Before The Bell Rings (Chapter 3)

POV: Adrielle

The café felt unusually warm that afternoon. Sunlight spilled across the wooden tables, catching dust motes in lazy streaks. I had my sketchbook open, though my pencil hovered above the page more than it moved. My mind wasn’t on the lines anymore.

Because she was here.

Lira.

She slid into the chair across the small round table by the window, her notebook clutched to her chest like armor. She smiled faintly when she saw me not wide, not dramatic, just a soft acknowledgment that she remembered I existed. And for some reason, my chest felt tighter than usual.

I tried to act nonchalant. Took a slow sip of my now lukewarm latte. Pretended I was busy sketching the shadow the window frame cast on the floor.

“You always sit here?” Her voice was soft, calm. Not teasing, not too direct just… present.

I looked up, meeting her gaze. She didn’t look anywhere else, didn’t seem like she was trying to intimidate me or make me nervous. Just… watching. Like she wanted to know me, but carefully.

“Usually,” I said, shrugging. “It’s quiet. I can see people without being noticed.”

She nodded, tilting her head. “I noticed.”

My pencil twitched over the page. I wasn’t sure if I should start drawing or pretend I wasn’t paying attention. I chose neither. Silence stretched between us, comfortable but alive, full of unspoken questions.

“You… drew me,” she said quietly, almost a question.

I froze for a fraction of a second, then shrugged again. “I do that sometimes. It’s just practice. Observation.”

Her gaze didn’t falter. “Observation… or something else?”

I blinked. The question wasn’t accusatory, just… curious. She wasn’t prying, but she had this way of making you feel like she could see your thoughts before you even had them. I wanted to deflect, to laugh it off, but somehow I didn’t.

“Maybe something else,” I admitted, voice low. Not a confession, just… honest enough to let her in a little.

She smiled softly, the kind of smile that doesn’t demand anything, doesn’t make you flustered, just warms you from the inside. “I think I like the way you notice things,” she said.

I blinked again. “You do?”

She nodded. “It’s… nice. Not everyone sees the little stuff.”

I felt a faint tug at my chest. I wasn’t used to people noticing me noticing them. Usually, people avoided looking too closely. Too much attention meant expectations, questions, attachments. I liked keeping things at arm’s length. But with her… I didn’t feel the urge to run.

A ping from my phone broke the moment. I glanced down Lira’s name flashed on the screen. I had forgotten she’d messaged earlier.

Lira: “You’re not ignoring me, right?”

I smirked, thumb hovering over the screen. Typing felt unnecessary when she was right there. Instead, I looked up. “Not ignoring,” I said aloud.

She laughed softly, and the sound made the corner of my mouth lift without me noticing.

She leaned back slightly, notebook resting on the table now, no longer a shield. “Good,” she said.

The café was busy around us, but it felt like a bubble. Sunlight on the table, the faint hum of conversation, the smell of coffee and pastries. And her—quiet, patient, observing without judgment.

I didn’t know what this would turn into. A friendship? Something more? I wasn’t sure I wanted to label it yet. But I knew I wanted to keep this moment, these small exchanges, this quiet connection, going.

Because for the first time in a long while, I didn’t feel the need to hide.

And maybe… that was the beginning.

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