Ava didn't sleep much after running into Nicholas in the hallway. Every time she closed her eyes, she replayed his voice—quiet, rough, torn between wanting her and avoiding her. By morning, her chest still felt tight, her mind a tangled mess she couldn't untangle.
Lila was already up, applying lip gloss in front of the mirror.
"You look like someone who wrestled with their dreams," Lila said lightly.
"Not far off," Ava muttered.
Lila didn't ask further. She simply handed Ava her comb like a peace offering and hummed a breakup song under her breath.
By the time Ava got to her morning lecture, her heartbeat was finally settling—until she heard someone call her name.
"Ava!"
She turned and saw Liam jogging toward her, smiling with the kind of warmth that made people instinctively relax. He was the opposite of Nicholas—gentle, expressive, easy to read.
"You forgot your pen yesterday," Liam said, handing it to her.
"Oh—thank you," Ava said softly. She hadn't even realized she dropped it.
Liam rubbed the back of his neck. "And since you didn't look too good yesterday, I just wanted to check if you're okay."
Ava blinked. He noticed?
"I'm fine," she said, a little embarrassed.
"You don't look fine."
Ava laughed quietly, shaking her head. "I'm just tired."
Liam hesitated. "If you ever need help… or someone to talk to… you can talk to me. I don't mind."
Ava's stomach fluttered—not romantically, but with surprise. It felt… nice. Someone noticing her without confusing her.
"Thank you, Liam. Really."
He smiled—wide and genuine.
And that was the moment Nicholas walked into the lecture hall.
Ava didn't see him at first, but she felt him. It was like the air shifted—grew sharper, heavier. When she looked up, he was standing a few rows away, staring directly at her.
Not at Liam.
Not at their distance.
Just her.
His jaw tightened once. Then again.
Ava swallowed, suddenly unable to breathe.
Nicholas looked away sharply and walked to a seat at the far end of the hall, dropping into the chair like he was irritated with the universe.
Ava looked at Liam, who hadn't noticed anything.
"Do you want to sit together?" Liam asked.
Ava forced a small smile. "Sure."
As they sat, she felt Nicholas's gaze burning into her back even when he wasn't looking at her.
Later, after class
Liam held the door for Ava.
"We can study together this evening if you want," he offered. "Just the two of us. I'm good with the topics we covered today."
Ava hesitated, chewing her lip. She didn't want to lead Liam on. But she also didn't want to spend another evening drowning in thoughts of Nicholas.
"Yeah," she said softly. "Studying sounds good."
Liam's smile widened. "Great. I'll text you."
He walked off, leaving Ava with her thoughts—and the uncomfortable feeling of eyes watching her.
She turned.
Nicholas was leaning against a pillar, arms crossed, pretending to scroll through his phone. Except he wasn't scrolling. He was staring at her.
Coldly.
Sharply.
Possessively.
Her breath hitched.
"Nicholas?" she whispered.
He looked up, expression flat. "You and him. That a thing now?"
Ava froze. "I—what? No. He's just a friend."
Nicholas raised a brow. "Didn't look like 'just a friend.'"
Her cheeks warmed. "We were talking."
"I saw," he said quietly. "You talk differently with him."
Ava blinked, confused. "Differently?"
Nicholas pushed off the wall, stepping closer before he could stop himself. Ava's pulse spiked instantly. His presence hit her like a wave—warm, overwhelming, magnetic.
"You don't pull away from him," Nicholas said, voice low. "You don't look nervous. You don't—"
He cut himself off abruptly.
Ava felt her breath shaking. "And that… bothers you?"
Nicholas didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
The tension between them thickened, stretched, pulled tight like a thread about to snap.
A couple of students walked past, laughing, forcing Nicholas to step back an inch. His jaw clenched in irritation—at them, at himself, at everything.
Ava looked down. "You were the one who said you should stay away."
"And I'm trying," he said, voice barely controlled.
"Then why do you look angry?"
Nicholas exhaled sharply. "Ava, stop."
She flinched slightly at the intensity, but she didn't move away. She couldn't. Not around him. He drew her in like gravity.
Nicholas looked at her for a long moment—his chest rising and falling slowly, like he was battling something inside him.
"You shouldn't let guys like him get too close," he said finally.
Ava frowned. "Guys like him?"
"Guys who want something from you."
Ava stared at him, stunned. "And what about you?"
Nicholas froze.
Her voice trembled. "Do you want nothing from me, Nicholas?"
He didn't answer.
His silence was loud enough to swallow.
Nicholas stepped back at last, pulling the walls around himself again.
"Stay away from him, Ava," he said quietly. "Do whatever you want, but not him."
Ava's heart twisted. "You don't get to decide who I talk to."
Nicholas's eyes flashed—hurt, jealousy, something deeper—but he turned away before she could understand it.
"Just… be careful," he murmured, his voice tired and conflicted.
Then he walked off without another word.
Ava stood frozen, her breath shallow, her emotions spiraling.
Liam wanted her attention.
But Nicholas?
Nicholas made her feel like she was standing too close to a fire she couldn't walk away from.
And even though she knew she should…
She didn't want to.