5:45 PM.

I sighed, glancing at my watch for what felt like the hundredth time. Ryan was now forty-five minutes late.

Fifteen missed calls—dozens of unanswered texts. No response.

Was I even in the right place? Right time? I double-checked my phone.

January 15, 5 PM. The Nest.

Yeah, I was exactly where I was supposed to be. Ryan, on the other hand, was just being his usual reckless self.

Ryan was like a brother to me. He’d been there through everything—my parents' divorce, the worst academic stress of my life. He was my safe space, my ride-or-die. But sometimes, I really wanted to knock some sense into him. He was a reckless, womanizing drunk who somehow still managed to get top grades. Even the crankiest professors loved him. It was infuriating.

I hated seeing him go down the rabbit hole of alcohol, drugs, and women. I had tried talking to him so many times, but as smart as he was, he was also extremely hard-headed. Knowing him, he had probably forgotten about our meeting and gone day drinking at some random bar—again.

I leaned back in my chair, debating whether to leave or wait another ten minutes.

Then, the bell above the café door chimed.

I looked up. Finally,

Ryan strolled in—casual as ever, no trace of urgency or guilt on his face. But he wasn’t alone.

And suddenly, my brain short-circuited.

The girl beside him? Gorgeous. Like, make-me-forget-how-to-speak gorgeous.

She was tall—tall enough to reach his jaw, which was insane, considering the guy was like 6'2". She wore this flowy brown dress—don’t ask me the name, I had no clue—but I knew it was something Muslim women wore, and hijab that somehow made her look like she had just walked out of a fashion shoot. Her skin was flawless—like, unfairly flawless. And even from where I sat, I could tell her eyes were dangerous. The kind that could make a guy forget his own name.

Her lips moved before I even registered the sound. “Hey, isn’t that your friend?”

She was talking about me.

Ryan turned his head, saw me, and grinned as they approached the table.

I swallowed, forcing myself to sit up and act normal.

Be cool. Don’t be weird.

I didn’t know who she was to Ryan yet, so I had to tread carefully. But holy hell—I had never seen someone like her before. Even the way she walked was confident but effortless, like she wasn’t even trying.

Ryan slid into the seat across from me, nodding in greeting. “Sorry I’m late, bro. Yasmin needed a ride from the airport, and I thought we could make it in time, but we got stuck in traffic.”

He gestured toward her. Yasmin.

What a pretty name. It suited her.

Wait. Hold on.

Did Ryan just apologize?

The dude never apologized. last time he came three hours late to a group  project ,hungover, he sat down without saying anything and proceed to act as if nothing happened. The realization hit me like a slap, and I shot him a confused look.

Ryan didn’t seem to notice. “By the way, Yasmin, I’ll go order. Do you want something? It’s on me.” His voice was softer than usual.

My stomach twisted.

Shit. Were they together?

I tried to keep my face neutral, but internally, alarms were blaring.

“What kind of tea do they have here?” she asked.

Her voice? Yeah, that wasn’t fair either—smooth and warm, like honey drizzled over something expensive. Ryan chuckled. “They’ve got jasmine tea—your second favorite.”

Her lips curved into a soft smile. “Then I’ll have that.”

Ryan nodded and left for the counter.

And just like that, we were alone.

The air between us thickened. Yasmin shifted slightly, like she wasn’t sure if she should say something first.

I took the chance. “So, you also like jasmine tea?”

She raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “Also?”

I smirked, lifting my cup and tilting it to show her the tea leaves at the bottom.

A small giggle escaped her lips.

Oh. Oh no.

I was in trouble.

Even her laugh was pretty—soft, warm, completely unforced. And now that I could see her up close, I finally caught them—her eyes.

Amber.

Like melted caramel or something straight out of a painting.

Focus. Stop fawning over her.

“I’m sorry,” she said, still smiling. “You just don’t look like someone who enjoys tea.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? What do I look like I enjoy, then?”

