Aria Whitmore's entire future lived in three highlighter colors—and right now, it was all going black.
The Powell Library at UCLA hummed with pre-finals desperation. Coffee cups stacked like towers, students hunched over laptops like they were defusing bombs, and the scent of stress sweat mixed with vanilla lattes. Aria sat in her claimed corner carrel, fingers flying across her keyboard as she filled out her study abroad application for the Medical Studies program in London.
Pink highlighter for med school prerequisites. Blue for shadowing hours. Green for scholarship deadlines. Every box checked, every requirement met, every step planned to perfection.
Then her laptop screen flickered. Once. Twice.
And died.
"No." Aria's voice came out strangled. She jabbed the power button frantically. "No, no, no—"
The application deadline was in twelve minutes. Her scholarship depended on this semester abroad. Medical school applications required international clinical experience. Everything she'd worked for since freshman year was about to crumble because of a laptop crash.
"Damn, sunshine. That's rough."
Aria's head snapped up. Kai Blackwell leaned against the bookshelf opposite her carrel, backwards baseball cap shadowing his dark eyes, UCLA Football hoodie hanging loose on his broad frame. He looked like he'd rolled out of bed five minutes ago and still managed to look effortlessly perfect.
Everything she wasn't.
"Don't call me that," she snapped, her voice cracking with panic.
"Lucky for you, I'm basically a tech wizard." He pushed off the shelf with that infuriating confidence that made professors either love him or want to strangle him. "My dad's company does half the IT infrastructure here. I can get this fixed in minutes."
Before she could protest, he'd rounded her desk and was already examining her dead laptop. His proximity made her aware of his cologne—something woodsy that probably cost more than her textbooks.
"I don't need your help—"
"Relax." His fingers moved across his phone with practiced ease. "I've got connections. Your app will be submitted before the deadline, guaranteed."
Aria's stomach clenched. "Wait, what exactly are you—"
"Done." He hit send with a flourish and that trademark smirk. "European Art and Culture program. Four months in Paris, Rome, Barcelona—sounds way better than whatever boring medical thing you had planned."
The words hit her like ice water. "Art and culture? Are you completely insane?"
"What?" His smirk faltered slightly. "It's study abroad. Same difference, right?"
"Same—" Aria shot to her feet, chair scraping loudly enough to earn glares from nearby students. "I was applying to Medical Studies Abroad. Clinical rotations in London hospitals. Public health research in Berlin. This is my career, not some Instagram vacation!"
The color drained from Kai's face. "Okay, I didn't realize—"
"You never realize!" Her voice rose above library whispers. "You just coast through life assuming everything will work out because Daddy's money makes all your problems disappear. Some of us actually have to earn our futures!"
Before Kai could respond, another voice cut through the tension like silk.
"Aria?"
She turned to find Blake Sterling approaching their table, looking like he'd stepped out of a prep school catalog even during finals week. His button-down was crisp, his blonde hair perfectly styled, and his expression radiated the kind of polished concern that belonged on a politician.
"I couldn't help but overhear," Blake said, his voice warm with sympathy. "Computer troubles?"
The contrast between Blake's composed understanding and Kai's reckless interference made Aria's chest tight. "It's... complicated."
Blake's blue eyes flicked to Kai with barely concealed disapproval before focusing back on her. "I'm sure whatever happened, someone as brilliant as you can turn it into an opportunity."
His words were exactly what she needed to hear, delivered with the perfect amount of respect for her abilities. Unlike someone else she could mention.
"Thanks, Blake. That means—"
Her phone buzzed against the desk. An email notification lit up the screen:
Subject: Congratulations! You've been accepted into the European Art & Culture Abroad Program. Orientation begins Monday.
Aria stared at the email like it was written in a foreign language. Accepted. Into the wrong program. The program that would do absolutely nothing for her medical school applications.
"Well," Blake said carefully, "at least you're in something."
Kai cleared his throat. "Look, I can probably fix this. Talk to some people, explain the mix-up—"
"The mix-up you caused," Aria said flatly.
"Right. The mix-up I caused." He ran a hand through his dark hair, looking genuinely apologetic for the first time since she'd known him. "But I can fix it."
Before either of them could respond, the library's announcement system crackled to life. Professor Elena Marlowe's crisp voice echoed through the space:
"All students accepted into spring semester abroad programs, please report to the International Education Office immediately for mandatory orientation. This includes the European Art and Culture cohort departing for Paris next week."
Aria's world tilted sideways. Paris. Next week. The wrong program that would derail everything she'd worked for.
Blake placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Hey. Maybe this is the universe telling you to try something new."
Kai shifted uncomfortably. "Or maybe it's the universe telling me I'm an idiot who should learn to read application details."
For once, they agreed on something.
Aria grabbed her dead laptop and shoved it into her bag with more force than necessary. "I have to go."
"Aria, wait—" Kai started.
She didn't. She pushed past both of them, her carefully color-coded future bleeding into chaos as she headed toward whatever disaster awaited her at orientation.
Behind her, she heard Blake's voice, smooth and concerned: "Don't worry about her, man. She'll land on her feet. She always does." But something in his tone made the words sound less like comfort and more like a warning.