It was 2:30 AM when Mahnoor and Javier left his university dorm, the cool night air brushing against their faces as they walked down the nearly empty campus streets. The sky was clear, the stars faint against the city's ambient glow, but their minds were far too preoccupied to notice. Javier led her toward the small food truck parked near the campus gate, just as he had promised.
The food truck had been there for as long as either of them could remember, its flickering neon sign a familiar beacon during late-night study sessions or stress-filled evenings before exams. The smell of freshly fried food filled the air as they approached, blending perfectly with the silence of the night.
"Here we are," Javier said with a grin, gesturing toward the modest truck. "Best loaded fries and burgers on this side of town."
Mahnoor smirked, folding her arms as she looked at him. "Are you trying to impress me with food, Javier? Because that's just cheating."
He chuckled, stepping up to the window to place their order. "Not trying to impress you. Just sharing my secrets."
They grabbed their food and found a spot on a nearby bench, illuminated by a lone streetlight. The night seemed quieter now, almost peaceful, as they unwrapped the greasy packages. Mahnoor took a sip of her chocolate milkshake, savoring the cool sweetness before diving into her fries.
For a while, they ate in silence, the only sounds coming from the occasional car passing by and the soft rustle of wrappers. The silence wasn't uncomfortable though—it was the kind that felt easy, like it had been earned after years of knowing someone well enough to not fill every moment with words.
"You know," Javier finally said, wiping his hands with a napkin. "I still remember the first day we met."
Mahnoor raised an eyebrow, looking at him with mock disbelief. "Oh? The day you tried to undermine me in front of Professor Harrison?"
Javier laughed, shaking his head. "Hey, I wasn't trying to undermine you. I was just... testing the competition."
"Uh-huh." Mahnoor leaned back against the bench, her eyes softening. "I never quite understood why we spent so much time trying to outdo each other. Looking back, it feels kind of pointless."
He nodded, looking down at the half-eaten burger in his hand. "Yeah. Three years of rivalry… and for what? We both made it to the end, but I can't help but wonder—what if things had been different?"
Mahnoor looked at him, her expression contemplative. "Different how?"
Javier paused for a moment, thinking. "I don't know. What if we hadn't been so focused on beating each other? What if we had just... I don't know, been friends?"
"Friends," Mahnoor repeated, rolling the word around like it was foreign on her tongue. "Would that have worked?"
He smiled, shrugging lightly. "Maybe. Or maybe we would've been a disaster. Who knows? But it feels like we missed something along the way."
Mahnoor didn't respond immediately. She stared at the remains of her food, suddenly feeling full. The night had that strange way of making everything feel heavier—thoughts, feelings, regrets. She wondered the same thing, what their dynamic could have been like if they hadn't been so stubbornly committed to their rivalry.
"Well," she finally said, breaking the silence. "Too late for that now, huh?"
Javier nodded, though his smile had dimmed slightly. "Yeah. Too late. You leave tomorrow, and I leave in two days. Guess this is how it ends."
For a moment, neither of them said anything. The reality of their impending departures hung between them like an unspoken truth, making everything seem more final than it had before. Mahnoor was heading back to Pakistan, and Javier to Spain. They'd spent three years competing, fighting, pushing each other to the brink, and now they were both leaving in different directions.
"Pakistan," Javier mused quietly, leaning back on the bench. "It's going to be strange, not having you around to argue with."
Mahnoor smiled faintly. "Spain will feel pretty empty without someone keeping you on your toes."
He chuckled softly, but there was something bittersweet in his expression. "I guess so."
For a few minutes, they just sat there, soaking in the silence of the night, the food truck now closing up for the evening, and the world feeling still. There was something unspoken between them—an acknowledgment of all the "what-ifs" that would remain unanswered.
Javier finally stood, brushing off his jeans. "We should get back. It's late, and you've got a flight tomorrow."
Mahnoor nodded, standing as well, but she didn't move right away. Instead, she looked at him, really looked at him, as if trying to memorize the moment. The tension between them had always been about more than just rivalry, but neither of them had been willing to admit it.
"Hey, Javier," she said, her voice soft, almost hesitant.
"Yeah?"
"If things had been different…" she trailed off, unsure how to finish the sentence. What was she trying to say? That she regretted their rivalry? That she wished they'd been closer? She didn't know, and maybe she didn't need to.
Javier's gaze met hers, his eyes reflecting the same uncertainty. "If things had been different, maybe we wouldn't be standing here now, thinking about what could've been."
Mahnoor smiled sadly. "Maybe."
With that, they turned and walked back to the dorm, side by side but lost in their own thoughts. There was no dramatic conclusion, no sudden confessions or heartfelt goodbyes—just the quiet understanding that their paths were about to diverge.
Tomorrow, Mahnoor would be on a flight to Pakistan, and Javier would follow two days later to Spain. What came next was uncertain, but as they walked through the empty campus, both of them knew that something significant had shifted between them, even if they'd never truly understand what it was.