She tilted her head slightly, pretending to think. “I don’t know. But definitely not jasmine tea.”

I chuckled, relieved she wasn’t weirded out by me staring too much.

“I’m Yasmin, by the way,” she said. “I’m from Morocco, here for my last year in architectural design.”

I leaned forward slightly, intrigued. “Architectural design? No way. Me too.”

Her smile widened. “I know. Ryan told me about you before we came here.”

right Ryan… I needed to clear something up. “talking about Ryan…  are you guys cousins or something?” I asked, trying to sound casual.

She hesitated for a second before answering, “I guess you could say that.”

My brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

Before she could answer, Ryan slid back into his seat, placing two cups of jasmine tea and an iced cappuccino on the table.

“She means we’re childhood friends,” he interrupted smoothly, handing us our drinks before sitting beside her.

“Thanks for the refill, man.”

“Don’t worry, bro. It’s my apology drink.” He smiled.

I froze.

Okay, what the hell was going on?

Ryan apologizing was weird enough. But buying me a drink for it? Now I was genuinely concerned. Had he been body-snatched?

I eyed him, then her. Something about her earlier hesitation didn’t sit right with me.

"So, you guys are childhood friends?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.

Yasmin smiled. "Yeah. Our moms were best friends—more like sisters, really. They even ended up pregnant at the same time and gave birth to us on the same day. So we grew up more like siblings than anything else. Eventually, people just started assuming we were cousins, and at some point, we stopped correcting them."

I didn’t miss the way Ryan tensed slightly at her words, which made me think there was more to it, but I didn't see it fit to call him out on it at the moment. I was better off waiting for the two of us to be alone.

"By the way, Elio," Ryan started, clearly changing the subject. "I forgot to tell you something."

"Yeah?" I looked at him curiously.

"Remember how we were one person short for our grad project?"

Right. The project. After seeing Yasmin, I had completely forgotten the reason for our meeting today.

"Yeah... Wait, did you actually find someone?" I asked, excitement creeping into my voice. "Who?"

I had been dreading this project for four years now, and I had been extremely stressed out recently because we were one person short. We had to find someone by next week. Thank God Ryan had taken care of it.

"Yup! I finally found our final member. See? I’m not as useless as you think."

"You most definitely aren’t," I admitted. "So, who is it?"

My smile widened with anticipation, baring my teeth.

Ryan smirked. "It’s Yasmin. Tadaaa!"

"What? Her?" I asked, confused.

Oh. Oh no. OMG. OMG. I WAS GOING TO DIE. I HAD TO SPEND THE NEXT FEW MONTHS WITH HER FOR THIS PROJECT. HOW THE HELL WAS I SUPPOSED TO SURVIVE THAT?

I lost my composure for a second and felt my face heating up.

"Is there an issue?" Yasmin asked, slightly concerned, maybe even a little offended.

"What? No! Absolutely not! I just... I just hadn’t realized. Sorry, I’m a little slow."

"Don’t worry about it," she said, smiling, but then her expression shifted. "But, um… are you okay? You’re a little red."

Crap.

"Yeah, don’t worry about that." I flashed a look at Ryan, who had been watching us in silence. Something about the way he was just sitting there, glaring at me, made me sober up in an instant.

After talking for another thirty minutes, tossing around half-baked ideas for our project, Yasmin checked the time on her phone and sighed.

“We should get going,” she said. “I still have to pick up my apartment keys and unpack a little.”

Ryan, who had been uncharacteristically focused during our discussion, immediately stood up. “Yeah, I’ll drive you.”

I wasn’t ready for the conversation to end, but I wasn’t about to say that out loud.

Yasmin gathered her things, slinging her purse over her shoulder. Before she left, she turned to me with a small smile. “It was really nice meeting you, Elio. See you soon?”

God, even the way she said my name made my heart stop. She made it sound so… melodic, effortless—like something I wouldn’t mind hearing again.

I nodded, maybe a little too fast. “Yeah, definitely. See you.”

