I looked behind me, and my eyes trailed from the blue of his jeans up to his piercing ocean-blue eyes. I froze, caught between anger, shock, and a strange pull I couldn't explain. I hadn't expected to see anyone here at this hour. Why did he have to appear out of nowhere and startle me like that?
His face was unreadable, a mask of calm but I swore I saw the faintest flicker of something beneath it. A twitch at the corner of his mouth, the brief softening of his gaze. I swallowed hard, my voice trembling just a little.
"What does that have to do with you?" I asked, trying to sound steady.
He said nothing, his eyes fixed on me with that unyielding intensity that made my chest tighten. There was something in the way he stared at me that compelled me to explain myself, even though I didn't need to.
"I couldn't sleep… so I came out for some fresh air," I admitted, my hands wrapping around my arms, trying to stave off the goosebumps crawling across my skin.
Still, he didn't move, didn't blink. The air was sharp, cold, and unforgiving. I wasn't in the mood for drama, yet I couldn't bring myself to look away. I hugged my arms tighter around myself, trying to calm my racing heart. And that's when I felt it.
His fingers brushed lightly against the back of my neck. My body froze. His sweater rested against my shoulders, and then… his scent. Musky, intoxicating, like a memory I hadn't lived but could feel in my bones. It pulled me in, dizzying, dangerous, like standing too close to fire. I could feel his presence pressing closer, the faint warmth of his body so near, his breath tickling the side of my neck.
"What are you doing here?" His voice was low, smooth, right behind my ear.
I blinked, startled. I'd already answered him! Why was he asking again?
I shifted slightly, trying to gain some control, and he stepped in front of me. Moonlight glinted off the sharp lines of his face, and now I could see him fully. Handsome. Cold. Mysterious. Every part of him screamed control, danger, and something I couldn't name.
"I don't understand," I said, trying to steady my voice. "I already answered you."
"What are you doing here at Crestford?" His tone was calm, but there was an edge that made me flinch.
I wanted to snap, to scream, I came here to study, what else?! But instead, I felt a spark of mischief. "I… came for matchmaking," I said, smiling slightly. I didn't even know where the boldness came from, but it surprised both of us.
He gave a small shake of his head. "Go inside. It's late." He lowered himself into a chair opposite me, eyes back on his phone, as if I weren't even standing there.
"I don't feel like it," I muttered, irritation rising. I wasn't going to obey just because he said so.
He looked up briefly. In that instant, I caught something in his eyes..... regret? Pain? Anger? A storm I couldn't read. My chest tightened. I knew I had to walk away, to return to my room.
I stepped a few feet, but then his voice cut through the night:
"Emily let's not cross paths anymore."
My heart jumped. Was it just me, or did it feel like the whole school already knew my name?
I turned, curiosity and confusion flooding my mind.
"Do you know me?" I asked.
"Don't you know me?" he replied, standing. Then he walked into the darkness, leaving me frozen, the cold biting through my sweater.
I didn't move for a long moment, my mind replaying every detail. His words. His stare. The brush of his fingers. Every instinct screamed to stay away, to go back to my room and lock the door. Yet some part of me wanted to follow him, to demand answers, to understand why he unsettled me so completely.
Finally, I began the slow walk back to my dorm. Each step felt heavier than the last. The night was silent, my thoughts scattered, but I clung to the thought of warmth and safety waiting in my room.
Inside, I shut the door quietly, leaning against it for a moment,my eyes drifted to Sophia who was still fast asleep. She looked so peaceful. I lay on my bed hoping to get some sleep.
What had just happened? Who was he really? Why did it feel like he knew me or expected me to know him?
The questions piled up, and the answers eluded me. I tried to focus on mundane things the hum of the air conditioner, the faint scent of my room but my thoughts kept circling back to him.
Eventually, I adjusted myself,pulling my blanket close. The moonlight cast soft shadows across my room, shadows that seemed to move with me, dancing to a rhythm only I could feel. My heart refused to slow. My mind replayed the encounter over and over, trying to piece together the pieces of the puzzle.
Sleep came reluctantly, broken by dreams that flickered in and out fragments of those ocean-blue eyes, the warmth on my neck, the cold command in his voice. When I finally drifted, it was with a mixture of unease, curiosity, and something dangerously like anticipation, knowing that nothing about this night, this encounter, or him would ever be simple again.