Adrian woke up Thursday morning with clarity of purpose he'd never experienced before. He had a goal, a timeline, and a plan. Now he needed a team.
First call: Sage.
"It's seven AM," she answered groggily. "Someone better be dying."
"I need your help. Creative direction, planning, execution. This needs to be perfect."
"This being your campaign to win Dante's heart?"
"Exactly."
He heard rustling, Sage sitting up in bed. "Okay, I'm listening. What do you need?"
"You know me better than anyone. You've watched us for years. I need you to help me figure out how to show him I'm serious without scaring him off."
"I'm in. Obviously. What else?"
"Can you come visit this weekend? I need to actually plan this properly, and I work better when you're helping me think through things."
"Let me check flights. I'll text you."
Second recruitment: Elena.
He found her in the dining hall at lunch, studying while eating a sandwich.
"Can I sit?" Adrian asked.
"Is this about Isabella? Because she already told me you guys broke up, and honestly, I saw it coming."
"It's not about Isabella. It's about Dante."
Elena looked up, interested now. "What about him?"
"I need someone who can help me understand how he's feeling. Someone with access to mutual friends who might know things I don't. Someone who can tell me if I'm pushing too hard or not hard enough."
"You want me to spy on Dante?"
"I want you to help me not accidentally hurt him while I'm trying to show him I care."
Elena studied him for a long moment. "You're serious about this. About him."
"More serious than I've been about anything in my life."
"Fine. I'm in. But Adrian?" Her expression turned stern. "If you're doing this as some kind of experiment, if you're not absolutely certain about your feelings, back out now. He's been hurt enough."
"I know. I'm not experimenting. I'm figuring things out, but I'm committed to the process."
"Good. What do you need from me?"
The third and most difficult recruitment happened that afternoon.
Adrian found Marcus in the campus center, studying alone at a corner table. He looked up when Adrian approached, his expression immediately wary.
"Can we talk?" Adrian asked.
"About?"
"Dante. And my plan to convince him not to transfer."
Marcus's jaw clenched. "Why would I help you? You're the reason he's transferring in the first place."
"I know. And I'm trying to fix that. But I need—" Adrian stopped, choosing his words carefully. "I need someone who knows him well, who's seen sides of him I haven't. Someone who actually cares about his happiness."
"And you think that's me? After he broke things off because he's in love with you?"
"I think you're his friend. A real friend. And friends want each other to be happy, even when it's complicated."
Marcus stared at him for a long moment. Then he gestured to the empty chair. "Sit."
Adrian sat.
"If you hurt him worse than I did," Marcus said quietly, his voice dangerous, "I will end you. I don't care that I'm graduating in May and probably won't see either of you again. I will find you and make your life hell."
"Understood."
"But." Marcus's expression softened slightly. "He deserves to be with someone who actually wants him. Someone who sees him for who he is, not who they wish he was. And for some insane reason, that person seems to be you."
"I want to be that person. I'm trying to figure out how."
"What do you need?"
They talked for an hour—Marcus sharing observations about Dante that Adrian had missed, moments when Dante had talked about Adrian without realizing how obvious his feelings were, small tells that indicated Dante's emotional state.
"He chews his bottom lip when he's nervous," Marcus said. "Runs his hand through his hair when he's frustrated. Goes completely still and quiet when he's overwhelmed. And when he's hurt but trying to hide it, he jokes. Makes everything light and dismissive."
Adrian took notes on his phone, cataloging all of it.
"Why are you helping me?" Adrian asked finally.
"Because I've seen the way he looks at you. And I've seen the way you're starting to look at him. And if there's even a chance this could work—" Marcus shrugged. "He deserves that chance. You both do, even if I think you're both idiots for taking eighteen years to figure it out."
That night, after Dante had left for a team dinner, Adrian video called Sage.
She'd managed to get a cheap flight and would arrive Friday evening. In the meantime, they had planning to do.
"Okay," Sage said, her face filling Adrian's laptop screen. "Let's break this down strategically. You have six weeks. Forty-two days. How do you want to structure it?"
Adrian pulled up his document, sharing his screen. "I was thinking we divide it into phases. Build gradually instead of overwhelming him all at once."
"Smart. What phases?"
They worked for three hours, Sage throwing out ideas while Adrian typed, both of them building a comprehensive strategy.
