The lecture hall was full of students, empty seats becoming rare to find. Esteban entered the room at the very last minute, attention drawn to him as the double doors closed behind him.

He ignored the professor's frown and quickly sat down in one of the seats in the back rows. A brunette with freckles was next to him, staring at her notebook. She crossed her legs, pretending not to see him.

Her brown eyes reminded him of someone but he forbade himself to feel anything for this person. He noticed a blonde sitting in the row in front of him. Unlike the brunette, she was on her phone scrolling through social media pages.

He tapped the brunette's shoulder, trying to get her attention. She turned to him, their eyes locking. The resemblance was mind-blowing and if it was not for her soft cough, he would have stared at her pale skin for longer.

"Do you have a piece of paper?" he whispered.

The girl did not reply but ripped a page out of her notebook and handed it to him, her cheeks blushing as he intentionally touched her hand.

"Thanks," he said.

He scribbled down on the paper and turned back to the girl, who was carefully listening to the professor's words. He glanced at her notes and was impressed with the bullet points and highlighted titles that covered the pages.

"What's your name?" he asked her.

"Isabelle," she replied. "You?"

"Esteban. Thanks for the paper, Isabelle."

Before she could say anything, he tapped the blonde girl's shoulder who turned around nonchalantly. Her bored eyes suddenly lit up as she met Esteban's green irises. She grinned as he gave her the paper.

"Call me," he winked.

The girl blew him a kiss while he lay back in his seat. He saw the brunette's brown eyes fill with tears and before he knew it, she grabbed her stuff and sprinted out of the hall.

To say that he felt guilty would be an exaggeration. He did not even feel a little bit bad. It was not his fault that she looked so much like her. He could not help himself but hurt girls like her. Just the thought of her made his blood boil with anger.

When the class was over he was the last to leave the hall. As he was about to head out, the professor called him. Esteban's hand was on the door and he looked around to see if anyone else was in the room. When he saw that they were alone, he turned around.

"Yes?" he replied.

"Is everything alright?" the man asked.

"Yes."

"Do you know why the student next to you left the room?"

Yes. Because of me, he thought.

"No," he answered.

"If you see her, please give her your notes for this class. She is one of the best students and I'm sure there must be a good reason why she left."

"Yes, sir."

"You are also a top student, Mister Lozano, you do not have to pretend."

"I don't."

"You know what I mean. You come late to class, you don't take notes and you distract other students. The least you could do is not make students leave the room."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Esteban lied.

"Fine but if you need to talk, don't hesitate."

"Is that all?"

"Yes."

He left without a word. Not turning back once to see the one person who was able to see through the brick wall he built around him. Everything the professor said was true but he could not admit it.

As he felt fresh air hit his face, he let out a sigh of relief. The campus was so wide that he often managed to find an empty spot where nobody could bother him.

Just as he sat down, he heard a noise not far from him. He turned around and saw Isabelle, whose back was facing him. He could tell she was crying and a part of him wanted to walk up to her and comfort her but he could not.

He stood up and headed in the opposite direction, trying to find another spot. He walked past a poster with Penelope's face on it. Her death had been a major event that all local newspapers wrote about.

He grinned as he remembered Dallas' anxious texts inviting everyone to hang out. They had never really been close friends but being part of the same friend group, they had no choice but to communicate.

Dallas had a good reason to be nervous, he was definitely the most suspicious of the group. Perhaps even Belinda was one of the top suspects. Nobody ever saw him as a major threat though and even if they did, he did not care.

Penelope meant nothing to him, she was just like all the girls that would romanticize their lives and often complain when they already had everything one would wish for. He never wished for her death but they were not even that close anyway.

He finally found a bench and dropped his bag before sitting down. He closed his eyes, trying to think of anything but her.

"Esteban?" a female voice called.

"What?" he groaned.

He did not have a class until one hour so who could possibly bother him? He opened his eyes and saw a pretty brunette. Her hair was cut short and by the look of it, she had straightened it. Her face was covered in makeup - something she did not need since he had seen her without it and she looked stunning.

"What do you want, Ellie?" he asked.

"You promised we'd go on a date yesterday and you never showed up," she complained.

Right. The date, he thought. Elliana was one of those Penelope girls who thought the world revolved around them. What did he care about that date? She was the last of his concern and besides, he would break up with her soon.

"So what?" he shrugged.

"We've been dating for two weeks! You're my boyfriend, we're supposed to go on dates."

"Yeah, no," he stood up.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Far from you."

"So you're breaking up with me?"

"We were never a thing, Ellie."

Just like the other girls before her, he walked away before he could even catch feelings. He had an empty part in his heart that he could never truly fill but those temporary girlfriends allowed him to pretend that he was not alone and that his heart was full.

Just when he thought he could finally breathe, he saw her. Was it a coincidence that they were studying at the same university? Not really, he had made sure to know where she was studying and it was not difficult for him to get him.

Nobody expected him to be smart or even just a good student but he was both. Just a couple of weeks before, he had his future planned. Taking a gap year and living freely but seeing her that night made him question everything.

It brought back to life the dead part in his heart. He suddenly was intrigued and missed her more than anything. He did everything to forget her but the feelings never left.

He wanted to stay by her side, see how her life had changed. In reality, he never stopped looking after her, making sure she was fine but he never showed it. He also could not stand the thought of another one looking at her the way he looked at her.

She was alone, her camera in her hand. It never seemed to leave her, either around her neck or in her hand. Nobody ever talked to her and he knew that it was mainly his fault.

As if she felt his gaze on her, she looked up, her brown eyes meeting his. She stood there, silent, before turning around and hurrying away from him. He jogged behind her, catching up as she looked down.

"Stay away from me," she murmured.

"I don't think so, babe," he snickered. "I'll be your worst nightmare."

❁ ≖≖✿❁ ≖≖✿❁ ≖≖✿❁ ≖≖ ❁

Author's Note:

Thoughts on the chapter?

Do you like Esteban?

Who do you think Esteban saw?