You and Talia hurried into the classroom, barely slipping through the door as the professor made his grand entrance. Soon as you stepped inside, the weight of a hundred eyes fell on you. Every single student turned to stare, their gazes heavy with curiosity. Great, you thought. But then you remembered:

No matter, I have Talia to handle the sweet-talking.

"Sorry, professor," Talia began without missing a beat, flashing a guilty-but-charming grin before continuing, "my horoscope said I should avoid crowded places before 9:15 AM, so—you know. Safety first."

Or not.

You closed your eyes in exasperation and pressed your hand to your forehead, mumbling under your breath, "Oh God—" while Talia maintained her brilliant grin to the frowning professor.

But by some divine intervention—or maybe just a first-day leniency—he sighed and shook his head. "Next time don't even bother coming here."

Eyes widened, you both lowered your heads, apologizing quickly. Then, your eyes swept over the packed room—searching for seats. It was packed, and you can't find a side-by-side seat for you and her. However, useful for once, Mosley spotted a couple of free spots and motioned hurriedly.

"You sit there," she whispered, motioning to the far left. "I'll be over there," gesturing to the right side of the room, already making her way over. Without much choice, you gave her a quick nod and began climbing the steps toward your seat.

As you moved through the rows, your eyes darted around, trying to focus on your spot—but there was something.. Something nagging at the back of your mind—like.. like you were being watched.

You reached your row, and something—or rather, someone—caught your eye. You squinted. Damn your weak eyesight. Even with the soft lenses, everything beyond a certain distance was still a blur—and there.

A figure, seated right beside the empty seat, staring right at you. And your breath caught in your throat.

It's him.

The guy you bumped into.

Your eyes widened in surprise—and without thinking, you looked away just as you slipped into your seat. Still, carefully giving just enough space between you. Your heart raced as you stared straight ahead, trying to focus on anything else. But curiosity tugged at you.

Why did he seem so.. familiar?

You stole another glance to your left—and sure enough, he was still watching. This time, though, there was something dangerous in his gaze. A small, knowing smirk curled at the corner of his lips, like he was in on a secret you weren't. Then, as casually as he had been staring, he looked away.

Flustered, you quickly turned your attention back to the front of the class, heart pounding in your chest. Fumbling with your notebook, you tried to look like you were paying attention as the professor droned on. Every time you shifted in your seat, you were acutely aware of his presence—the space between you somehow feeling far too small.

You opened your notebook, pretending to take notes. But after a few minutes of trying to scribble down whatever the professor was saying.. you gave up. Your brain had clearly decided not to cooperate. Instead, you found yourself doodling absentmindedly in the margins.

Then you heard it—someone clearing their throat from beside you. Startled, your head snapped to the side. It was him. And for reasons you couldn't explain, your heart leaped in your chest. Maybe it was because you weren't expecting it. Or maybe—let's be honest, it's hard to concentrate when you're sitting next to a stranger who.. looks too good to be sitting next to you. Though, as he looked like he was about to say something, the professor's voice thundered through the room.

"Silence!"

Both of you froze, his mouth snapping shut as his head tilted slightly, scratching the back of his head in defeat. Your eyes went wide as you sat back, retreating into your seat to avoid the professor's wrath. Silently cursing why the hell people aren't already talking with each other too by now.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw two guys next to him react. One, with jet black tousled hair, similarly handsome—softer jawline though—turned casually, looking like he had been taking notes the whole time. The other, more an oval shaped face, blinked groggily, his cheek still red from where it had been pressed against the desk, looking like he had just woken up.

You stole a glance back at the guy sitting next to you, just in time to catch him in a silent exchange with the nerd boy—who shot a quick glance your way before turning his attention back to the professor, unbothered.

When you looked back at the boy next to you, he gave you the same raised eyebrows. You sighed inwardly. Somehow.. disappointed? Knowing that you can't talk to him anymore.. at least not while the professor is watching—

But then, an idea struck you.

