Chapter 54: The girl named himari (part 2)

By the middle of sophomore year, Felix had quietly become part of Himari’s everyday life.

Not because they were especially close.

Not at first.

But Ethan and Susan were practically inseparable, and wherever Ethan went, Felix usually followed. Before long, the four of them kept ending up together without really planning to.

Movie nights.

Late-night diner trips.

Study sessions that somehow turned into debates, insults, and laughter halfway through.

Parties Himari never wanted to attend but always got dragged to anyway.

And somewhere along the line—

Felix stopped feeling like background noise.

The first time they really talked alone happened outside the front gates of Maxford State College.

Susan and Ethan had already gone ahead toward the parking lot while Himari lingered behind with her phone in hand.

Pretending to text.

Actually watching them.

Susan laughing.

Ethan smiling at her with that soft, effortless expression he only ever seemed to wear around her.

That familiar ache settled quietly beneath Himari’s ribs again.

"You’re staring."

Felix’s voice came from beside her.

She didn’t look up immediately.

"I wasn’t."

"Sure."

He leaned against the nearby railing casually, cigarette tucked behind one ear.

His gaze drifted toward Ethan and Susan disappearing farther across campus.

"They look disgustingly happy."

Himari finally glanced at him.

"That’s a weird thing to say about people."

"I’m a weird person."

A faint breath escaped her.

Not quite a laugh.

Felix noticed anyway.

"You know," he said, "for someone who barely talks, you always look like you’re silently criticizing everyone around you."

"Saves time."

He laughed softly.

"There it is."

"What?"

"The personality Susan keeps insisting you have."

Himari rolled her eyes.

"Susan exaggerates."

"No," Felix replied immediately. "I think she undersells it."

For some reason—

that made her smile.

Felix caught it instantly.

"Wow," he said dramatically. "A smile. I should document this."

"Don’t make it weird."

"Too late."

She shook her head and started walking.

Felix naturally fell into step beside her.

"You heading back to the dorms?"

"No."

"Helpful."

"I enjoy being difficult."

"I noticed."

For once, the silence between them wasn’t awkward.

And strangely—

Himari didn’t mind it.

After that, things shifted little by little.

Nothing dramatic.

Just small changes.

Felix started sitting beside her more during group outings.

Sometimes Ethan and Susan would drift into their own world halfway through conversations, leaving Felix and Himari alone at the table.

And surprisingly—

Felix was easy to be around.

Funny without trying too hard.

Comfortable in a way she hadn’t expected.

Which became a problem very quickly.

Because Himari already had enough confusion in her head without Felix becoming part of it too.

Especially when Ethan still occupied the center of everything.

The jealousy had already started by then.

Quiet.

Ugly.

Growing slowly beneath the surface.

Every time Susan rested her head on Ethan’s shoulder.

Every time Ethan smiled at her absentmindedly.

Every time he looked at Susan with that same gentle patience that came so naturally to him.

Himari hated the feeling.

Hated what it turned her into.

One evening she sat outside the arts building beneath a dim streetlamp, quietly eating a sandwich while cold autumn air drifted through campus.

The college looked different at night.

Softer.

Quieter.

Students moved through the walkways in scattered groups while distant music echoed faintly from somewhere near the dormitories.

"You know," Felix said while approaching the bench, "most people actually socialize during college."

Himari barely looked up.

"Most people are exhausting."

"That’s fair."

He sat beside her casually.

"What are you doing out here alone?"

"Eating."

"Insightful."

She took another bite of her sandwich.

Felix leaned back against the bench.

"I just came from the gym," he explained. "Saw you sitting here looking emotionally unavailable."

"I always look emotionally unavailable."

"True."

That finally earned him a quiet laugh.

Felix pointed immediately.

"There. That."

"What?"

"You laugh like it surprises you every time."

Himari frowned slightly.

"That doesn’t even make sense."

"It does to me."

Felix had a strange habit of noticing things without making them uncomfortable.

He didn’t pry.

Didn’t force conversations out of her.

