Late afternoon sunlight poured into the North Wing, washing the marble floors in pale gold. Ariana wandered the halls, squinting at a borrowed library map that wasn't helping at all.
She'd been searching for the Business Lab for twenty minutes.
Still no luck.
"Why is this place such a maze?" she grumbled, frowning at the map.
"You're holding it upside down," someone said behind her.
She jumped and spun around.
Kian.
Of course.
He stood there, hands in his pockets, looking completely at ease.
"Upside—oh." Ariana quickly flipped the map, cheeks burning. "Right. That explains it."
He took the map from her, gentle but sure.
"The Business Lab's upstairs," he said. "You're on the wrong floor."
"Oh." Well, that tracked.
Kian raised an eyebrow. "Want me to show you?" 😏
She tried to sound confident. "No, I've got it."
He started walking.
She fell in step behind him anyway.
They climbed the stairs, passed a row of heavy wooden doors, and turned into a quieter hallway lined with old paintings of professors who looked like they hadn't smiled in a century.
"You always look lost," Kian said.
"I do not," Ariana shot back.
He grinned, just a little. "Only about ninety percent of the time."
She glared. "I'm new. I'm still figuring it out."
He stopped at a door marked in gold: Business Lab – Room 214.
"Here you go," he said.
Ariana looked at him, half grateful, half exasperated. "Thanks… again."
"Try not to wander into the Architecture Tower next time," he said. "Some people never make it out."
She laughed—quiet, but real. First laugh of the day, actually.
For a second, Kian's expression softened. Not much, but enough to notice.
Then he walked off, fading into the sunlight.
Ariana stood there, heart fluttering, realizing the whole place felt a little less confusing every time he showed up. 💖