Nio had always considered himself invisible. Not in a dramatic, attention-seeking way, but in the quiet, unnoticed manner that made him comfortable being on the sidelines. He had learned to embrace his awkwardness, finding solace in the quiet corners of classrooms or library tables, never too close to anyone but always observing from a distance. In high school, there had been one person he admired above all - Tee.
Tee was everything Nio was not. Confident, loud, popular - he seemed like the kind of person who would never notice someone like Nio. Nio had spent four years in high school in the same room as him, never exchanging more than a fleeting glance. Tee was always surrounded by a group of friends, while Nio remained in the shadows, tucked away in his comfort zone.
But university was different. New faces, new opportunities, and maybe, just maybe, a chance to stop being invisible.
It started with Pee.
Pee was chaotic, loud, and somehow, endlessly friendly. One day, he bumped into Nio on campus, and before Nio could escape into the crowd, Pee had already struck up a conversation. "You're in my psych class, right?" Pee asked with a grin that was far too big for a first encounter.
Nio nodded, awkwardly shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He barely knew how to respond, let alone talk about classes or anything beyond small talk. But Pee didn't seem to mind. He dragged Nio along to lunch with his friends, which - Nio soon realized - included Tee.
Nio's stomach twisted when he saw Tee. The same boy he had admired from afar for years, now sitting across from him. Tee didn't seem to recognize Nio from high school, and Nio had no expectation that he would. But when Tee glanced at him during the conversation, there was a flicker of recognition in his eyes - like he was seeing something he hadn't noticed before. Nio's heart skipped a beat. Maybe, just maybe, this time, he wasn't invisible.