WEEK 1 (Days 1-7): NOSTALGIA
Leave small gifts related to shared history with notes reframing competitions as connection
Show up to support Dante publicly at games and events
Reference specific memories in conversation, showing Adrian remembers details
Let Dante see that Adrian's been paying attention all along
WEEK 2 (Days 8-14): VULNERABILITY
Start conversations about their past with new framing
Share personal struggles and fears
Stop using humor as deflection when things get emotional
Let Dante see Adrian's uncertainty and humanity, not just confidence
WEEK 3 (Days 15-21): DIRECT PURSUIT
Ask Dante on not-dates—coffee, study sessions, walks around campus
Maintain physical proximity without pressure
Let Dante see Adrian's attention is genuine, not strategic
Create new memories that aren't based on competition
WEEK 4 (Days 22-28): CONFESSION
Full honesty about feelings
Explanation of journey from denial to acceptance
Give Dante the choice, no pressure
Be prepared for potential rejection
WEEKS 5-6 (Days 29-42): CONTINGENCY
If Dante accepts: build relationship foundation, figure out what dating looks like for them
If Dante rejects: respect boundaries but find reasons for him to want to stay at Greystone beyond just Adrian
"This is comprehensive," Sage said, scrolling through the document. "But Adrian, you know this isn't a guarantee, right? You can do everything perfectly and he might still transfer."
"I know."
"Are you prepared for that?"
Adrian was quiet for a moment. "I have to be. But I also have to try. If I don't try, I'll spend the rest of my life wondering what could have happened."
"Fair enough. What are the biggest obstacles you're anticipating?"
Adrian added a new section to the document:
POTENTIAL OBSTACLES:
Dante's distrust after eighteen years of being hurt by Adrian's obliviousness
Dante's pride making him reluctant to believe Adrian's feelings are real
Six weeks is not much time to build trust that should have been built over years
Adrian's own fear of failing at the one competition that actually matters
External pressures—finals, holidays, the knowledge that Dante has a backup plan
"That last one's the killer," Sage observed. "He has an escape route already planned. That makes it easier for him to run if things get hard."
"I know. Which means I need to give him reasons to want to stay that go beyond just me. Remind him why he chose Greystone in the first place."
"Smart. Okay, I think you have a solid plan. Now you just have to execute it."
"That's the terrifying part."
"Love is terrifying. That's how you know it matters."
After they hung up, Adrian spent another hour refining the strategy document, writing it all out by hand in his neatest handwriting. Making it physical, tangible, something he could reference and adjust as needed.
He was treating this like the most important project of his life.
Because it was.
Friday evening, Sage arrived with a backpack and a determined expression.
"Okay," she said, dropping her stuff in Adrian's room while Dante was at basketball practice. "Show me what we're working with."
Adrian handed her the handwritten strategy document. She read through it carefully, occasionally nodding or making small sounds of approval.
"This is either the most romantic thing I've ever seen," she said finally, "or completely unhinged."
"Can't it be both?"
"Fair point." She set down the document. "Have you thought about the fact that you're essentially wooing someone while living in the same room with them? There's no escape, no privacy, no space to miss each other."
"I know. But that's also our biggest advantage. He can't avoid me. He has to see me actually changing, actually trying."
"Or he feels trapped and runs faster."
"That's the risk I'm taking."
Sage studied him for a long moment. "You're different. Since the last time I saw you in person. You're more... certain."
"I'm terrified."
"You can be both." She squeezed his shoulder. "I'm proud of you. For finally admitting what you feel instead of hiding from it."
That night, with Sage asleep in a sleeping bag on his floor and Dante at his own bed across the room, Adrian lay awake staring at the ceiling.
Tomorrow was Day 2. The plan officially begins. No more testing the waters, no more tentative steps.
Tomorrow, Adrian would start showing Dante Alaric that he was worth staying for.
"I'm going to show you," Adrian whispered to the darkness, too quiet for either Sage or Dante to hear. "I promise."
Across the room, Dante shifted in his sleep, and Adrian wondered if he was dreaming, what he was dreaming about, whether Adrian appeared in those dreams as a rival or something else.
Soon, Adrian hoped, Dante would know the truth—that he'd never been just a rival, never been just competition.
He'd always been the center of Adrian's universe.
Adrian had just been too scared to call it what it was.
Not anymore.