She flashed me one last smile before stepping outside and disappearing into Ryan’s BMW.

The second the door closed behind her, Ryan exhaled sharply and turned to me. “Wait here. I need to talk to you.”

I frowned, confused. “What’s up?”

He slid his hands into his pockets, his expression unreadable. Then, with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, he said, “Hey, Elio, you know you’re my friend and all, but Yasmin is my priority right now. My uncle and aunt trusted me to make sure she stayed focused and safe. That’s the only reason they agreed to let her study here, so do me a favor…”

I barely had time to process his words before his smile faded, and his tone dropped into something sharp and ice-cold.

“Pick up your jaw from the floor, will you?”

It wasn’t a request. It wasn’t even advice. It was a warning.

And for the first time in years, I didn’t recognize the guy standing in front of me.

I frowned. “You good, man? You’ve been acting a little on edge since earlier.”

Ryan exhaled sharply, hesitating for a second before shrugging. “Nah, bro, don’t worry. It’s just…” He paused, rubbing the back of his neck. “I haven’t seen Yasmin in a while, and as you probably noticed, she tends to attract a lot of unwanted attention. It makes her uncomfortable sometimes. I don’t want her to have a hard time—this is the first time she’s really getting to breathe a little. And, like she told you, she’s family to me. I wouldn’t want her to have a negative view of me.”

He patted my shoulder, his grip lingering just a second too long. ‘So would you mind keeping my bad habits a secret from her, yeah?’

I studied him for a moment, searching for something in his expression, but Ryan’s mask was flawless. Finally, I nodded. ‘Okay man I guess it makes sense I got your back

"So… you also like jasmine tea?" Elio asked, his voice breaking the awkward silence that had settled between us.

"Also?" I repeated, confused.

"Yeah." He slightly tilted his cup to show me the tea leaves at the bottom.

I couldn’t help it—his little gesture made me giggle. This guy was easily around 6'3" or 6'4", wore a white short-sleeve shirt that revealed a dragon tattoo sleeve on his left arm. It was softly muscular, not in an overwhelming way, but enough to show he worked out regularly. His porcelain skin tone and deep black curls perfectly framed his face. Now, I wasn’t the type to judge based on appearances, but the contrast between his strong, imposing presence and his delicate taste in drinks was surprisingly humorous. I couldn’t quite figure him out.

"I'm sorry," I calmed myself, "You just don’t seem like the type to enjoy jasmine tea."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? What do I look like I enjoy, then?"

I tilted my head slightly, pretending to think. "I don’t know. But definitely not jasmine tea."

He chuckled, and I noticed how nice his teeth were, bright and perfectly straight. It made me smile despite myself.

"I'm Yasmin, by the way," I realized I hadn’t introduced myself yet. "I just came from Morocco for my last year in architectural design."

"Architectural design? No way. Me too." He leaned forward, genuinely intrigued.

"I know," I answered with a smile, remembering the conversation in the car with Ryan. "Ryan told me."

***

"By the way, remember how I told you about our grad project?"

"Yeah, thank you, by the way, for letting me join your team."

"Of course, Yasmin. You’re like my sister," he said with a soft smile. "Plus, it’s already hard enough for you to adapt to a new country, a new school, and start a week later."

I smiled at the thought of Ryan looking out for me, even if he had his own ways of doing things. "Still, thank you. Also, where are we going again?"

"We’re going to meet my friend Elio. He’s the other member of our team."

"Oh, did you tell him about me?"

"No, not yet. I’ll tell him today, though."

"Won’t he be mad that you made that decision without him?" I asked, concerned.

"Nah, don’t worry. He’ll understand. He’s a lot softer than he looks."

***

Ryan was right. Even though I’d barely exchanged any words with Elio, I could now see exactly what he meant.

Elio had this strong, almost intimidating exterior—tall, broad-shouldered, sharp features, definitely gave off high school bully or jock vibes—but from what I’d seen so far, he actually seemed a lot sweeter than I’d expected.

