Jane's POV
As I was almost done unpacking my suitcases, I remembered that I had forgotten the suitcase that held most of my coats and underwear at home.
I froze halfway through pulling a sweater from my bag.
Seriously?
I groaned quietly and dropped onto the edge of the bed.
Of all the things to forget.
I mentally went through everything I had packed that morning in a rush. Books, shoes, hair products, chargers…
But the extra suitcase?
Still sitting in my bedroom at home.
"Perfect," I muttered under my breath.
Luckily, I had packed a new set of clothes inside my backpack earlier that morning before leaving. At least that meant I could survive the night and deal with the rest tomorrow.
Still, it was annoying.
First day at this ridiculous academy and I was already messing things up.
I finished arranging the few clothes I had brought into the wardrobe and shut the door with a soft thud.
The room was quiet.
Too quiet.
I turned slowly and glanced across the room.
Zach Calder stood near the other wardrobe, folding his clothes with slow, careful movements.
He hadn't said more than five words since we got here.
The tall windows of Room 502 looked out over the academy grounds, and the evening sun painted the stone buildings outside in soft gold. The room itself was larger than I expected.
Two beds.
Two wardrobes.
A desk near the window.
A small couch.
It looked comfortable enough.
If only I didn't have to share it with someone who behaved like a silent statue.
I crossed my arms and watched him.
"Do you ever talk?" I asked.
He didn't look up.
"I do."
That was it.
Two words.
I rolled my eyes.
"That's funny," I said. "Because you barely said anything since we met."
He placed another folded shirt in the wardrobe before finally closing it.
Then he turned toward me.
His eyes were dark and steady.
"I speak when necessary."
I raised an eyebrow.
"That must make conversations very interesting."
He ignored the comment and walked over to the desk where the handbook from earlier was lying.
For a few minutes he flipped through the pages quietly.
The silence stretched again.
I hated silence.
Especially awkward silence.
Finally I walked over and leaned against the desk.
"So," I said. "What does the handbook say?"
He glanced at me briefly before holding it out.
"You should read it."
I blinked.
"Why?"
"Because you're part of the program."
I took the handbook from his hand.
"Wow," I said sarcastically. "Look at that. You said a whole sentence."
He didn't react.
Instead, he grabbed a small black towel from his suitcase.
"I'm going to take a shower," he said.
"Finally," I muttered.
He paused.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Without another word, he walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind him.
A few seconds later, I heard the sound of running water.
I flopped down onto my bed and opened the handbook.
The cover read:
LIGHTVIEW ACADEMY
THE SUBJECT OF LOVE PROGRAM
STUDENT GUIDE
I flipped the first page.
Rules.
Schedules.
Monitoring policies.
I skimmed through most of it until something caught my attention.
EMOTIONAL COMPATIBILITY WATCHES
My eyes narrowed.
The watches track emotional synchronization between assigned partners.
I lifted my wrist and stared at the silver watch resting there.
Earlier it had shown two numbers.
63%
70%
Which made absolutely no sense.
I continued reading.
The watches measure emotional responses such as comfort, tension, attraction, and psychological compatibility.
Okay…
That was slightly disturbing.
Another paragraph followed.
Students must remain within reasonable proximity of their assigned partner. Prolonged separation will be flagged by the academy monitoring system.
I sat up straighter.
"You've got to be kidding me."
So not only were we forced to share a room—
We weren't even allowed to stay far apart?
I flipped the page again.
More rules.
Curfews.
Mandatory activities.
Observation reports.
"Wow," I muttered.
"This place is completely insane."
The bathroom door opened.
Steam drifted into the room as Zach stepped out.
And the first thing I noticed—
He was still wearing the mask.
My eyes narrowed slightly.
He had clearly taken a shower.
His dark hair was damp and slightly messy, and he wore a clean black shirt and gray sweatpants.
But the black nose mask was still perfectly in place across the lower half of his face.
I frowned.
That was… strange.
Most people took masks off when they were alone in their room.
Especially after a shower.
"Did you finish reading it?" he asked.
"Some of it."
He walked over to the desk and picked up a bottle of water.
"So," I said, waving the handbook slightly, "this thing says our watches track emotional compatibility."
"Yes."
"That's creepy."
He shrugged.
"It's the academy's system."
"That doesn't make it less creepy."
He sat down on the edge of his bed.
"You should probably shower too."
"I know."
I tossed the handbook onto the desk and grabbed my backpack.
Before going to the bathroom, I turned back toward him.
"You know something?"
"What?"
"You're really strange."
He didn't respond.
Typical.
Inside the bathroom, I leaned against the sink and looked at my reflection.
My hair was slightly messy from unpacking, and exhaustion was beginning to show on my face.
Today had been… overwhelming.
The academy.
The pairing ceremony.
And Zach Calder.
I turned on the shower and stepped under the warm water.
For a few minutes, the noise of the water helped clear my thoughts.
But one question kept returning to my mind.
Why did he wear that mask?
And why did he keep it on even when he was alone?
When I finished showering, I changed into the fresh clothes from my backpack.
Just like I had hoped earlier, they would get me through the night.
Tomorrow I would figure out how to get the rest of my things.
When I stepped back into the room, Zach was standing by the window looking outside.
The moonlight outlined his tall figure.
He turned slightly when he heard me.
"You read the watch section?" he asked.
"Yes."
"And?"
"I still think it's weird."
He nodded slightly.
"Fair."
I climbed onto my bed and pulled the blanket over my legs.
"So what happens if the compatibility goes down?" I asked.
"They monitor us more closely."
"And if it goes up?"
"Then the academy considers the pairing successful."
I stared at the ceiling.
"Well, that's not happening anytime soon."
For the first time, Zach looked slightly amused.
"You seem very confident about that."
"I am."
Silence settled again.
Then suddenly—
BEEP.
Both our watches lit up.
The glowing heart symbol appeared again.
I lifted my wrist quickly.
The numbers had changed.
💓 68%
💓 74%
My eyes widened.
"Wait—what?"
Zach looked at his watch.
Then back at me.
Neither of us had moved.
We were just sitting here.
"How did it go up?" I asked.
"I don't know."
"That makes no sense."
The tiny heartbeat icon pulsed for a moment before fading.
I lay back down slowly.
"This place is seriously weird."
"Yes."
I turned my head toward him.
"Hey."
"What?"
"Why do you wear that mask?"
The question hung in the air.
For a long moment he didn't respond.
His gaze shifted toward the window again.
"That," he said quietly, "is none of your concern."
I frowned.
"It kind of is when I'm living with you."
He didn't answer.
I sighed and rolled onto my side.
"Whatever."
The room grew quiet again.
Outside, the wind rustled softly through the trees around Ember Hall.
I closed my eyes, but my thoughts kept drifting back to the watch.
Those numbers.
They had gone up.
And somehow—
I had the strange feeling that living with Zach Calder was going to be far more complicated than I expected.
And this was only our first night.