The Girl Behind the Window
Jealousy was an ugly emotion.
Ava Monroe knew that better than most people.
She studied psychology. She understood emotional attachment, behavioral patterns, insecurity, projection. She knew exactly how irrational human emotions could become when affection entered the equation.
Unfortunately, understanding feelings logically did absolutely nothing to stop them from hurting.
Especially now.
Ava stood beside the dorm window long after Lucas Reed disappeared across campus sidewalks beneath mist and streetlights.
The image refused to leave her head.
Lucas laughing softly beside Hailey Brooks outside the café.
The way he looked more relaxed around her lately.
The way Hailey touched his arm casually while talking.
The way Lucas smiled more now.
God.
Ava hated that she noticed all of it.
Because technically, she had absolutely no right to feel jealous.
Lucas wasn’t hers.
In fact, they barely even knew each other.
Several library conversations.
A few late-night walks back toward dorms.
Quiet moments between bookshelves that somehow felt more emotionally intimate than most loud friendships she’d experienced before.
That was all.
And yet…
somewhere inside those quiet conversations, Ava had started looking for him automatically every day.
She noticed when he entered rooms.
Noticed when he looked tired.
Noticed which moods made him quieter than usual.
And maybe the worst part was realizing Hailey noticed those things too.
The thought alone made something painful tighten inside her chest.
Ava finally stepped away from the window before sitting heavily at her desk.
Outside, rain continued drifting softly across campus while distant music echoed through dorm hallways.
Her roommate glanced up from bed across the room.
“You okay?”
Ava immediately nodded once.
“Fine.”
Lie.
A terrible lie, honestly.
But Ava had spent most of her life becoming good at hiding emotions before they reached the surface.
So instead of talking about it, she opened her psychology textbook and tried reading the same sentence six times while Lucas’s smile kept replaying inside her head anyway.
The next morning arrived cold and gray.
Lucas sat alone outside the humanities building drinking coffee while waiting for literature class to start. Campus looked sleepy after the storm. Wet leaves covered sidewalks while students moved slower than usual beneath cloudy skies.
For once, Hailey wasn’t there yet.
Strangely, Lucas noticed immediately.
Which felt dangerous.
He had only known her a few weeks.
Nobody should become part of someone’s routine that quickly.
Still, he found himself automatically glancing toward crowded pathways searching for golden-brown hair and oversized sweaters anyway.
“Looking for someone?”
Lucas looked up instantly.
Ava stood beside him holding two textbooks against her chest while cold wind moved softly through dark hair falling around her face.
Something about seeing her unexpectedly made his chest loosen slightly.
“Not really,” he answered.
Ava sat beside him on the stone bench quietly.
“You’re a bad liar.”
Lucas frowned slightly.
“You barely know me.”
“I know enough.”
The calm confidence in her voice unsettled him slightly.
Ava always spoke softly, but somehow her words still landed directly where they intended to.
For several moments, silence settled naturally between them while students rushed around campus nearby.
Then unexpectedly, Ava asked:
“You and Hailey stayed out late?”
Lucas glanced toward her.
“She told you?”
“No.” Ava looked ahead calmly. “I saw you.”
Something about that answer felt strangely intimate.
Lucas leaned back slightly against the bench.
“We got coffee.”
Ava nodded once.
Another silence.
Then quieter now:
“She likes you.”
The statement came so directly it caught him completely off guard.
Lucas blinked once. “What?”
Ava finally looked toward him properly.
“She’s obvious when she cares about somebody.”
Cold morning wind moved softly between them while Lucas tried processing that sentence.
Because honestly?
He hadn’t let himself think about Hailey that way too deeply yet.
Not intentionally.
Sure, she was beautiful.
Sure, conversations with her felt easy.
Sure, he noticed her constantly.
But liking someone that quickly felt reckless somehow.
And maybe a little terrifying too.
“You sound very certain about that,” Lucas murmured carefully.
Ava looked away again almost immediately afterward.
“I’m good at reading people.”
The sentence should’ve sounded casual.
Instead, something sad lingered beneath it.
Lucas studied her quietly for a second.
Then suddenly he asked the question before fully thinking about it.
“And what about you?”
Ava froze slightly.
“What about me?”
Lucas swallowed carefully.
“You always talk about everybody else’s feelings like they’re obvious.” His voice softened slightly. “But you never talk about your own.”
The atmosphere between them changed instantly.
Ava’s expression became unreadable for half a second before she looked down at her books.
“Psychology students don’t do emotional vulnerability.”
“That sounds unhealthy.”
“It probably is.”
Despite himself, Lucas smiled faintly.
Ava noticed immediately.
And God.
The way her expression softened seeing him smile felt dangerous too.
Different from Hailey.
Quieter.
But somehow deeper.
Before either could say more, loud footsteps suddenly approached across the sidewalk.
“There you are!”
Hailey.
Of course.
Lucas looked up automatically while Hailey walked toward them carrying coffee cups and chaotic energy like usual.
The second she noticed Ava sitting beside him, something subtle shifted across her face.
Not dislike.
Awareness.
“Oh,” Hailey said lightly. “Hey, Ava.”
Ava nodded politely once.
“Hailey.”
Lucas suddenly felt like he accidentally walked into the middle of something he didn’t understand.
Hailey held out a coffee toward Lucas afterward.
“I brought you caffeine because you look emotionally deceased before noon.”
Lucas accepted it automatically.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” Then Hailey glanced briefly toward Ava again before smiling casually. “We still on for photography club later?”
Lucas blinked once.
“We are?”
“You agreed yesterday.”
“I definitely didn’t.”
“You did spiritually.”
Ava watched the interaction quietly beside them.
And for some reason, Lucas suddenly became hyper-aware of the difference between both girls at the same time.
Hailey filled space naturally.
Ava observed it silently.
Hailey made emotions obvious.
Ava hid hers beneath calmness.
And somehow…
both of them affected him differently already.
The realization unsettled him more than he wanted to admit.
Hailey checked the time on her phone before groaning dramatically.
“We’re gonna be late.” She grabbed Lucas’s sleeve lightly. “Come on, Rain Boy.”
Then she looked toward Ava again.
“You coming?”
Ava shook her head softly.
“I have psych research.”
For one brief second, disappointment flickered across Lucas’s chest unexpectedly.
Weird.
Very weird.
Hailey started dragging him toward the building entrance while Lucas glanced back once instinctively.
Ava remained sitting alone on the bench beneath gray skies and falling leaves.
Watching them leave.
And suddenly, for reasons he couldn’t explain properly…
Lucas felt guilty.
That evening, Ava sat alone in the library again.
But this time, she couldn’t focus at all.
Her notebook remained half-empty while thoughts spiraled endlessly instead.
Mostly around one terrible realization:
She liked Lucas Reed.
Actually liked him.
Not casually.
Not academically.
Not temporarily.
And honestly?
That terrified her.
Because people like Hailey always won eventually.
Warm girls.
Beautiful girls.
Easy girls to love.
Meanwhile Ava had spent most of her life becoming emotionally unreadable just to survive things nobody around her fully understood.
How was someone like Lucas ever supposed to notice the quiet girl standing slightly behind sunlight?
Her phone buzzed softly against the table.
Unexpectedly, Lucas’s name appeared across the screen.
Ava’s heartbeat stumbled instantly.
Lucas:
You at the library?
For several seconds, she only stared at the message.
Then slowly:
Ava:
Yeah.
Three dots appeared.
Save me a seat.
And suddenly…
despite everything hurting quietly inside her chest…
Ava smiled anyway.