As if on cue, he asked, “Are you guys cousins or something?” His tone was hesitant.

I paused, thinking about it for a second, then looked back at him and said, “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

It wasn’t a lie, exactly. My relationship with Ryan was more than just being childhood friends. To me, he was the brother I never had. Whenever creepy guys approached me, he was always there. When I struggled to understand something, he’d take his time to explain it, even if it took hours. He’d been there through my first friendship breakups, Baba’s business trips—everything. He and his mom would sleep over to keep us company, and we’d do the same when his dad was away. If it weren’t for him, my parents wouldn’t have let me study here. So yeah, calling him just a childhood friend felt like an understatement.

“What do you mean by that?” Elio asked, genuinely intrigued.

I was about to answer when Ryan came back with our drinks and sat down beside me.

“She means we’re childhood friends,” he said as he handed each of us a cup of tea.

“Thanks for the refill, man,” Elio replied.

“Don’t worry, bro. It’s my apology drink.” Ryan smiled.

Silence.

Elio looked at Ryan, then at me, then back at Ryan again with this indecipherable expression. What’s wrong with him? He was totally fine like 30 seconds ago.

“So, you guys are childhood friends?” he repeated, clearly still processing.

This time, I answered.

“Yeah. Our moms were best friends—more like sisters, really. They even ended up pregnant at the same time and gave birth to us on the same day. So we grew up more like siblings than anything else. Eventually, people just started assuming we were cousins, and at some point, we stopped correcting them.” I smiled at the memory, warmth blooming in my chest. Ryan was a constant in my life. Familiar, safe, steady.

Ryan suddenly jumped in, “By the way, Elio, I forgot to tell you something.”

“What’s up?” Elio leaned in slightly, curious.

“Remember how we were one person short for our grad project?”

Oh, right—the grad project. I had completely forgotten about that after meeting Elio.

“Yeah... Wait, did you actually find someone?” Elio’s voice perked up, excitement creeping in. “Who?”

“Yup! I finally found our final member. See? I’m not as useless as you think.”

“You most definitely aren’t,” I added with a small laugh. “So, who is it?”

Elio’s smile widened, teeth showing—and now that I looked closely, I noticed he had dimples too. I hadn’t even realized that before.

Ryan smirked. “It’s Yasmin. Tadaaa!”

I gave him a warm smile, trying to be friendly.

“What? Her?” Elio looked... stunned.

Okay, I thought we got along pretty well earlier, but I did not expect this kind of reaction.

Suddenly, he turned bright red. Wait—was he mad or something?

“Is there an issue?” I tried to keep my frustration out of my tone, but it slipped in anyway.

“What? No! Absolutely not! I just... I just hadn’t realized. Sorry, I’m a little slow.”

I let out a relieved sigh—thank God we weren’t starting off on bad terms—but still... why was he so red?

“Don’t worry about it,” I said with a smile. “But, um… are you okay? You’re a little red.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about that,” he replied quickly, looking down and rubbing the back of his neck—which, by the way, was also really red.

That was cute.

We brainstormed for another thirty minutes before I realized I hadn’t picked up my apartment keys yet, and I still had to get the car my dad bought me tomorrow.

“We should get going,” I said, gathering my things. “I still have to pick up my apartment keys and unpack a little.”

“Yeah, I’ll drive you,” Ryan said, already standing up.

As I turned to leave, I glanced back at Elio. “It was really nice meeting you, Elio. See you soon?”

I genuinely meant it. I’d had a nice time with him, and honestly, I couldn’t wait to start working together.

His eyes sparkled for a second before he replied,

“Yeah, definitely. See you.”

I flashed him one last smile before I could step away, Ryan insisted he wanted to talk to Elio for a bit, so I made my way to the car to wait for him.

When he finally came back, I immediately noticed something was off. His whole vibe had shifted.

“Hey, are you okay?” I asked, concerned.