You grabbed your pen and started doodling on the corner of your textbook, sketching out a simple lettering. Out of the corner of your eye, you sensed him glancing over in quiet curiosity, but quickly looked back at his phone—in which he's been hiding under the table.

Finished with your masterpiece, you carefully nudged the textbook slightly toward him. It took a few seconds, but he eventually glanced down—maybe noticing something annoying in his line of sight. But a little smirk played on his lips, certainly amused.

Without hesitation, he picked up his once unused pen—and in one quick motion, he wrote back.

Hi.

And a delighted grin bloomed on your lips, and you had to bite your lip to stop it from getting too obvious. Catching your reaction, he couldn't help but look away—course without losing that gorgeous smirk of his.

...

That.. smirk.. I swear I've seen it somewhere—damn my short term memory!

Fearing to move even a single nudge on the paper, you write carefully. Tending to the vocals and consonants—so he could be deceived by your unusual good writing.

'Have we met somewhere? You look oddly familiar.'

And a little chuckle escaped his lips. Caught you off guard, his reaction caused a wrinkle up on your forehead as you tilt your head to his.

However, the little movement somehow caught the boy beside him as his eyes widened. Nodding to your little escapade, in one swift motion, he dropped his pen—and elbowed the blonde guy who was still half-asleep. The guy jolted awake, blinking in confusion before his gaze darted between you and his bro, clearly annoyed.

The 'handcrafted by God himself' guy was about to put the pen to the paper—when a sudden burst of static crackled through the loudspeakers overhead, causing everyone in the room to jump in their seats as a voice came through the static, sounding distorted.

"Morning, Cardinals."

Every conversation, every idle note-taking, every whisper? They died down, leaving the room in dead silence. Not just him, the whole class instinctively retracted their heads to the foreign sound. The professor stopped mid-sentence, blinking in confusion as the voice continued,

"Today, we're bringing you something special. Let's talk about Professor Aldridge from the architecture department~"

You could hear gasps ripple through the room, students turning to one another with wide eyes—some holding back shocked laughter.

"Oh, you know. Mr. High and Mighty who thinks making students redo projects ten times is a learning experience. But what about the time he 'accidentally' spilled coffee on a student's final maquette and blamed the student for it?"

Students looked around in disbelief, while others were already leaning over to whisper the latest gossip. The voice continued, smooth with a mischievous edge,

"And don't get me started on the infamous grading scandal last semester. Who knew favoritism could look so good on paper, huh?"

A ripple of reactions followed—some students scoffed in disbelief, others raised eyebrows, trying to recall if they'd been affected by that 'scandal.' The professor at the front of the room looked completely bewildered, his face a shade paler.

"Or the way he waits until the last minute to cancel classes—because he's busy taking a 'long lunch' with The Dean?"

The room collectively gasped, a few students stifling laughter behind their hands as the professor dropped his lecture and hurried out the door, clearly intent on finding the source of this rogue announcement.

Through the glass panel of the door, you could see Professor Aldridge himself storming down the hallway. His face was an alarming shade of red as he was shouting something incoherent to no one in particular. A few students on the other side of the window looked like they were trying not to laugh.

Then, an ear-piercing screech rang out as the speaker cut out, making half the class wince and cover their ears. Some students took the opportunity to chuckle quietly while others exchanged knowing glances, as if they were savoring this scandalous moment.

You bit your lip, trying to hold back the laughter that threatened to spill out. Across the room, Talia was already grinning at you, eyes twinkling with mischief. She caught your gaze, threw you a playful wink, and in response, you bounced your brows in sublime amusement.

Meanwhile, Dominic was silent. His ocean eyes, dark and unreadable, were fixed on you, observing. He wasn't really paying attention to the fiasco all over the room, no.

His attention was elsewhere.

He watched you and Talia exchanged glances. Almost like he was trying to piece something together—something.. just out of reach. His brows furrowed slightly, the gears in his mind turning. But whatever it is.. all he knows.. is that there's something.

Like a game had just begun..

and none of you knew the rules.

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Cecylia Costania @rcpcs

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The song that matches this Chapter's vibe:

https://youtu.be/PmJuMNGp5YE