New beginnings were exciting.
But they were also terrifying.
For the first few days after Akutu and Nathan acknowledged their feelings, everything seemed light, easy—almost effortless. They still studied together, ate together, laughed together.
But then, the doubts began to creep in.
What if they were making a mistake?
What if they lost everything they had built?
What if love wasn't enough?
Akutu felt the first wave of doubt during a late-night study session. Nathan had his head buried in his notes, focused, but Akutu wasn't paying attention to her books anymore.
She was thinking.
Thinking about how things felt the same, yet different.
Thinking about how, for the first time, she was afraid of what would happen next.
What if they weren't as compatible as they thought? What if they ruined the friendship that had meant so much to her?
Nathan must have sensed something was off because he looked up.
"You okay?" he asked.
Akutu hesitated. "Yeah. Just tired."
He didn't push.
But she knew he wasn't convinced.
Nathan had his own doubts too.
One evening, as he sat alone in his room, he stared at his phone, debating whether to text her.
Not long ago, he would have sent her a random joke, asked about her day, or even just said hi without thinking twice.
But now?
Now, every message felt like it carried weight.
Now, he found himself overthinking everything—what he said, how he said it, whether he was being too much or too little.
He had wanted this for so long.
But now that he had it, he was terrified of losing it.
The doubts weren't loud.
They weren't obvious.
But they were there—lingering in the quiet moments, whispering in the spaces between words.
Neither of them spoke about it.
But both of them felt it.
And whether they faced those doubts or let them fester would determine everything.
The pulleys of life had shifted once again.