Ficorpio
Chapter 1
Chapter 1
After the college entrance exams, right around graduation, my phone broke, and just like that, I lost contact with everyone.
Including Ethan Shaw, the boy I’d chased in secret all through high school.
Once the exams were over, my parents took me back to our hometown to visit family. By the time I returned, all the old numbers I had were useless, and the people from school had scattered to different places.
A month later, my college acceptance letter arrived.
On the first day of orientation, while I was standing in line to register, I heard a familiar voice behind me.
“Lucy? Is that you?”
I turned around and saw Jenna Brooks smiling at me, bright and surprised, like we’d only been apart for a weekend instead of forever.
I froze for half a second before smiling back. “Jenna.”
She stepped closer, still grinning. “I can’t believe it’s really you. Why did you disappear after graduation? I tried reaching you forever.”
I gave an embarrassed laugh. “My phone got stolen when I went back home. I lost everybody’s contact info.”
“No way.”
Jenna stared at me, then immediately pulled out her phone. “That is tragic. Add me right now.”
After we exchanged contact info, she said she was heading to the library and walked with me part of the way. We chatted about the past year, about classes, about who had ended up where. Then, after a pause, she turned to me with a strange little smile.
“So…” she said, sounding almost hesitant for the first time that day, “you and Ethan really never talked again after that?”
The moment his name came up, something tightened in my chest. It had been so long, and still, just hearing Ethan Shaw made my heart skip in that ridiculous, humiliating way.
“No,” I said.
Jenna looked genuinely stunned. “That’s such a shame. Back then, everyone thought—well. The whole class thought…”
Maybe it was the way she dragged it out, maybe it was because I’d held that question in for too many years, but the words slipped out before I could stop them.
“Thought what?” I asked, trying to sound casual and failing. “That he liked me? Please. Half the girls in school liked him.”
Jenna blinked at me, then laughed. “Lucy, no. I mean, sure, plenty of girls liked him. But Ethan was so cold to everyone. You know that.”
I did know.
He had been the kind of boy who drew attention without trying—the one who always ranked near the top of the class, who looked good enough to make people stare, who walked through school with that calm, distant air that made it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Girls chased him all the time.
And he ignored almost all of them.
The only moments when he seemed remotely approachable were in class, when the teacher called on him and he’d answer in that low, even voice, or when he’d laugh at something so briefly you’d wonder if you’d imagined it.
Chapter 2
Chapter 2
I smiled a little at the memory and said nothing.
Back then, I had also been one of the girls trailing after him—except I was worse, because I’d done it while pretending I wasn’t.
Jenna gave me a knowing look, still wearing the expression of someone holding in a huge piece of gossip. She stayed that way all the way to the library entrance, like she wanted desperately to say more but was waiting for the right moment.
At the doors, she finally stopped. “Anyway, let’s keep in touch.”
“Yeah,” I said, lifting a hand. “Bye.”
The second I got back to my dorm, my roommate shoved her phone in front of my face.
“Lucy, our class group chat is losing its mind. They’re saying some old classmate just showed up out of nowhere.”
I walked over, took my own phone out, and saw the message Jenna had sent me.
First line: Don’t be shocked.
Second line: I’m adding you to the class group chat. Everybody’s basically there now, except the people who never use this stuff. You should come say hi.
I stared at the screen for a while before typing back a thank-you.
A few seconds later, Jenna replied: Hang on, I’m pulling you in now.
My finger hovered over the screen.
I had no idea why I was nervous.
Maybe because if Ethan was in there too, then after all this time, I would be stepping back into the same space as him again.
But then I told myself not to overthink it.
If he already had a girlfriend, what did it matter whether I was in the group chat or not?
“Okay,” I muttered, and accepted the invite.
The moment I joined, messages started pouring in.
Lucy???
No way.
Where have you been?
Did you vanish off the planet or something?
I was staring at the flood of texts when one of my roommates came back from the shower, hair dripping wet and muttering about how the hallway floor was soaked again because somebody had no concept of boundaries.
I grabbed my towel and clothes. “I’ll answer after I shower.”
“Go,” she said. “Before they start sending a search party.”
By the time I came back, there were already dozens of new messages.
I quickly typed: It’s me. Sorry, everyone. I really did disappear for a while.
Almost instantly someone replied: What happened to you? We tried contacting you forever after graduation.
Another chimed in: Yeah, seriously.
I wrote back: My phone got stolen when I went home, and I didn’t get a new one for a long time.
Then: Glad you’re okay.
And right after that: Wait, are you single now?
I stared at the screen.
Then I blinked.
Then I blinked again.
The chat went dead silent for a full few seconds.
Someone finally jumped in to smooth things over. “Ignore them, ignore them.”
Another person wrote: We’ve all got different schedules now anyway. If there’s a class reunion or something later, maybe we can all meet up.
I sent a smiling emoji and a quick okay, then set the phone down, equal parts relieved and weirdly unsettled.
A little later, curiosity got the better of me.
Chapter 3
Chapter 3
I opened the member list.
There were a lot of familiar names, and a lot I barely remembered. I scrolled slowly, pretending I wasn’t looking for anyone in particular.
Then I stopped.
Ethan’s profile picture was just a simple cartoon cat.
My breath caught.
Why hadn’t he said anything?
I tapped on his profile, but there wasn’t much there to see.
Maybe his settings were private.
Or maybe…
I locked my phone and tossed it onto the bed a little too quickly.
My roommate looked over. “What are you doing skulking around like that?”
“Nothing.” I forced a smile and picked up the paper bag she’d brought back earlier. “Did you get snacks?”
She instantly forgot about me and lit up. “Yeah. There’s something sweet in there. Try it.”
I laughed and opened the bag. “Okay.”
While eating, I casually asked, “By the way, are there any campus volunteer events coming up? I might sign up for one.”
“Yeah, I think so,” she said. “Why?”
“No reason.”
That night, after I showered again and got ready for bed, I picked up my phone one more time.
A notification sat on the screen.
Your friend request has been accepted.
For a second, I just stared.
Then my eyes dropped to the name.
Ethan Shaw.
My heart gave a hard, stupid thud.
He had sent me a message too.
Welcome back.
I sat on the edge of my bed, phone in both hands, and read those two words over and over again.
I thought about replying with something easy, something normal. I thought about asking how he’d been, saying sorry, explaining everything.
In the end, I typed only: Thanks.
Then I set the phone aside and went to wash up.
It was late. And besides, if he had a girlfriend now, there wasn’t much point in saying more.
But my screen lit up again before I could fully put it out of mind.
I looked down.
After what felt like a long pause on his end, Ethan had sent one more message.
It’s okay.
It was the first volunteer event of the semester, and Jenna dragged me along to sign up almost before I understood what was happening.
According to her, freshman orientation week moved fast, and volunteer slots disappeared even faster. More importantly, being a student volunteer meant free volunteer hours and the chance to look at cute guys without shame.
“Our school,” she declared with complete sincerity, “has a ridiculous number of hot people.”
I laughed at her, but my eyes were already scanning the crowd.
Honestly, I was only half-listening.
Or maybe not even half.
The athletic field was already crowded by the time we got there. Students stood in loose clusters everywhere, waiting to be assigned.