“Yeah, don’t worry.” He flashed me a gentle smile. “I’m just a little tired.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? You look like you’re in a bad mood. Did something happen with Elio?”

He paused, glancing at me before reaching for my hand.

It wasn’t unusual for him to hold my hand when he was scared or needed to say something serious. Of course, that mostly happened when we were kids, but still—it wasn’t strange.

“Do you… what do you think about Elio?” he asked, his eyes holding an emotion I couldn’t quite place.

“Euhm, I don’t know,” I answered honestly. I wasn’t really expecting that question, and I haven’t thought about it. “I mean, I met the dude an hour ago.”

“Do you like him?” he asked.

“I guess so? I mean, he’s super nice… and he has a nice smile.”

Was that the right answer? I wasn’t really sure, but oh well.

Ryan seemed hesitant to continue. “I mean, as a man, what do you think abou—”

Aah, so that was it. I must’ve crossed some invisible line earlier, and now he was worried I’d end up liking and taking his friend away from him. That thought made me burst out laughing.

“Are you kidding me, Ryan? Do you genuinely think I’d fall for a guy that fast? I barely know the dude. Plus, you know me—I’d never date before marriage.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot,” he chuckled, letting go of my hand and placing his on the steering wheel.

“Sorry, Yasmin. It’s just… I wouldn’t forgive myself if I disappointed Uncle. He told me to make sure no random dudes approach you.”

“Ha.” I sighed. “Baba is doing too much. I already told him I’ll let them know when I’m ready for marriage.”

***.

When I finally entered my apartment, I was relieved to see that everything was already settled in place. Baba had been a little skeptical about me living alone, so he made sure to get me a penthouse at a reasonable distance from MIT—about a 20-minute drive. Since I got my international driver’s license last year and had a car waiting for me tomorrow, I was all set.

He even hired a bunch of people to make sure I could focus on studying without distractions—people who’d come to clean twice a week, a private chef I could contact at any time, and they'd fill my fridge. Oh, and the snack room—probably the best part of it all.

I remember rushing through my tour just to find that room. When I finally discovered it, it felt like heaven on Earth. It was packed to the brim with all my favorite snacks—snacks I’d begged my dad to add to our family home for years. Seeing him finally let me have one was amazing.

I grabbed a pack of my favorite chips—salt and vinegar—and continued my tour.

When I finally got to my room, I collapsed onto the bed. It was so comfortable and squishy, but something felt different. I lay there for a bit, and the silence settled in. I checked the time: 7 PM. It was midnight in Morocco. No way my parents were still awake. I closed my eyes and let my mind wander, remembering my day.

I was happy to see Ryan. I hadn’t hung out with him in a while, not since he decided to study here for high school. He still visited during breaks, but for a while, it felt like I had lost my best friend, as well as my brother. I was glad to see his friend, Elio, even though it was just one person. Elio seemed really nice, and I was happy to see someone like him standing next to Ryan.

Ryan, on the other hand, was still the same—sweet, protective, and clumsy. That lack of change in him made me reminisce about our childhood.

I lay there for a little longer before heading to my walk-in closet—another thing Baba had set up for me. He had duplicated my wardrobe so I wouldn’t have to pack anything.

I picked out my pajamas, showered, prayed, and crawled back into bed.

As my head hit the pillow again, the exhaustion finally caught up with me. Today had been long, exciting, and honestly a little overwhelming. But now? Sleep took over—and for the first time since arriving, everything felt still.

Hey guys! I’m Kady, the author of There You Were Underneath the Mountain. This is a story I’ve been working on for a long time, and I truly hope you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I’ve loved writing it.

A quick note: some themes in this story may not be suitable for younger audiences, so reader discretion is advised.

I’m currently in college, which means updates might not always be perfectly consistent, but my goal is to release at least one new chapter every Sunday.

Thank you so much for clicking on my story! Please feel free to share it with your friends, and I can’t wait for you all to follow along on this journey. 💛

See you soon!

– Kady