Three Phantoms of You [bxb]

Not You.

Kiev:

Do vacations really have to end?

It's honestly tiring how, after weeks of euphoria, you'll be thrown into the slums of pressure once again.

I'm not talking metaphorically; I'm just being a realist.

My phantom is once again in the same room, where loneliness is unknown and everything is nothing more than mischief.

It's not pleasant to start another semester since all I have learned will once again be replaced by new knowledge. Everyone I haven't seen in a while shows up in familiarity in these corridors, and I'm forced to interact with them again.

"Hey," I say as I put my bag down on the bench where Wallen is sitting.

He's once again caught up in the hobby of drawing rather than academics, and I watch as he sketches.

Wallen quickly glanced at me, showing acknowledgement, and continued to talk to me about the holidays. I couldn't really say that much to him, especially since it was nothing to be nosy about, and, of course, I had no good memories about my holidays without mentioning Nolan in them.

Speaking of him...

Nolan's walking down the campus' pavement, wearing the same charm he always has at school. He's composed. Far from what he shows behind closed doors and far from what I have seen in him in the past few weeks.

Yet as I signal him a wave from behind Wallen's head as he passes by, he only ignores me.

He didn't even bother batting an eye or smiling. Which makes me furious on the inside.

"What's that?" Wallen asks.

Oh, he probably sensed that I gestured something, yet I can't really say anything to him about it at the moment, especially since there's nothing certain. "There was a fly," I excuse.

He shrugs and continues what he's doing as my gaze follows the lingering trail of a character that somehow interests me. It kept following and following until he was out of sight. Yet my boggled conscience wouldn't let him disappear.

"I need to go now," I say to Wallen, standing up and talking my things with me.

He looks at me, perplexed and confused. "You literally just got here about ten seconds ago. Aren't you going to eat lunch first?"

Good thing I didn't bring any, though, so that my excuse would make more sense. "I'm not hungry yet," I say, and I randomly say goodbye to him, trying to chase Nolan's shadows.

However, as I turned from where I remembered him heading, he was already gone. There's no trace of his familiarity, and I'm left disappointed.

I really need to get a grip, and thinking of him when at school is never the best option. As he said, we were a distraction.

Just in time. My stomach grumbles from hunger as the afternoon peaks into time. I still have an hour before my next class, so instead of finding him in the crowds, I just make my way to the cafe and buy myself lunch. And—

He's here? Again.

In what world am I living? I saw Nolan in uniform a few seconds ago, and now he's here in this second, wearing different clothes. It's not making any sense.

I didn't bother going in before texting him to make sure.

Kiev: Where are you?

I tried to wait for about ten minutes at the cafeteria door, waiting for his response, and I couldn't be more elated as my phone vibrated again to notify me. Yet it's from a different number.