Four years of university in Belgrade had a way of blurring peoples faces together in lecture halls, names forgotten after group projects. But not Stefan and Lidia. No, they'd become something... inevitable.
It didn't start special. A shared class. A sarcastic comment from Lidia that Stefan actually laughed at instead of getting offended. A mutual dislike for a pretentious professor who thought quoting Nietzsche made him interesting. From there, it was library study sessions that turned into coffee runs, coffee runs that turned into late-night walks, and eventually, a friendship built on a foundation of teasing insults, philosophical stoner debates, and the kind of trust that only forms when you've seen someone cry over both breakups and bad grades.
They weren't lovers. Never had been.
But anyone watching them would have questioned why not.
Lidia was born and raised pure Belgrade energy, petite, sharp-tongued, and always carrying herself like she was three steps ahead of everyone else in the room. Her dark eyes sparkled with mischief more often than not, and Stefan had long ago accepted that keeping up with her meant accepting defeat with a grin. She had this way of stretching out on his couch like she owned it, bare legs tangled in a blanket, oversized hoodie slipping off one shoulder, tank tops that were never intentional but always dangerous. She didn't flirt not really. Lidia dared.
Stefan, on the other hand, was southern calm. Broad-shouldered, relaxed posture, the kind of guy who didn't need to fill silences because he was comfortable in them. Where Lidia sparked, Stefan smoldered slow to rile up, but when he did, it was all heat beneath the surface. He wasn't oblivious. He noticed things. Like the way Lidia bit her lip when she was focused, or how her voice softened when she was truly relaxed not performing, not teasing, just... herself.
They knew everything about each other.
Every failed relationship. Every questionable hookup story. Every time one of them claimed they were "done with dating" only to fall for someone toxic two weeks later. They'd seen each other drunk, high, heartbroken, victorious, and vulnerable in ways most people never got to witness.
But tonight wasn't just another chill night.
The signs were subtle but they were there.
Maybe it was the weed stronger than anything they usually smoked. Lidia had pulled it from her bag with a sly grin, calling it "the good shit" from a friend who "probably shouldn't be trusted, but always delivers."
Maybe it was the way Stefan couldn't stop noticing how Lidia's tank top kept riding up every time she shifted on the couch, exposing a sliver of smooth skin above her shorts. Or how her bare legs stretched across his lap like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Or maybe... it was just time.
Four years of dancing around the line without ever crossing it.
The room was dimly lit, one lamp casting a soft glow over scattered textbooks, an ashtray already half-full from earlier. The window was cracked open, letting in the distant hum of Belgrade nightlife muffled conversations, a car horn, the faint echo of music from a nearby apartment. Inside, the bass from Stefan's speaker pulsed with a lazy rhythm, something smooth and low that neither of them had bothered to change.
Stefan flicked the lighter, struggling against the stubborn joint between his lips.
Across from him, Lidia watched with that signature smirk the one that always made him feel like she knew something he didn't.
"You're really from the south and still can't light a joint properly?" she teased, voice dripping with amusement as she tucked one leg beneath her.
Stefan shot her a sideways glance, finally coaxing the flame to catch. He took a slow drag, exhaling a thin stream of smoke before passing it her way. "Careful, Belgrade girl. Keep running that mouth and I'll make you roll the next one."
Their fingers brushed as she took it a touch so familiar, yet tonight... it felt different. Longer. Intentional.
Lidia didn't comment. But her eyes lingered on him for a heartbeat longer than necessary before she brought the joint to her lips, inhaling deeply, her cheeks hollowing in a way that made Stefan's thoughts drift somewhere they shouldn't.
Her exhale was slow, deliberate. The smoke curled between them like a veil thin, hazy, charged.
They'd done this a hundred times before.
Same couch. Same music. Same sarcastic banter.
But Stefan couldn't shake the feeling that something in the air had shifted.
Maybe it was the fact that neither of them had mentioned their usual fallback topics no talk of school stress, no rants about shitty exes. Instead, there was this... lazy tension. A comfortable silence laced with something heavier. Like both of them were waiting to see who'd be bold enough to acknowledge it first.
The playlist shifted, the next song dropping into a slower, almost sensual groove. Stefan felt the bass vibrate beneath him, syncing with the steady thrum in his chest.
Lidia stretched again, her tank top riding higher, and Stefan's eyes betrayed him drawn to the glimpse of bare skin, the curve of her waist, the way her body moved without thought or care.
He told himself it was just the weed making him notice too much.
But when she passed the joint back, her fingers grazed his palm lingering. Testing.
Neither of them spoke.
But in that silence, everything was loud.
"So..." Lidia began, her voice smooth and drawn out as she took another deep inhale, holding the smoke in her lungs before letting it drift past her lips in a perfect, practiced stream. Her eyes flicked toward Stefan, glinting with mischief beneath heavy lids. "Why do you think none of your relationships worked out, huh?"
Stefan groaned, letting his head fall back against the couch cushion, eyes fixed on the ceiling like it held all the answers he didn't want to give. "Oh, we're really doing this now?"
"You brought it up earlier," Lidia shot back, her grin both playful and sharp. "Don't get shy on me now. It's Honesty Hour blame the weed, not me."
Stefan exhaled slowly, the thick haze in his chest matching the one clouding his thoughts. He turned his head toward her, catching the way the soft light played across her features too soft, too pretty for a conversation that felt like stripping down emotionally.
"Fine," he muttered, voice low, almost like admitting a secret to the night itself. "Maybe... I get bored too easily."
Lidia's laugh was immediate, a short, knowing snort as she leaned forward, elbows resting on her knees. "No shit," she teased, eyes sparkling. "You date girls who think 'quality time' means sending each other TikToks from across the room."
Stefan couldn't help but chuckle, nudging her bare knee with his knuckles a casual touch, but it lingered longer than it should've. "Alright then, Miss Relationship Expert," he countered, smirking. "Why don't your flings last?"
