CHAPTER 18 — Ice Cream
Ethan's POV:
The cafeteria at night always felt like a different world.
Not empty — there were still clusters of people spread around the tables, hovering over instant noodles and group projects and cheap late dinners — but calmer. Softer. The sharp edges of daytime dissolved into warm fluorescent haze.
I sat at a two-seater table near the window, thumb tapping restlessly against the side of my phone. I'd gotten here ten minutes ago — something I'd never admit to Ava — and had somehow spiraled into writing.
Not homework.
I wasn't journaling.
I was trying to write lyrics.
Trying. Because what I wrote wasn't even real lyrics — just fragments. Thoughts. Rhythm-shaped emotions I didn't know how to say out loud. The intermediate guitar skill the system had given me yesterday thrummed faintly in my veins. My fingers kept tapping chord patterns against my thigh.
I opened a new note.
Typed without thinking:
If I had met you a year ago, I wouldn't have had anything worth saying.Now you're all I can think about.Too much.Way too much.
I moved on and tried to write something else.
The picnic wasn't supposed to feel like that.Like something important.Like something I'm not supposed to want.
I stared at the sentence.
That was… too honest.
I moved on.
Then typed:
Your smile hit harder than the sun yesterday. That's unfair.
God, I needed to stop doing this.
It was reckless. Stupid. Dangerous.
But the guitar skill wouldn't let me sit still. It kept nudging thoughts into rhythm, turning emotion into things that looked suspiciously like song lines.
I typed again:
Six days until I see her race.Five days to help her breathe easier.Four days to pretend I'm not falling for her.
I froze.
Heart lurching.
Where the hell had that come from?
Before I could delete it, the cafeteria doors opened — a swoosh of cold air pushing through the warm lights — and she stepped in.
Ava.
Hoodie. Ponytail. Flushed cheeks. Eyes scanning the crowd like she was looking for someone important.
And then they found me.
Her whole expression softened — warm, relieved, glowing in a way that punched straight through my ribs. I looked down and pretend to focus on my phone as I was lost in my thoughts.
She walked toward me with small, quick steps. I scrambled to lock my phone just as she reached out and tapped my shoulder.
"Ethan?"
I flinched — not away, just startled — because the last sentence on my screen had literally been pretend I'm not falling for her.
She peeked at the angle of my phone.
"What were you writing?" she asked in that perfect impression from our favorite show.
I panicked instantly.
"Oh — nothing! Just thoughts, notes, uh— boring stuff."
I slapped the phone face-down like it might explode.
She blinked but didn't press. She never pressed.
Instead, she smiled faintly and picked up the mint chocolate chip ice cream from the table.
"You still think this is vile," she whispered with a tiny laugh.
"I stand by that it tastes like toothpaste."
"Well…" she scooped a bite, "your taste buds are wrong."
Her voice was light — but her eyes were not.
Her movements were slower, her posture slightly hunched, her sweater sleeves pulled over her wrists like armor. Social Insight tickled at the back of my skull:
She cried today.More than once.She doesn't want you to know.But she wants you to care.
My chest tightened.
"You okay?" I asked softly.
She hesitated.
Then nodded — too fast, too brittle.
"Yeah. Just… long day."
Lie.
But I didn't call her out.
Instead:
I smiled and spoke in a gentle tone, "I'm really glad you came."
She blinked. "You are?" she seemed surprised.
"Yeah. I wanted to see you."
Her cheeks flushed — a warm, startled pink.
She looked down at her ice cream, trying not to smile. "I… wanted to see you too."
The words lodged themselves somewhere deep in my chest.
With her looking soft and breakable and beautiful in a way that made it hard to breathe?
I inhaled carefully.
"Can I tell you something?"
Her eyes lifted instantly — hopeful, scared, ready.
"Yeah," she whispered.
"I thought… maybe you wouldn't want to hang out with me today."
Her expression shattered — not dramatically, but softly, like a quiet crack across glass.
"Why would you think that?" she whispered.
"I don't know," I said with a weak shrug. "I just didn't want to bother you."
"You don't bother me."Her voice cracked on the word don't.
