The rain had stopped, but the grass still whispered with dampness.
Leon sat on the bleachers beside the football field, checking his watch again.
5:42 p.m.
They were supposed to meet at 5:30.
Evelyn had asked him, hours earlier—
"After your club meeting… meet me behind the field. I want to show you something."
Her voice had been calm, but her eyes carried something urgent. Like she was ready to open a door, if only for a moment.
Leon had rushed through his responsibilities. He'd ignored Felix's invitation to a dorm poker game. Even skipped his after-class review with Professor Langley.
And now he was sitting here.
Alone.
⸻
Minutes ticked.
By 6:10, the wind was colder. His hands were in his pockets, and the first stars had started poking through the fading blue above.
He stood to leave—
—and heard footsteps.
Fast ones.
Then—
"Leon!"
She came running, hair messy, cheeks flushed, books clutched to her chest like they were holding her together.
"I'm so sorry—I got held up. The student council pulled me into this event meeting and I—"
She tripped on a step.
Leon caught her.
Just like that.
Arms around her, breath between them, gravity reminding them that some things fall exactly where they're supposed to.
"It's okay," he said. "You're here now."
Evelyn looked up at him.
"You waited."
"I said I would."
⸻
She let out a breath that shook more than the wind.
"I didn't want to miss this. I didn't… I mean, I know I act like it's nothing sometimes. But it's not. Not to me."
Leon said nothing.
Because sometimes, silence is safer than saying too much too soon.
"This is where I come to breathe," she said, glancing around the quiet field. "It's not much, but… I wanted you to know."
Leon nodded.
"It's perfect."
They sat. Side by side. No contact, but just enough closeness for warmth to pass through the air between them.
Then Evelyn reached into her sketchbook and pulled out a page.
A pencil sketch. Of him.
Sitting exactly where he was now.
"I started this last week," she said. "Finished it yesterday."
Leon looked at the drawing. Then at her.
"Why me?"
Evelyn hesitated.
"Because when I draw you… I remember what it feels like to want time to slow down."
The floodlight over the field buzzed to life, casting them in soft amber.
She stood.
"I should go. But… thank you. For waiting."
Leon watched her walk away again.
This time, he didn't feel left behind.
Because in her words,
she had finally stayed.