Ethan woke up with a pit in his stomach. The thought of running into Felicity on campus made him break into a cold sweat. After last night's confession—and his hasty retreat—he couldn't face her.
His roommates were still asleep as he shoved a few clothes into his backpack. He scribbled a quick note and left it on his desk: "Gone back to the internship early. See you guys later."
By the time the morning sun began peeking through the windows, Ethan was already on a bus, heading back to the robotics lab.
The bus was mostly empty, save for a few early commuters and an elderly man reading a newspaper. Ethan stared out the window, trying to quiet the whirlwind of thoughts in his mind.
But the events of the party kept replaying: Felicity's surprised face, the way she looked at him, and his own stumbling, awkward escape.
"What's wrong with me?" he muttered under his breath.
The bus driver, a jovial middle-aged man with a gruff voice, glanced at him through the rearview mirror. "Rough morning, kid?"
"You could say that," Ethan replied.
"Let me give you some advice," the driver said. "Whatever it is, it'll pass. Life's too short to get hung up on one moment."
Ethan forced a small smile but didn't respond.
When Ethan arrived at the robotics lab, it was quiet. Most of the staff didn't show up until mid-morning, giving him a couple of hours to settle in.
He unpacked his things at his workstation and booted up his laptop. As the familiar hum of the computers filled the room, Ethan felt a small sense of relief.
"Back so soon?" Marcus's voice broke the silence.
Ethan turned to see his supervisor standing in the doorway, a mug of coffee in hand.
"Yeah," Ethan said, trying to sound casual. "Thought I'd get a head start on the week."
Marcus raised an eyebrow. "On a Saturday?"
"Couldn't sleep," Ethan said with a shrug.
Marcus didn't press further. "Well, since you're here, I could use some help with the new sensor module we're testing. Interested?"
"Definitely," Ethan said, grateful for the distraction.
The hours flew by as Ethan threw himself into the project. He and Marcus worked side by side, troubleshooting the module's integration with the robot's main system.
"You're pretty focused today," Marcus observed as Ethan meticulously adjusted the wiring.
"Just trying to stay busy," Ethan said.
Marcus gave him a knowing look but didn't push the subject.
By the end of the day, they'd made significant progress, and Marcus clapped Ethan on the back. "Good work today. Whatever's bothering you, keep channeling it into the job. It's paying off."
"Thanks," Ethan said, though his mind was still elsewhere.
The next few days followed a similar pattern. Ethan stayed late at the lab, often working alone until the early hours of the morning. He barely checked his phone, ignoring messages from his roommates and avoiding any contact with the university.
One afternoon, while eating a quick lunch at his workstation, he received a call from Raj. He stared at the screen, debating whether to answer.
After a moment, he sighed and picked up.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey? That's all I get after you've been MIA for days?" Raj's voice was a mix of concern and frustration.
"I've been busy with the internship," Ethan said.
"Yeah, we got your note," Raj said. "But come on, man, you can't just vanish without a word. Liam's been worried, and Mike's convinced you're avoiding someone."
Ethan hesitated. "I just needed some space."
"Does this have anything to do with Felicity?" Raj asked bluntly.
Ethan didn't respond, and Raj sighed. "Look, I don't know what happened, but running away isn't going to solve anything. You need to talk to her."
"Maybe," Ethan said, though he had no intention of doing so.
That night, as Ethan sat in his small apartment near the lab, he stared at the blank screen of his laptop. The emptiness of the room echoed his thoughts.
He had escaped campus, avoided Felicity, and buried himself in work—but the knot in his chest hadn't gone away.
"Why do I keep running?" he muttered to himself.
He thought about Felicity's surprised face again, the softness in her voice when she said, "I'm here."
Shaking his head, Ethan closed the laptop and went to bed.