She took a shaky breath.
"You could never bother me, Ethan."
She held her ice cream but didn't eat.
Her eyes were too busy watching me.
"So…" she said slowly, "how was your coffee?"
Ah.
There it was.
Fear, masked as casual curiosity.
"It was fine," I said. "Just talking."
"About what?"
"About the accident. She wanted details. She was worried since I didn't show up to two of the study groups and then she heard half baked rumors, so she wants to hear the truth from the source. "
A long, heavy exhale left her.
"Oh." A tiny smile tugged her lip. "That's… good."
"It wasn't like this," I said before I could stop myself.
Her eyes snapped to mine.
"Like… this?" she echoed.
"Yeah." I swallowed. "You know... Being with you just feels different."
Her breath caught.
And then—
"What were you writing earlier?" she whispered.
Her tone wasn't accusatory. It was just curious, soft.Dangerous.
My heart slammed into my ribs.
I couldn't lie completely.
"Stuff about… you," I admitted.
She froze.
"Me?"
I sighed, deciding to just come clean, "Trying to make sense of how I feel around you."
Her lips parted, breath shaky.
"And?" she whispered. "Did you figure it out?"
My mouth opened—
But then something else hit my vision.
A soft blue shimmer.
[System Update — Status Refresh]
ETHAN L. RIVERS — PERSONAL PROFILE
Strength: 11
Intelligence: 10
Agility: 12
Charm: 19
Luck: 14
Confidence: 14
Derived: Beginner Perception
Skills: Beginner Social Insight | Intermediate Cooking | Beginner Singing | Intermediate Guitar
Traits: Soulful Gaze | Gentle TouchAffection Levels: Ava Monroe — 75 / ???
Main Quest: Support Ava at Her Upcoming Track Meet
Time Limit: 2 Days
Reward: The Perfect Song
Daily Quest: Completed
I swallowed, forcing myself back into the moment.
"I… don't know yet," I whispered. "But I want to... I'll let you know when I know."
Her shoulders relaxed — slowly, like she'd been holding tension for hours. Her lips curved into a fragile smile.
"I… want to know... I'll be waiting."
We sat in silence for a moment — but it wasn't heavy. It wasn't awkward.
It felt like holding a breath you didn't want to release.
She ate a little more ice cream. I watched her. She watched me watching her. And the air between us grew warm and charged and painfully soft.
Eventually, she whispered:
"Ethan?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you… really coming to my track meet Saturday?"
I blinked.
Then nodded.
"If you'll have me."
Her face lit up — not big, not exaggerated — but the shy, stunned smile someone makes when something they secretly hoped for actually happens.
"You… want to come?" she asked, voice small with disbelief.
"Yeah. I want to see you run. I want to be there cheering you on.... If that's okay."
Her eyes went glossy for a split second.
Then—
"Yes," she whispered. "I want you there too."
Something warm unspooled in my chest.
"What time should I come?" I asked. "And where is it exactly?"
She perked up, already digging through her phone. "I'll send you the location. And… um… maybe come around 11? I run early."
"Okay," I said softly. "I'll be there."
Her blush deepened, blooming across her cheeks.
"I'm… really glad."
I wanted to say "Me too."I wanted to say "I care about you."I wanted to say a lot of things.
Instead:
"Do you want some of my ice cream?"
She snorted softly. "No. Yours tastes like sadness."
I laughed. "Hey you can't go wrong with vanilla!"
"No... but it's a boring flavor." She smiled shyly.
And somehow… the whole world felt lighter.
We talked until the lights dimmed. When we walked back to her dorm, the cool air nudged us closer. Her shoulder brushed mine twice. Then three times. She didn't move away.
At her door, she turned, biting her lip.
"Goodnight," she whispered.
"Goodnight."
She hesitated.
Then rose on her toes and kissed my cheek — soft, fast, warm.
Before I could breathe, she darted inside.
The door clicked.
And as I stood alone in the quiet hallway, heart racing—
the system spoke again:
[Main Quest Reminder]
Support her. Be there.
Reward: The Perfect Song
I sighed wondering how much my life has actually changed.