Back in the dorm, it felt like everything was finally slowing down. Kinda.
Lani was lying on her bed with a face mask on, flipping through a fashion magazine and humming a song off-key. Reece was scrolling her phone like she was waiting for someone to text her first. Gabi was sketching again, sitting cross-legged in the middle of the room, her pencil tapping against the page like it was thinking harder than she was.
I was still trying to decide if this was my real life or some weird undercover fever dream.
"So," Lani said suddenly, peeling off part of her mask and looking straight at me. "What's your deal?"
I blinked. "My… deal?"
"Yeah. Like, where are you from? What are you majoring in? Are you secretly royalty or something?"
I laughed a little. "I'm just… regular. Psychology major. And definitely not royalty."
"Psych major," Reece said without looking up. "So you're into, like, reading minds and stuff?"
"Kind of," I said. "But mostly I'm just into understanding people."
Gabi looked up then. "Is that why Ryles Vanelli looked at you like you were a puzzle he wanted to solve?"
I froze. "What?"
"You didn't notice?" she said, raising an eyebrow. "At the lawn earlier. He looked at you. Like, really looked."
Lani gasped like it was the best drama she'd heard all week. "NO. SHUT. UP."
"I'm not even into him like that," I said quickly, heart suddenly doing that annoying beating sound it does when people are watching you too close.
Reece finally looked up from her phone. "Good. Because if you were smart, you'd stay far away from the Vanellis."
"Why?" I asked, trying to sound casual. Not suspicious.
"Because they're trouble," Reece said simply. "Cassien doesn't even talk to people. Ryles dates everything that breathes. And if you get caught in their mess? You don't just get your heart broken. You get wrecked."
"She's not exaggerating," Gabi added. "There was this girl last year who dated Cassien. Then, boom! mid-semester, she's gone. Kicked out. Whole scholarship revoked. No explanation."
"Maybe she broke the rules," I said, testing.
Reece gave me a look. "Or maybe she broke Cassien's rules."
Lani made a dramatic gasp noise. "What if they're part of, like, a secret society?"
I nearly choked.
"Hm," Gabi said. "I don't know what they're part of. But they always get what they want. Both of them. And you…" She looked at me closely. "You didn't look like something they were expecting."
Something cold went down my spine. I laughed it off. "Well, good. I'm not here to impress them."
Even though technically, I was.
The next morning started too early and with the worst coffee I've ever had in my life.
I grabbed my schedule and stared at the room number. Political Psychology 101. First class of the day.
I got there early because I didn't want to come in late and make everyone stare at me, I found a seat near the middle, and started pretending to scroll my phone. People started to walk in. A girl with a green laptop. Two guys who wouldn't stop arguing about football and other students who looked nervous while walking in. That was what I was avoiding.
Then the door opened again.
Leather jacket, Late. Silent.
Cassien Vanelli.
He walked in like he was never scared about the time, didn't even glance at the professor as he slid into a chair, three rows behind me.
I stared straight ahead, pretending not to notice. But my ears were 100% tuned in.
Did he recognize me? Was he gonna say anything? Did he really not remember the near-death experience he caused yesterday?
The professor started calling names.
"Cassien Vanelli," she said.
"Here," he answered, voice low and casual like it didn't belong to someone terrifying.
"Samantha Gray."
"Here," I mumbled.
She started reading off partner assignments. My stomach flipped.
"Cassien Vanelli… Samantha Gray."
The universe hates me.
I turned slowly in my seat. He was leaning back in his chair, arms crossed. Our eyes met. Nothing. No spark of recognition. No apology. Not even a smirk.
Unbelievable.
After class, I walked up to him. "So we're partners, huh?"
He looked at me like I was a stranger. "Looks like it."
"Do you seriously not remember me?"
He frowned. "Should I?"
"You almost ran me over yesterday. Parking lot. You on your death machine. Me, minding my own business."
"Oh," he said, completely unbothered. "Right. You're the one with the suitcase issue."
"Wow," I said. "Nice to know I made an impression."
"You didn't," he said. "Your suitcase did."
Then he walked off.
Just like that.
No apology. No offer to coordinate for the project. Just... gone.
I stood there for a second, blinking.
Did I want to punch him? Yes. Did I want to follow him and ask what his problem was? Also yes. But instead, I just stood there, gripping my folder until the edges bent.
This guy was going to be a problem.
I walked back to my dorm trying to not to think about it too much.
Later that night, I opened my laptop and logged into the RedHalo interface.
One message blinking.
Subject: Progress
"You're in deeper than you think. Stay sharp."
I stared at the screen for a long time. Wondering what it meant and how I could do something about it.