We literally watched each other hit delete on Tinder in the campus dining hall last week, but yesterday he left me on read for nineteen hours while actively posting on his story. When we're crammed into a library booth sharing iced coffee, he holds my hand and talks about visiting my hometown next break. He makes it feel so real, so why do I feel like I'm surviving on romantic breadcrumbs the second we leave the library? Am I just overthinking a normal finals-week study schedule, or is deleting the app basically meaningless if he still disappears?

Deep breath: deleting Tinder together is cute, but it doesn't automatically transform someone into a boyfriend. Right now, you're playing the leading role in his campus rom-com from 2 to 5 PM, and getting ghosted by showtime. When a guy talks about road trips to your hometown but can't muster a two-second reply between Instagram stories, he loves the aesthetic of romance without the tiny burden of daily effort. That library booth isn't a magical portal where real-life rules stop applying. Next time you're tucked into that study booth and he starts planning the next semester of your lives, look him in the eye with a grin: 'You're great at planning December, but terrible at texting me back on a Tuesday. Are we actually dating, or am I just your favorite study break?' His answer—or his stutter—will tell you everything. If someone wants you in their life, twenty hours is plenty of time to say hello.