The next day felt strange. I had been replaying that moment on the porch with Martinus over and over in my mind, trying to figure out what it meant. It wasn’t like him to let his guard down—especially with me. So why had he suddenly dropped the sarcasm and shown a glimpse of something real?
I shook my head, trying to focus on my work, but the thought kept pulling me back in.
"Earth to Y/N!" Emma's voice broke through my daydreaming as she plopped down next to me in the university café. "You looked a million miles away."
I smiled weakly, hoping she couldn’t read my mind. "Just thinking."
"About?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nothing important," I lied, taking a sip of my coffee.
Emma didn’t seem convinced, but before she could press further, her phone buzzed on the table. She glanced at the screen and rolled her eyes with a groan.
"What’s up?" I asked, grateful for the distraction.
"It’s Martinus," she muttered, making a face. "He’s whining about having to pick something up for our parents, and of course, he’s making it sound like the end of the world."
I couldn’t help but chuckle. That sounded like the Martinus I knew—always complaining, always dramatic.
"Honestly, I don’t know how he makes everything seem so difficult," Emma continued, her frustration evident. "I love my brother, but sometimes I just want to shake him."
I hesitated for a moment, the memory of last night still fresh in my mind. Should I tell her about it? Would it even matter? Emma was close with her brothers, but she also knew all too well how insufferable Martinus could be.
Before I could decide, Emma’s phone buzzed again, and she let out another groan.
"Ugh, I swear, if he sends me one more—"
"Let me handle it," I said suddenly, surprising both of us.
Emma blinked at me, her frustration giving way to confusion. "Wait, seriously? You want to deal with Martinus?"
I shrugged, trying to play it off as casually as possible. "I mean, I’m not doing anything important right now. I can run the errand for him. It’ll give you a break from the complaining."
She eyed me suspiciously, but then her expression softened into a smile. "You’re seriously the best. If I had to deal with one more text from him, I might’ve lost it."
I smiled back, though my heart was already racing. What was I doing? I’d just volunteered to spend time with the one person I’d been avoiding for years. Maybe last night had shaken something loose in me—made me curious to see if there was more to him than I thought.
Or maybe I was just insane.
---
An hour later, I found myself standing outside a small record shop on the edge of town, waiting for Martinus to show up. The errand itself wasn’t a big deal—he just had to pick up a rare vinyl for his dad’s birthday—but the idea of spending any more time with him than necessary was starting to feel like a bad idea.
I sighed, shoving my hands into my jacket pockets as I glanced down the street. Just as I was about to text him, I heard footsteps approaching. I looked up and saw him—Martinus, hands in his pockets, his familiar mop of hair falling into his eyes as he strolled toward me with that usual cocky grin plastered on his face.
"Look who decided to show up," he called out as he approached.
"Yeah, yeah," I muttered, rolling my eyes. "Let’s just get this over with."
He smirked, clearly enjoying my discomfort. "Relax, Y/N. It’s just a record store, not a prison sentence."
I shot him a look, but before I could snap back, he pushed open the door and walked inside. I followed reluctantly, the warm, cozy atmosphere of the shop doing little to ease the tension I felt bubbling up inside me.
Martinus wandered over to the counter where the shopkeeper had already set aside the vinyl, chatting with him like they were old friends. I stood back, watching him interact with the guy—his usual charm on full display. It was weird seeing him like this, so at ease with someone who wasn’t me.
As the shopkeeper handed over the record, Martinus turned to me with a grin. "See? Easy. No need to be so dramatic."
"You’re one to talk," I shot back, though the edge in my voice was weaker than usual. Something about him today felt different. Less combative. More…human.
We walked out of the shop, and for a few moments, neither of us said anything. I was ready to head home, but Martinus stopped suddenly, glancing over at a café across the street.
"You hungry?" he asked, catching me off guard.
"What?"
He shrugged. "I’m starving. We might as well grab something while we’re out."
I opened my mouth to argue, but then closed it again. Why was I so quick to shut him down? He hadn’t been unbearable today, and last night’s conversation still lingered in the back of my mind. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to give him a chance.
"Fine," I muttered. "But I’m not staying long."
Martinus smirked. "Deal."
---
We settled into a booth at the café, the smell of coffee and pastries filling the air around us. For the first time in what felt like forever, the silence between us wasn’t heavy or awkward. It was almost…comfortable.
"So," Martinus said after a few minutes, leaning back in his seat, "are you ever going to tell me why you hate me so much?"
I blinked, caught completely off guard by the question. "What?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Come on, you’ve been holding a grudge against me for years. Don’t act like you haven’t."
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. "I don’t hate you."
"Could’ve fooled me," he said, his tone lighter than I expected. "Every time we’re in the same room, it’s like you’re waiting for me to screw up."
I looked down at my coffee, feeling a sudden wave of embarrassment. He wasn’t wrong. I had been holding onto this weird rivalry for so long that I hadn’t even stopped to think about why.
"I don’t know," I admitted quietly. "We just…always clashed. You always knew how to push my buttons."
He laughed, but it wasn’t mocking this time. "Yeah, well, you weren’t exactly innocent in all of it either."
I glanced up at him, and for the first time, I saw something different in his eyes. There was no teasing, no smugness. Just honesty.
"Look," he said after a moment, "I know I’ve been a jerk to you, and I don’t expect you to forgive me or anything, but…maybe we don’t have to hate each other forever."
The sincerity in his voice caught me off guard. I had spent so long assuming Martinus was just this arrogant guy who loved getting under my skin, but now…I wasn’t so sure.
"Maybe we don’t," I said quietly, meeting his gaze.
For a moment, we just sat there, looking at each other. And for the first time in years, it felt like the ice between us had finally started to crack.
