★NORA★

Morning light filtered through the dorm window, pale gold spilling across the futon where Sienna's discarded blanket lay in a tangled heap. The hum of campus life drifted in — footsteps pounding on the sidewalk outside, a chorus of voices calling across the quad, the distant clatter of doors slamming. I sat cross-legged on my bed, watching the shadows creep higher up the walls, and let the weight of it all settle over me. Day one. College, for real.

Sienna had been up for an hour already, her side of the room transformed into a curated storm of perfume bottles, color-coded notebooks, and a curling iron still hissing on the desk. Now, she sat in front of the mirror, slicking on lip gloss with a precision that made me smile.

"Are you going to wear that?" she asked, eyes flicking to my simple sweater and jeans.

Heat rushed to my cheeks.

"What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing," she said. "It's cute. Just maybe add a necklace or something? It's the first day. You want people to remember you."

I bit back a laugh. People never remembered me — not really. Not in the way they remembered her. But I didn't argue. Instead, I reached for the silver pendant tucked into my suitcase, its chain delicate against my fingers. My mom had given it to me when I graduated high school, and somehow, it felt like armor.

"Better?" I asked, clasping it around my neck.

Sienna's smile softened.

"Much."

We walked to the student center together, the campus alive now in a way it hadn't been last night. The air smelled of fresh coffee and damp leaves, students weaving in and out of buildings with maps in hand, some looking as lost as I felt. Banners snapped in the wind above us, the college crest stamped proudly against the sky.

Sienna fit right in — waving at strangers, chatting with a girl in line for coffee, her laugh as bright as sunlight. I followed a step behind, my fingers tight around the strap of my bag, trying to swallow the knot in my throat.

Classes blurred together, professors reciting syllabi, students scribbling names in notebooks. I kept my head down, the pages of my planner filling with neat brief lines of ink, while Sienna thrived — already in a study group before lunch, already collecting names and phone numbers like they were souvenirs. By the time we made it back to the dorm, my nerves had dulled into exhaustion. I collapsed onto the futon, watching dust float in the sunlight. Sienna kicked off her shoes, still buzzing with energy.

"So, tonight?"

I blinked at her.

"Tonight, what?"

"There's a welcome party." Her eyes gleamed with mischief. "Don't give me that look, James. You're coming. Non-negotiable."

My stomach twisted. Crowds. Noise. Strangers. But I saw the hope in her face, the way she wanted me beside her. And just like always, I couldn't say no.

"Fine." I sighed.

She flopped beside me, scrolling through her phone again. Then she froze, her mouth curling into a grin.

"Oh, speaking of parties." My chest tightened before she even said his name. "Christian's here."

I sat up.

"Here?"

"Yeah. He texted me five minutes ago. Said he's on campus, something about dropping off equipment at the rink. He might swing by to check on us." She smirked, nudging me with her elbow. "Don't look so panicked. He's not a monster."

I forced a shaky laugh, but my pulse betrayed me. Through the window, I caught a sliver of the quad, students drifting in pairs, the tower rising against the late-afternoon sky. For all I knew, he was out there right now — somewhere beyond the glass, woven into this new world of mine. It felt like the ground beneath me had shifted, as if the campus wasn't just a place of beginnings anymore. It was a place where my past and my present were about to collide.

The knock came just as I was debating whether to feign exhaustion and skip the welcome party altogether. Three quick raps against the door, firm and unhesitating. Sienna's head shot up from her phone, a smile already breaking across her face.

"That'll be him."

My pulse jumped. Him.

I scrambled to smooth the blanket across my bed, as if Christian Hayes cared about the state of my sheets. My palms felt clammy, my breath too shallow, but I forced myself to stand there as Sienna swung open the door. And there he was.

Christian leaned against the frame like he owned the place, one hand braced against the wood, the other shoved into the pocket of his jeans. He wore a plain white t-shirt that stretched just enough across his shoulders to make my throat tighten. His dark hair was damp, curling at the edges like he'd just showered, and his jaw carried the faint shadow of stubble that hadn't been there the last time I saw him. He looked older. Sharper. The boy I remembered had disappeared, and something steadier and stronger remained.

"Sis." His voice was low, warm, carrying that serene confidence that seemed to wrap around him like a second skin.

"Chris!" Sienna launched herself forward, wrapping her arms around his waist.

He laughed, his hand ruffling her ponytail in the same brotherly way he'd always done.

"Missed you," he murmured, pressing a quick kiss to the top of her head. "Figured I'd come check on you before practice. Make sure you're not, I don't know—burning the dorms down yet."

"Funny," she muttered, swatting his chest. "We've been here less than twenty-four hours."

