The ice cream dripped lazily down Emily's cone, a lone bead racing towards her knuckles before she caught it with her tongue. The sweetness was almost enough to make her forget that moments ago, she'd been lost and publicly mocked. Almost.
They were sitting on a low stone near the student quad. Laughter and conversation buzzed around them, but none of it touched their little corner. People passed, slowing just enough to sneak a glance— some stared outright like they were seeing something impossible.
Emily didn't know why until she noticed the way their eyes flicked to him. Ethan.
He sat beside her, one elbow propped on his knee, his cone untouched. He didn't seem to notice the attention, but Emily could feel it, the weight of whispers building like static.
"You are not eating" she said finally, her voice tight.
He looked at her then, and that lazy half smile curved his mouth "I'm enjoying the view"
Her stomach tightened and she focused very hard on her half eaten cone "Right"
When she'd finished, he stood without warning "Come on"
"Where?"
"To get your things, I assume you have luggages."
She hesitated "Yes, but —"
"No buts, you'd get lost again" his tone was final. Though he didn't raise his voice, it wasn't a question.
Emily followed telling herself it was only because she didn't know where her dorm was, yet. And because the thoughts of walking across campus alone with people still smirking at her , wasn't that appealing.
They reached the parking lot, and she stopped short. The sleek black Maserati didn't belong on a college campus.
"This is yours" she blurted
He only opened the passenger door waiting "Get in flower"
The ride to the dorm was quiet except from the soft hum of the engine. She kept her gaze on the window, watching the campus blur pass.
When they pulled up in front of her building, Ethan stepped out and unloaded her small suitcase from the trunk. Several girls loitering outside went still, their chatter dying as they watched him carry it like it weighed nothing.
Inside the dorm, her new roommates, three of them, froze mid-introduction as he set her bag down. Their eyes darted between Emily and Ethan like they were trying to solve a riddle.
"I'll see you around." He murmured, low enough that only she heard. Then he left, his presence lingering like smoke in a closed room.
Emily stood there cheeks warm, as one of her roommates finally found her voice "who .. who was that? "
Emily opened her mouth and realized she couldn't actually answer.