He simply stayed.

And maybe that was why she slowly stopped guarding herself so carefully around him.

That night they talked for nearly an hour.

Mostly nonsense.

Movies.

Campus gossip.

People they disliked.

Felix somehow made every topic entertaining without trying.

And for the first time in weeks—

Himari forgot about Ethan for a little while.

At least until the next party.

The house was packed wall-to-wall with students, music blasting loudly enough to vibrate through the floor.

Himari already regretted coming.

She stood near the kitchen counter watching Ethan and Susan near the center of the living room.

Susan had dragged Ethan into some ridiculous drinking game, and both of them were laughing hard enough to nearly knock over somebody’s speaker.

They looked happy.

Too happy.

Felix appeared beside her holding two plastic cups.

"You look deeply unimpressed with humanity."

"I usually am."

"Good. I was worried college was fixing you."

He handed her one of the drinks.

She accepted it quietly.

For a while, they simply watched the crowd together.

Then Felix spoke again.

"They really are in their own world, huh?"

Himari stared down at her cup.

"Yeah."

Felix glanced at her briefly.

Long enough to notice the expression she was trying to hide.

But he didn’t comment on it.

Instead, he nudged her shoulder lightly.

"Come on," he said. "You’re too pretty to spend the whole night hiding in corners."

She rolled her eyes.

"That line probably works on other girls."

"And yet you’re still standing here talking to me."

Unfortunately—

that made her laugh again.

Eventually they drifted away from the noise toward the quieter backyard near the swimming pool.

The music sounded distant there.

Muted.

Felix sat at the edge of the pool while Himari dipped her fingers into the water absentmindedly.

Their conversation wandered naturally after that.

Childhood stories.

Embarrassing memories.

Random nonsense.

Felix made talking feel easy.

Dangerously easy.

And at some point, Himari realized she hadn’t thought about Ethan once in the last several minutes.

Maybe Felix realized it too.

Because eventually the conversation slowed.

The air shifted.

Felix looked at her quietly for a long moment before asking—

"Do you wanna get outta here?"

Himari already knew what he meant.

She should’ve said no.

But Felix made everything quieter.

The jealousy.

The guilt.

The constant ache Ethan left behind without ever meaning to.

For one night—

she wanted silence.

So instead—

"Sure."

The ride back to campus felt strangely tense.

Silent in a way that carried too much underneath it.

By the time they reached her dorm room, Felix barely got the door shut before kissing her.

Hard.

Hungry.

Like both of them had been avoiding it longer than they realized.

She grabbed the front of his hoodie and kissed him back just as fiercely.

They stumbled against the wall.

Something fell nearby with a loud crash.

Neither of them cared.

Felix kissed down her neck while she shoved him backward toward the bed, both of them breathless and reckless and laughing quietly between kisses.

"Himari," he murmured against her lips.

That should’ve grounded her.

Instead she pulled him closer.

And after that—

everything dissolved into tangled sheets, uneven breathing, skin against skin, and hands that lingered longer than they were supposed to.

The next morning—

"Oh my God."

Susan’s horrified voice shattered the room.

Himari’s eyes snapped open instantly.

Susan stood frozen in the doorway with both hands covering her face dramatically.

"Oh my God, I need therapy now."

Felix jerked upright beside her while Himari yanked the blanket higher immediately.

"When did you get back?" Felix asked hoarsely.

"Literally just now!"

Susan turned around quickly.

"I’m respecting your privacy while aggressively judging both of you."

Felix groaned tiredly while reaching for his jeans off the floor.

"This is humiliating."

"No," Susan corrected immediately, "this is shocking."

Then her eyes widened.

"WAIT."

She pointed between them dramatically.

"When did this happen?"

"It didn’t," Himari answered immediately.

Felix glanced toward her.

"It was a one-night thing."

The words landed harder than she intended.

A flicker crossed Felix’s face before disappearing almost instantly.

Himari noticed it anyway.

And ignored it.

"Right," he said quietly. "One-night thing."

