Clara Whitmore has learned that people do not always stay. So she keeps her world small: university, work, family, books, and the photographs she takes with an old analog camera. Ethan Vale seems impossible to miss. Confident, admired, and always surrounded by people, he has perfected the version of himself everyone expects to see. They move through the same city, carrying different kinds of silence. A chance encounter on the subway brings them briefly into each other's lives. A nearly empty photography exhibition brings them face to face. She sees loneliness where he sees freedom. He hides behind a smile. She hides behind distance. And somewhere between late-night streets, unfinished conversations, and photographs of things most people overlook, they begin to see each other more clearly than either of them intended. A Few Steps Away is a slow-burn college romance about trust, first impressions, hidden passions, and the risk of letting someone know who you really are. © 2026 Nebula. All rights reserved. This story and its characters may not be copied, translated, adapted, or reposted without permission.