Aria stood in the middle of the wide campus path, clutching a folded sheet of paper in her hand. Her eyes darted from the paper to the building in front of her, then to the crowd of students streaming by like they had every step memorized. She didn't.
"Room 203…" she whispered under her breath, staring at the paper again as if it might magically draw a map for her.
Before she could take another uncertain step, a voice cut in, playful and confident.
"Let me guess—you're new here, right?"
Aria blinked up. A girl with a mess of curly brown hair and a wide grin stood in front of her, arms crossed like she'd been waiting to deliver that line.
"Um… yeah," Aria admitted, holding the paper a little tighter. "Is it that obvious?"
The girl laughed, not unkindly. "Totally. Nobody else looks that lost unless it's exam week. I'm Leah, by the way."
"Aria," she said softly.
"Aria," Leah repeated with a nod, like she was locking it in her memory. "Nice. Okay, so where are you trying to go? Let me see."
Before Aria could answer, Leah leaned over and plucked the paper from her hand, scanning it quickly.
"Oh, Humanities, Room 203. Lucky you, that's where I'm headed too. Come on."
She started walking, not waiting for an answer, and Aria found herself following.
Leah talked the whole way, her words flowing so easily that Aria barely had to say anything.
"So, quick survival guide," Leah began, waving her hand dramatically as they wove through the halls. "Professor Grant—avoid eye contact if you're late. He acts like he's running a military camp. Professor Daniels? Absolute sweetheart. But he gives pop quizzes when he's in a bad mood, so watch out. Oh, and there's Professor Klein… yeah, you'll see. Everyone hates him."
Aria tried to keep up, both with Leah's pace and her words. "That's… a lot to remember."
Leah grinned. "Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it. Stick with me, and I'll make sure you don't accidentally sit in the unofficial 'jock zone' or the 'nerd row.' Yes, those are real things."
Despite herself, Aria laughed softly. Leah was the kind of person who filled every silence with something, and it wasn't annoying. It was… easy.
By the time they stepped into the lecture hall, Aria already felt like she'd known Leah longer than ten minutes.
The room buzzed with voices, students settling into their usual spots. Some tossed bags onto chairs, others leaned back like they owned the place. Aria followed Leah toward the middle rows.
And that's when it happened.
As Aria was about to slide into her seat, someone brushed past her shoulder hard enough to make her stumble a step. Her breath caught, and she turned quickly.
A tall guy stood there. Dark hair, sharp jaw, broad shoulders filling out his jacket. He didn't apologize. Didn't even look like he planned to. He just stopped, glanced at her once, and smirked.
Then he kept walking.
Two more guys followed close behind him, laughing about something only they found funny. They dropped into seats at the back like they owned the whole room.
Aria frowned, her hand still on her bag. "Seriously?" she muttered.
Leah leaned closer. "Don't mind him."
"Who even—"
"Damon," Leah said quickly, lowering her voice but rolling her eyes like the name itself was enough explanation. "That's Damon King. He's… well, you'll figure it out soon enough. Just—don't take it personally. He's like that with everyone."
Aria finally sat down, still frowning. "That's not exactly comforting."
Leah gave a little shrug. "Yeah, but trust me, you'll hear his name a lot. He's kind of—" She stopped herself, then smirked. "Actually, no. I'll let you see for yourself."
The teacher walked in, clapping his hands to get attention. Students quieted, opening notebooks, settling in. Aria tried to do the same, flipping her paper to a fresh page. She forced herself to look down, not at the back of the room.
But she felt it anyway.
A stare.
Slowly, she lifted her eyes, and sure enough—he was looking at her. Damon. He was leaned back in his chair, arms folded, talking to no one, eyes locked on her like he had all the time in the world.
Aria stiffened under the weight of it. She didn't know why. She didn't even know him.
Her gaze flicked away, but curiosity tugged her back. And when she looked again—
He winked.
Her breath caught.
He actually winked at her. Like this was all some kind of private joke.
Aria froze, her pen hovering uselessly over her notebook. She didn't know what it meant, and that was the problem. What did it even mean?
She didn't have an answer, and somehow, she knew she wasn't going to get one anytime soon.