Whispers Of The Heart : Campus Days

Chapter 17 : Endgame

As Selena's alarm rang, she stirred from her sleep and began to prepare for the day ahead. Simultaneously, Asher was in his own apartment, rearranging his belongings, his thoughts still dwelling on the events of the previous night. They both left their respective apartments at the same time, but there was a palpable distance between them.

"Good morning, Asher. See you later," Selena greeted him, but Asher was lost in his own thoughts and didn't respond.

Arriving at school, Asher confided in Myles, revealing that he and Selena had broken up. Meanwhile, Selena sat down for lunch with Mira and Violet, where the topic of her relationship with Asher came up. Violet inquired if she had resolved the issue with Asher.

Selena sighed and opened up about the recent changes in her life. "We broke up," she confessed. "The thought of us only dating because we lived together bothered me, so I wanted to reset things. Now, he's only my neighbor, not my boyfriend. I want him to date me not because we did live together but because of my confidence and for me."

In the days that followed, Selena focused on rebuilding her confidence, hoping to embark on a new chapter in her life, one where she could find her own identity and pursue a relationship built on a stronger foundation.

As Selena returned home after her run, she realized with a sinking feeling that she had lost her keys. Her predicament left her locked out of her apartment, and her frustration was evident on her face.

However, Asher soon arrived, and upon seeing her predicament, he extended an invitation for her to stay in his apartment for the night. He offered her his bed while he planned to sleep on the couch.

As the evening progressed, their time together took an unexpected turn. Asher and Selena found themselves engaged in a playful, yet slightly heated, exchange of words about the habits they had found annoying in each other. In the midst of this bickering, Selena uttered the words, "I love you," without realizing it.

Caught off guard, she quickly added, "I'm sorry."

Asher, who had been trying to navigate their complicated feelings, responded quietly, "Selena..."

Realizing the tension and emotions were running high, Selena tried to defuse the situation. "I won't trouble you anymore," she said, her voice tinged with sadness.

With that, Asher decided to bring their conversation to an end. "Well... I'm going to sleep," he announced, switching off the lights.

As the room fell into darkness, the unspoken complexities of their relationship hung heavily in the air, leaving both Asher and Selena to grapple with their emotions in the silence of the night.

The next morning, Selena awoke and checked to see if Asher was still asleep on the sofa in his apartment, but she found that he was gone. Determined to have a proper conversation with him, she headed to school.

At school, Violet asked Selena how she was handling everything following her breakup with Asher and suggested that they needed to have a proper talk. Selena agreed with Violet's assessment and decided to find Asher.

She eventually located Asher in the school's lab, where he was engrossed in conversation with Amelia about a project. Selena watched silently as Amelia expressed her gratitude to Asher, repeatedly thanking him and ultimately kissing him. Selena was taken aback and unsure of how to react, so she quietly left the scene.

Asher, after pushing Amelia away, who confronted him with a question. "You won't be with anyone but Selena, right?"

Amelia's response was candid. "It'll be hard to forget her if you live next to her, Asher."