Friend into Lover

Prologue

The air buzzed with the excitement of new beginnings as Caitlin Aleezha Brigettee stood among a sea of white shirts under the sweltering August sun. It was campus orientation at the University of Indonesia, and the air was alive with possibility and promise. She looked around, eyes scanning the crowd with an eagerness she barely understood herself. This wasn't just any college experience—it was a chance to meet new people, explore uncharted paths, and find the connections that would shape her future.

Then, she saw him. Francisco Marcus Fernando, "Frand" as he was casually introduced, moved through the crowd with an effortless charm, his laugh echoing above the chatter. He was striking in a way that stole Caitlin's breath, the type she had always imagined meeting. Tall, with dark hair and a gaze that seemed to capture everyone around him, he radiated an undeniable magnetism. And as she took a deep breath, Caitlin's heart gave a quick, nervous flutter.

Their first encounter came by accident. Each group had been tasked with a rather daunting assignment: capture 200 photos of fellow freshmen from different groups, with no repeats. Caitlin, however, missed one critical detail—Frand was in her group, making him off-limits for her collection. So, she approached him, oblivious to the rule, and he agreed to the photo with a casual smile. Only later, after a flurry of missed shots and a failed count, did Caitlin realize her mistake. Frustrated but determined to make it right, she messaged Frand on LINE, her apology half-heartedly laced with blame. A mistake, yes, but one that seemed to matter less with each response.

For a while, it was as simple as that. Apologies and smiles turned into easy conversations, and those early days of friendship were colored with the kind of laughter and closeness Caitlin hadn't expected. But life had a way of complicating things. She had Immanuel, her steady, reliable boyfriend; and Frand had Adeline, a girl whose presence was more felt than spoken of.

As the weeks of orientation passed, they kept each other in a friend zone—comfortable, familiar, and seemingly simple. Yet, somewhere deep down, both Caitlin and Frand felt the unspoken undercurrent of something more, something that couldn't be captured in the frames of a single photo. And just like that, when the campus orientation ended, so did their daily conversations, drifting them into separate lives they hadn't realized they'd miss so soon.

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