Susan narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"That definitely did not look like a one-night thing."

"Nobody asked you," Himari muttered.

Felix finished dressing and grabbed his jacket.

Before leaving, he looked toward her.

"We’ll talk later?"

A brief pause followed.

"...Yeah."

Then he left.

The second the door shut, Susan collapsed dramatically onto the bed.

"Oh my God."

"Please stop reacting like this."

"That was absolutely not casual," Susan argued immediately. "Did you see the way he looked at you?"

Unfortunately—

yes.

Himari had noticed.

"Well," Himari muttered while standing up, "looks like I’m not the only one who enjoyed last night."

Susan grinned instantly.

"You noticed I didn’t come back?"

"You weren’t subtle."

Susan laughed.

"Ethan stayed over."

The smile disappeared from Himari’s face immediately.

Susan thankfully didn’t notice.

"I should get ready for class," Himari said quietly while pulling clothes from her closet.

"You okay?"

"Fine."

Lie.

Complete lie.

That afternoon during Professor Harmon’s design lecture, Ethan noticed her mood almost immediately.

Every answer she gave sounded sharper than usual.

When the professor paired students together for a branding layout project, Himari looked genuinely irritated ending up beside him.

"Okay," Ethan muttered while opening his notebook, "who pissed you off today?"

"No one."

"That sounded aggressive."

"Maybe your ears are sensitive."

Ethan blinked slowly.

"Right. Definitely mad."

She ignored him completely.

The entire class continued like that.

Short answers.

Sarcasm.

Coldness.

By the end of the lecture Ethan finally stopped her near the hallway.

"Himari."

"What?"

"Did I do something wrong?"

The question caught her off guard.

"What makes you think that?"

"You’ve been glaring at me all class."

"I glare at everyone."

"Not like this."

She exhaled quietly.

"No," she admitted finally. "You didn’t do anything wrong."

"Then why do I feel like you hate me today?"

Because watching Susan smile after sleeping beside you made me sick.

Instead she shrugged lightly.

"I woke up irritated."

Ethan studied her face carefully for a second before speaking again.

"Wanna get ice cream?"

She blinked.

"What?"

"Ice cream," he repeated casually. "You clearly need emotional support."

Against her better judgment—

she laughed softly.

"...Fine."

The ice cream truck outside campus had become popular recently among students.

Ethan bought two cups before handing her one with double scoops.

"Feeling better?" he asked while they walked slowly down the sidewalk.

"A little."

"Good."

He kept glancing at her every few seconds afterward.

Checking.

Making sure she was smiling.

Honestly—

why was he like this?

Why did he always notice?

Why did he always care?

This isn’t good for me.

They were heading back toward campus when Felix approached from the opposite direction.

"Well," he said lightly, "this looks cozy."

Ethan grinned immediately.

"Felix."

Then Felix’s gaze shifted toward Himari.

"Himari."

Just her name.

But the way he said it made heat creep subtly up her neck.

Ethan noticed none of it.

"Man," Ethan continued casually, "you disappeared last night. Hope it wasn’t because Susan stayed over."

Felix smirked slightly.

"No. I had somewhere else to be."

His eyes flickered briefly toward Himari.

"And it turned into a pretty interesting night."

Himari immediately looked away.

"Well," Ethan said obliviously, "Himari was in a bad mood today, so I figured I’d cheer her up."

"Really?" Felix asked lightly. "With the night she had yesterday, I figured she’d be in a fantastic mood."

Himari stopped walking instantly.

"Can we stop talking about me like I’m not here?"

Both men looked at her.

"I have somewhere to be."

Then she walked away before either of them could respond.

"Himari!" Felix called after her.

No response.

"Himari, wait—"

He finally caught up and gently grabbed her wrist.

"What?" she snapped.

Felix sighed softly.

"Look, I’m sorry, alright? I shouldn’t have said it like that."

"Oh, you think?"

"I was joking."

"Well don’t."

For once—

Felix looked genuinely serious.

And before either of them could say another word—

To Be Continued...