Chapter 14 : Not so accidental

It started as coincidence.

Once or twice, Evan ran into Mikael between lectures. A passing smile, a casual wave, nothing more.

Then it became three times a week. Then nearly every day.

At the library.

In the hallway outside his Literature class.

At the small café on the second floor of the student union.

Even once, embarrassingly, at the bathroom sink.

Every time, Mikael would greet him like it was the most normal thing in the world, as if bumping into Evan, no matter the place, was something he actually looked forward to.

And Evan didn't know how to feel about it.

He tried to keep his distance. He told himself not to read too much into it. Every time Mikael sat beside him at lunch, or asked how his class went, or shared some funny story about soccer practice, Evan reminded himself:

Don't trust it. People always change.

And yet… Mikael didn't.

If anything, he was patient. Gentle. He never forced Evan into long conversations. He never asked about the past, never pried. He simply showed up.. consistently, quietly, as if just being there was enough.

And it slowly started to wear down Evan's defenses.

Unbeknownst to him, Mikael had a reason for his persistence.

He saw something in Evan, something that reminded him too much of someone he loved: his younger brother. Back home, his brother had gone through years of bullying, for being quiet, different, too soft in a world that punished softness. Mikael had watched helplessly, had seen the cracks that isolation caused.

He had promised himself:

If I see someone like him again, I'll do better.

And now, here was Evan.. isolated, cautious, quietly hurting, pretending he was fine.

So Mikael didn't walk away.

---

A month passed.

Evan still kept his distance emotionally, but physically… Mikael was becoming a fixture in his day.

At lunch, Mikael would appear like clockwork in the library, his tray in one hand, slouching into the chair opposite Evan like he belonged there. Sometimes he talked about football, or his annoying groupmates. Sometimes he just asked Evan about books or meals.

Evan never fully opened up. But he stopped pushing Mikael away too.

He began to look forward to that quiet half hour. It felt safe. Real. Easy.

---

One Thursday, as lunch neared its end, Mikael checked his watch and frowned.

"Damn, I forgot I've got to meet my advisor early today," he said, standing and grabbing his tray.

Evan nodded, already tucking his own lunchbox away. "Okay. See you tomorrow?"

Mikael smiled. "Yeah. Same time. Don't ditch me."

Evan gave a small smile. "I won't."

Mikael tapped the edge of the table gently before walking off.

Evan exhaled quietly and continued packing his things.

The library felt oddly quiet without Mikael's voice filling the space. Still, Evan moved slowly, folding the napkin over the lunchbox, zipping up his bag.

And then-

A shadow fell across the table.

He looked up.

Lucas.

Standing just a step away from him.

Evan froze.

Lucas looked down at him with a strange expression, unreadable, but intense.

He hadn't seen him this close in over a month. Not since that day. Not since the words that had torn through Evan's heart like glass.

And now, here he was.

Evan's chest tightened.

"…Lucas?" he said softly, barely above a whisper.

Lucas didn't answer immediately.

But the tension in the air snapped into place.