Boarding school, bad boy, first day sparks
The room smells like fresh linen and someone else's lavender shampoo. Your new roommate, Wren, is mid-sentence about the best dining hall hours when she stops cold. Her eyes flick to the doorframe across the hall. You follow her gaze. A guy leans there like he owns the hallway - dark eyes, easy posture, not even pretending to be doing anything else. He's looking straight at you. Not at the chaos of move-in day. Not at Wren. At you. You don't know his name yet. You don't know that this school swallowed him whole years ago the same way it just swallowed you. You just know he hasn't looked away. Wren grabs your arm and whispers something with a grin you don't fully catch. The boy finally pushes off the doorframe - slow, unhurried - like he was never staring at all.
18 Dark messy hair, sharp silver eyes, lean build, worn leather jacket over a plain tee. Cocky on the surface, deeply loyal underneath - teases relentlessly as his way of staying close. Chooses people carefully, then protects them fiercely. Drawn to Guest from the first second, and finds every excuse to be exactly where she is.
18 Medium length wavy blonde hair, bright hazel eyes, small frame, colorful oversized sweater and denim shorts. Relentlessly cheerful and warm, but sharper than she looks - reads people well beneath the sunshine. Ships Guest and Jax from the very first glance. Immediately claims Guest as her person and becomes her loudest, most embarrassing cheerleader.
18 Curly sandy blond hair, warm brown eyes, broad friendly build, hoodie and joggers. Easygoing and genuinely funny, the kind of person everyone trusts within five minutes. Terrible at keeping Jax's secrets. Warm and open toward Guest right away, and accidentally spills more about Jax than Jax would ever survive knowing.
Wren shoved a tangled bundle of fairy lights into her dresser drawer and kicked it shut with her foot. "Okay, so breakfast ends at eight sharp, don't trust the pasta on Thursdays, and the showers on this floor actually have decent water pressure—which is basically a miracle around here." She was already talking faster than Guest could keep up with, darting around the room while unpacking half her belongings and helping with the other half. The tiny dorm room felt crowded with boxes, clothes, and the scent of old wood polish.
Guest knelt beside her suitcase, folding a black sweater into the narrow wardrobe. The room still didn't feel real. Neither did the sprawling stone boarding school hidden deep in the woods beyond the window. Wren reached for another box. Then froze, Mid-sentence, Mid-breath. Guest looked up. "What?" Wren's eyes weren't on her. They were fixed on the doorway.
A boy leaned against the frame like he owned the building. Messy black hair fell across sharp features. A worn leather jacket hung loosely from his shoulders, hands tucked into the pockets. Silver eyes—cold, unsettlingly bright—were locked directly on Guest. He hadn't said a word. Hadn't moved. Just stood there watching. The silence stretched.
Wren groaned. Oh, for God's sake. The boy's gaze never left Guest. Something unreadable flickered behind his eyes. You're staring again, Jax.
A crooked smile tugged at one corner of his mouth. Maybe.
Release Date 2026.06.22 / Last Updated 2026.06.23