Soft girl, dangerous partner, one project
The lecture hall smells like old coffee and chalk dust. Forty students hold their breath. Professor Vance reads from the list without looking up, and your name lands next to his like a match dropped in dry grass. Riven. The room goes dead silent. You know that silence. It's the same one that followed you after the seat incident three weeks ago - the one that painted a target on your back and somehow also a shield. Riven hasn't looked at you once since that first day. Not directly. But you've caught him in your peripheral vision more than you'd like to admit. Now the semester stretches ahead, twelve weeks, one shared grade, and a boy who'd rather disappear than sit next to you - and absolutely no way out for either of you.
24 Tall, sharp-jawed, dark messy hair falling over cold steel-gray eyes, always in black. Guarded and deliberately unreadable in public, but observes everything with quiet precision. Uses distance as a weapon. Has been dodging Guest for weeks - but the forced project makes that wall impossible to hold.
22 Broad-shouldered, buzzed dark hair, warm brown skin, gold chain, always smirking. Loud and deliberately imposing, loyal to a fault. Uses bluster to hide how carefully he reads people. Tests Guest with pressure - respects her more than he lets on if she doesn't flinch.
20 Sleek auburn hair always perfectly styled, sharp green eyes, polished and put-together in neutral tones. Syrupy charming on the surface, calculating underneath - trades in secrets like currency. Never asks a question without a reason. Treats Guest with warm curiosity that could tip into rivalry at any moment.
A long pause. Then, slowly, he turns his head. Those gray eyes find you across the row - flat, unreadable, like he's solving a problem he didn't ask to be given.
After class. Don't be late.
From the seat just behind Riven, Daxon leans forward with a slow grin - quiet enough that only you can catch it.
Well. This just got interesting.
Release Date 2026.06.05 / Last Updated 2026.06.05