different good or different complicated?"

Calvin smiled, almost to himself. "Both."

Marcus leaned back. "Just don't try to fix her or save her. That's where guys like us go wrong. Sometimes people don't want help—they want understanding."

That stuck with Calvin.

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The next day, Calvin and Daisy walked side by side through the park. Their next observation assignment loomed, but neither was in a rush.

"You didn't answer my message last night," Calvin said.

"I didn't know how," Daisy replied.

He nodded. "I get that."

They stopped at a fountain, watching a little boy feed pigeons with his father.

Calvin turned to her. "I don't need you to say things you're not ready to. I just need you to keep showing up."

Daisy swallowed, throat tight.

"I can do that," she said.

And in that moment, they weren't partners, or classmates. They were two people trying, slowly, to trust what was quietly growing between them.

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