Ava wasn't sure if the universe hated her or was deliberately trying to make her life more complicated. After everything that happened over the last two days, she had finally convinced herself she could manage one thing:
Avoid Nicholas Wolfe.
It should've been easy.
He was everywhere, but he was also nowhere. Every time she glanced up in class, he was either staring at her like she was his next breath… or refusing to meet her eyes at all.
She didn't know which one frustrated her more.
She spent the afternoon wandering through the library, trying to drown her brain in textbooks. It was raining outside—heavy, loud, the type that made campus feel smaller and quieter than normal. Ava liked that. Less people, less noise, less Nicholas.
Around 6 p.m., she decided to head out before it got too dark. She packed her notes, slung her bag over her shoulder, and walked down the long hallway toward the side exit.
She pushed the door.
It didn't move.
She frowned and tried again.
Still locked.
"What the…?"
"That door sticks when it rains."
Ava's entire body stiffened.
She didn't have to turn to know who was standing behind her.
Nicholas Wolfe.
His voice—low, calm, annoyingly soft—rolled through her like a wave of heat she wasn't prepared for.
She slowly turned around.
And there he was.
Leaning against the wall near the shelves, hands in his pockets, rainwater clinging to the ends of his hair like he'd just run across campus. His hoodie was damp at the shoulders, and his chest rose and fell like he had been looking for something—looking for her.
Great. Perfect. Exactly what she was trying to avoid.
She swallowed. "I didn't know anyone else was here."
His eyes didn't leave her face. "I saw you come in earlier."
A strange flutter hit her stomach. No. No fluttering allowed.
Ava straightened her posture. "Well, I'm leaving."
Nicholas pushed off the wall. "You need the front exit. This whole wing locks when it rains."
She shifted her bag. "Okay. Then I'll go."
He nodded. "I'll walk you."
Of course he would.
Ava walked ahead, refusing to look back. But she could feel him behind her—his footsteps slow and controlled, his presence impossible to ignore. Every time the lights flickered from the storm outside, her heart jumped for no good reason.
They reached the front doors.
Ava reached for the handle.
Nicholas reached for the same handle.
Their fingers brushed.
It felt like electricity punched straight up her arm.
She snatched her hand back, pulse hammering in her ears.
Nicholas froze, staring at her fingers like he could still feel the spark. He cleared his throat and pulled the handle.
It didn't move.
He frowned and pushed harder.
Still nothing.
Ava blinked. "Don't tell me—"
Nicholas exhaled slowly. "We're locked in."
Of course they were.
Ava pressed her palm against her forehead. "Please tell me this is a joke."
He tried the other door. Then the smaller emergency door. Even the old back latch.
All locked.
"Noah said the generators were glitching," he muttered. "The automatic locks probably triggered when the lights flickered."
Ava stared at him. "So we're… stuck? Together?"
Nicholas met her eyes. Slowly. Carefully.
Something dark and warm flickered across his face. "Yeah," he said quietly. "We are."
They ended up sitting on opposite ends of a long table, both facing forward, both pretending the other didn't exist.
It lasted eight minutes.
Ten, if Ava was generous.
Nicholas shifted, tapping his fingers against the wood, restless. "You're still avoiding me."
Ava didn't look up. "No I'm not."
"You are."
"No, I'm not."
He let out a soft breath, something between a sigh and a frustrated laugh. "Ava, you haven't looked at me since Sunday."
"Maybe I don't want to."
"That's what avoiding is."
She clenched her jaw.
Silence.
Rain hammered against the windows, lightning flashing briefly across the room. The air felt thicker—like everything between them was pressing down in the small space.
Nicholas stood up suddenly.
Ava stiffened. "What are you doing?"
"Trying not to lose my mind," he muttered and walked toward the window.
Ava pretended she didn't watch the way the muscles in his back shifted under his hoodie. Pretended she didn't feel the tension tightening the room.
He turned halfway, leaning on the window frame.
"You can talk to me, you know."
"I don't want to."
"That's a lie."
She snapped her head up, glaring. "How would you know?"
He stepped closer. Slow. Controlled. Dangerous.
Her breath caught.
Because this? This was the Nicholas Wolfe everyone warned her about.
The one who moved like sin wrapped in patience.
The one who spoke like every word was a temptation.
He stopped right in front of her.
Not touching her.
Not even brushing her knee.
But close enough that she felt heat radiating from his body.
"I know because you only run from things that scare you," he whispered.
Ava's heartbeat tripped.
"I'm not scared of you," she said, but her voice betrayed her.
Nicholas's eyes darkened. "Then look at me."
She didn't.
He slowly, gently hooked a finger under her chin.
Ava's breath hitched.
"Nicholas…" she warned.
He lifted her face anyway, forcing her eyes to meet his.
The room felt too small.
Too quiet.
Too intimate.
Lightning flashed again, reflecting off his cheekbones.
Her throat tightened. "Stop."
He didn't move. "Tell me why."
"You know why."
"Say it."
"No."
He leaned closer, their faces inches apart. "Then I'll say it."
Ava's chest rose too quickly, breath unsteady.
Nicholas's voice dropped into a whisper so soft she felt it more than heard it.
"You're scared because you know what happens when I'm close to you."
Ava swallowed hard. "Nothing happens."
A slow, devastating smile curved his lips. "That's the problem, sweetheart… something always happens."
Her cheeks burned.
He leaned even closer.
Too close.
Dangerously close.
His breath brushed her jaw, warm and tempting. "If you want me to stop," he murmured, "then say it."
But Ava couldn't.
Her lips parted, but no sound came.
His thumb brushed the corner of her mouth.
Her eyes fluttered shut—
And then—
A loud mechanical click echoed through the room.
Both of them jerked upright.
The locks released.
Nicholas blinked at the door. "Seriously… now?"
Ava pushed her chair back so fast it screeched. "Good. I'm leaving."
"Ava—"
"No."
She grabbed her bag and practically ran.
Nicholas watched her go, jaw tight, hands clenched, rainwater glimmering in his hair like he'd been carved out of the storm itself.
When the door shut behind her, he whispered into the empty library:
"You can run all you want, Ava Morgan. But you still feel this. And so do I."