Kai's POV
She didn't show up for class.
Which, honestly, should've been a relief. No tripping over my feet, no surprise backhugs, no glitter hair clips shoved into my palm because "they matched your aura, Kai!"
But it wasn't.
It felt… too quiet.
Too wrong.
I waited all day for her to burst in somewhere—library, lunchroom, garden, anywhere—yapping about God knows what, dragging chaos behind her like a confetti storm.
She never came.
By evening, I cracked.
Her dorm was in the same building as mine—fifth floor, left corner room with the rainbow wreath and a "DO NOT KNOCK UNLESS YOU'RE FUN" sign.
I knocked anyway.
No answer.
I knocked harder.
Still nothing.
"Ava," I said, when her roommate finally opened the door, eyes wide like she wasn't expecting me of all people, "Where's Sky?"
Her expression shifted. "She's in bed. Fever. Won't eat. Keeps saying she'll be fine in five minutes and then collapses like a soggy noodle."
I was already walking past her.
And there she was.
Sky.
Blanket burrito. Red nose. Hair a tangled mess. Eyes barely open. The brightest person I knew… looked dim.
My heart… hurt.
"Kai?" she croaked, trying to sit up. "Am I dead? Is that why you're here?"
"You look like you lost a fight with a microwave," I muttered, kneeling by the bed. "Why didn't you call someone?"
She sniffled. "Didn't wanna bother you. Or Ava. Or Alex. Or my emergency contact list. Or 911."
"Jesus, Sky."
"You're here," she whispered. "Did you miss me?"
I didn't answer. Instead, I tucked her hair behind her ear.
She blinked. Then smiled—tiny, weak, but real.
"You did," she whispered, eyes fluttering shut. "You missed your favorite clingy headache…"
She fell asleep mid-sentence.
I sat there for an hour, watching her breathe, her forehead burning up, her fingers curled in the blanket like she was still trying to cling to the world even in her dreams.
Someone had to take care of this chaos demon.
And apparently… that someone was me.