Chapter 4 Unspoken Moves

DENZEL'S POV

Rule #13: Never let them catch you waiting.

Monday came. Then Tuesday. Midweek arrived with thick clouds and a pop quiz in Cost Accounting I was spiritually unprepared for.

I didn't see them again. No Basti. No Luke, either. Not even during lunch when their varsity crowd usually took up the far table near the windows.

Good.

Maybe they forgot about me. Maybe the world had better things to do than circle around a chess girl with sharp comebacks and uneven socks.

Maybe the universe remembered I liked being invisible.

Still.

My eyes drifted sometimes. Toward the gate. The volleyball court. The noise outside the library where varsity teams usually gathered.

Nothing.

-

Hannah noticed first.

"You've been edgy all week."

"I'm always edgy," I replied, flipping a page.

"You only snap your pen like that when you're avoiding something. Or someone."

"Or maybe I just hate solving accounting problems."

"Denzel."

I closed my notebook. "I'm fine."

Rheiza looked over. "No Luke today. Basti, either."

I shrugged. "Why would they be here?"

"Volleyball exhibition. Isn't it weird?"

"No. Maybe they're busy. Or moved on."

"Or maybe they're giving you space."

"Good."

But my pulse betrayed me. Because part of me hated the quiet.

-

Thursday afternoon, the sky cracked with sudden rain. I forgot my umbrella. I sprinted toward the nearest shelter beside the campus gym, clutching my bag like it owed me rent.

That's when I saw him.

Leaning against the concrete wall, hoodie up, arms crossed like a statue had decided to casually wait out a monsoon.

Basti.

His eyes met mine. Then lowered to the state of my drenched hair.

"Forgot your umbrella?"

I glared. "Don't mock me."

He extended his. "I have space."

"Not interested."

He didn't move. Just held the umbrella steady.

Rule #14: Don't share covers with people you might like. It complicates the silence.

But I stepped closer anyway.

We stood there, half-shielded from the downpour. Too close. Too quiet.

I should've moved. Said something. But my legs had apparently joined the silent treatment.

He spoke first. "Luke said you accused him of being part of a bet."

"I didn't accuse. I asked."

"Still."

"He came out of nowhere and asked me to teach him chess. What was I supposed to think?"

Basti tilted his head. "That maybe he was curious."

"Curious is dangerous."

"So is assuming the worst."

I didn't answer.

The rain softened.

He glanced sideways. "I wasn't supposed to talk to you."

"Why?"

"Because if I did, it might look like I cared."

I blinked. "And do you?"

He didn't answer right away. Just looked up at the gray sky.

Then quietly: "More than I should."

I hated that my breath caught.

Rule #15: Never let them speak softly. It gets under your skin.

-

BASTI'S POV

I wasn't supposed to look for her.

After the tournament, I tried to pull away. We had exams. Scrimmages. My family was already breathing down my neck about an engagement I didn't ask for.

But I still found myself checking the court perimeter. The library window. The school benches at lunch.

Then I saw her. Drenched, annoyed, and very much herself.

I couldn't help it. I offered the umbrella. She glared, but didn't walk away.

Progress.

Her sarcasm wasn't armor. It was honesty, sharpened. Most people said what they thought I wanted to hear.

She didn't.

That made me want to listen more.

Luke whistled later that evening. "You shared your umbrella with the Ice Queen?"

"Don't call her that."

He raised both hands. "Sorry. I just thought we agreed to give her space."

"You agreed. I never promised."

Luke studied me. "You like her."

I didn't deny it. He looked away.

Then softly: "I get it."

-

DENZEL'S POV

That night, I rewrote Rule #14 in the back of my notebook.

Rule #14: Don't share umbrellas. Or secrets. Or soft silences. It doesn't end well.

Then I underlined it. Twice.

And stared at the ink until it blurred. Because I wasn't sure who I was trying to convince anymore.

Myself.

Or him.