Christian's grin was easy, affectionate, the smile that made people lean closer without realizing it. And then his eyes found me. The air shifted.

For a beat, neither of us moved. His gaze swept over me, steady and assessing, lingering in a way that made my stomach twist. He had the same hazel eyes as Sienna, but on him, they carried something deeper—something that felt like it could strip me bare if I let it.

"Nora James." My name rolled off his tongue like a quiet revelation, lips curling into something close to a smirk.

Heat rushed to my cheeks.

"Hi." I managed, though it came out breathless, awkward.

His smile deepened. Calm, collected, as if he knew the effect he had on people.

"I knew I'd find you here. Guess some things never change—you and Sienna, side by side."

I swallowed hard, wishing I could think of something clever, something that didn't make me sound like a stuttering mess.

"Y-Yeah. Some things don't change."

Except everything had. He had. Sienna tugged on his arm, pulling him further inside.

"Don't just stand there like a weirdo. Come in." He obliged, dropping onto the futon with a grace that made the cramped dorm look too small for him. His long legs sprawled out, his arm draped along the backrest like he'd sat there a hundred times before. The air seemed to bend around him, his presence filling every corner of the room. Sienna perched on the arm of the futon, grinning. "See? Doesn't he look older, Nora? More responsible?"

I nodded, though the words tangled in my throat. Older. Yes. But also more... everything. Christian's gaze flicked to me again, amusement dancing at the corner of his mouth.

"Don't let her fool you, James. She's still the same chaos she's always been."

"Hey!" Sienna protested, smacking his shoulder.

He chuckled, and the sound slid under my skin, warm and unshakable. I forced a small laugh, trying not to crumble under the weight of his attention. My hands twisted together in my lap, betraying me. He noticed. Of course he did. His head tilted, eyes narrowing just enough to make my pulse skitter.

"Relax, James. I don't bite."

The heat flared so fast I had to look away, heart hammering. But even as Sienna launched into a new story about move-in day and Christian's phone buzzed with reminders for practice, I knew one thing with startling clarity: It didn't matter how many years had passed. With one look, one word, Christian Hayes had unraveled me all over again. Sienna's phone buzzed, and she hopped up from the futon, grabbing her makeup bag on the way to the door.

"I'll be right back," she said breezily. "Bathroom run. Don't let him eat all our snacks while I'm gone."

The door clicked shut behind her. My stomach dropped. Alone. With him.

I pressed my hands together in my lap, knuckles whitening, my gaze glued to the patterned carpet. I could hear him shifting on the futon, the faint creak of cushions, the soft tap of his thumb against his phone screen. Every tiny sound seemed magnified in the quiet, pressing against my nerves. Curiosity tugged at me before I could stop it. My eyes flicked sideways, just for a second. He was bent forward, scrolling, a faint smile tugging at his mouth as the lamplight cut sharp angles along his jaw. The white of his t-shirt glowed against his tan skin, and then— My breath caught.

There, ink curling across his forearm, a tattoo I'd never seen before. Black lines etched into his skin, bold against muscle, disappearing beneath the sleeve of his shirt. A thousand questions tangled in my throat. When had he gotten it? What did it mean? How had I missed this shift, this subtle mark of change?

"You're staring."

His voice cut through the quiet, low and amused. My eyes snapped up to his, panic flaring hot in my chest. His grin widened, slow and knowing, like a cat catching a mouse mid-scamper.

"I—I wasn't—"

"You were." He leaned back, setting his phone aside, arms folding across his chest. The movement flexed the ink again, drawing my gaze no matter how hard I fought it. Heat crawled up my neck, blooming across my face. He tilted his head, studying me, eyes glinting with something close to mischief. "You always blush like this, James, or is it just me?"

I wanted to disappear. Melt straight into the carpet. But my voice betrayed me, stammering out: "Y-you're imagining it."

His chuckle was low, curling around me like smoke.

"I don't think I am."

The silence stretched again, heavy with something I couldn't name. My heartbeat thudded so loud it drowned out everything else. He didn't look away, not once, as if the quiet didn't bother him at all. The door swung open, and air rushed back into the room. Sienna breezed in, cheeks flushed from the cool hallway.

"Okay, crisis averted." She announced, tossing her makeup bag onto her desk.

Christian stood, all easy grace, as if nothing had shifted in the moments she'd been gone.

"I've got practice," he said, ruffling her hair when she tried to duck away. Then his eyes slid back to me, holding mine for one suspended beat longer than they should have. "I'll see you at the party tonight."

The words were for both of us. But his gaze—steady, sharp, unreadable—was only on me.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

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