Luke tugged at the collar of his grey t-shirt and frowned at his reflection in the dorm's single standing mirror. His first steps into the campus nightlife lay before him and he couldn't decide if he was excited or terrified at the prospect. Picking out a black shirt, he wriggled into it, leaving the buttons undone to give an illusion of casualness. He fiddled with the two sides, trying to get them to sit evenly on his chest.

"Give yourself a break, man," Kenny said, arriving in the reflection and slinging an arm around Luke's shoulders. "We're not going down a catwalk."

Easy for you to say, Luke thought, turning a baleful eye on his room-mate. Kenny's breezy confidence seemed to spill over into his appearance with effortless ease. His black leather jacket and checked shirt somehow seemed to hang loose, but fit him perfectly all at the same time. Coal-dark jeans fitted his legs above a pair of blazing red Converse, and the glint of a silver chain was just visible around his neck.

"Yeah, yeah," Luke muttered, ducking out of Kenny's grasp. "Are you ready?"

"Are you?"

"I guess."

Kenny clapped him on the back with a grin. "Don't worry. I'm a worse singer than you'll ever be."

"You seem very confident about that," Luke replied as he scooped up his phone and wallet, sliding them into the pockets of his jeans.

"I have it on good authority." Kenny swept fingers through the wave of his fringe, making some minute adjustment before turning to face him. "Now c'mon, everybody's already waiting for us."

"I'm ready, I'm re- HEY!"

He barely got the words out before Kenny took him by the shoulder and propelled him out the door.

It was still light now, but the sun was starting to descend, glowing low and lurid against the horizon. A cold breeze whipped at them as they stepped out of their residence hall, to where a different kind of campus life was getting underway. Older students passed them with packs of beer in hand, laughing and joking as they went. Many others spilled towards the student union building – a crescent-shaped structure with a wall of glass and pale stone.

Luke and Kenny joined that procession, and along the way they found Gabi, Kyan and Aliyah waiting outside their own accommodation at the Thistle Lodge halls.

"Here's the party," Aliyah chirped, sliding her phone into the back pocket of her leather skirt.

"Good evening, good evening," Kenny replied with an exaggerated sense of propriety, even throwing in a bow for good measure.

Gabi gave him a light slap across the back of the head as did so. "Save it for the stage."

"Let's go," Kyan laughed, beckoning them to follow as Kenny straightened up with an affronted expression on his face. "We better get there early if we want to get our names down for some songs."

"You all set for tomorrow?" Luke asked as he walked along with Gabi.

"Ready as I'm going to be," she replied. "You?"

"I can't wait."

"Feeling confident are we?"

He smirked. "Quietly confident, let's say. I didn't fill out all those forms and lug my bow all the way here to screw up at the first hurdle."

"Well, I didn't bring my own special bow," she said, bumping her shoulder against his. "But what do you want to bet I place higher than you?"

"Oh, you're gonna go there?" Luke gave her a look of mock astonishment. "Okay, I'll bite."

"If I place higher, you have to do all the notes for our next... three cultural archaeology lectures."

Luke nodded sagely. "Alright. And if I win..." He looked around for inspiration, when a suitable punishment occurred to him. "If I win, you have to sing a duet with Kenny next karaoke night."

Gabi scowled. "Now that's hardly an even wager!"

"You two know I can hear you, right?" Kenny interjected from further ahead. "You'd be lucky to share the stage with me."

"I'm sure," Gabi shot back, before turning her attention to Luke. She stuck out a hand. "Alright, Mr. Hawkshot. You're on."

They continued on exchanging tips and barbs in equal measure now that the wager was confirmed. The group wound its way through the residence halls, closing in on the noisy light show of the student union. Idle chatter accompanied them as they threw song recommendations back and forth, some of them more ambitious than others. Despite his tenuous skills as a singer, Luke found himself looking forward to the foolishness that he knew would be coming.

Just as they were passing the last of the residence halls, however, he spotted a flicker of movement to his left, well away from the bustling lines of students. He turned his head to look and saw four figures tucked away in the shadow between two blocks of student dorms, three of them lined up facing a fourth.

That fourth was Oaklynn – even from this distance he could tell, her dark tresses of hair unmistakable in the evening light. He could see her gesturing angrily, but the words were lost in the bustle of the campus.

Looking at the trio that faced her, Luke felt an instant coil of tension in his bones when he recognised Kasper in the centre. The brawny student was standing close to Oaklynn, looming over her as though trying to intimidate her. He didn't know the other two; they stood back slightly, just watching the argument unfold, glancing around to make sure no-one was watching.

"Hey, what is it?" Gabi asked when she noticed him stop. "Luke?"

"Over there," he said simply, nodding in the direction of the confrontation.

Gabi looked. Her brow furrowed. "She's your anthropology buddy, isn't she?"

"Yeah."

"Who are the others?"

"The one doing all the talking as Kasper," he said, as Kenny and the others also reversed their course to see what was going on.

"The crazy guy?" Kenny moved up alongside him to get a better look. "What about his friends?"

"Never seen them before." Luke shook his head. Whatever was going on, Oaklynn looked more and more distressed and he heard a high pitched shout of anger cut through the air from her direction as she pointed at Kasper.

"Doesn't look like they're friends," Kyan put in after a moment. "Should we go say something?"

"Yes."

Luke started walking, his mind made up before Kyan had even voiced the suggestion. The others were dragged into his wake as he set a furious pace along the path. Kenny pulled level with him after a moment, his room mate's normally cheery features stern as he examined the situation. This time he found nothing worth joking about and stayed quiet.

"I told you no!" Luke heard Oaklynn snarl, a venom in her voice he'd never experienced before. "I'm not a part of this. I don't answer to any of you!"

"You don't get to just flaunt the laws," Kasper growled back. "And you can't stay here on your own. There has to be oversight."

"I don't need oversight from the likes of you." Oaklynn looked the other student up and down distastefully. "So why don't you just get the hell out of my face with this old world crap? Go be a good little soldier and run home to the Mahar. Tell her I said I'll come see here when I damn well please!"

Mahar?

It wasn't a word Luke had heard before, but his curiosity took a back seat when Kasper and the others noticed them approaching. He stopped a couple of meters away, eyes blazing as he glared at the other student. Kasper closed his mouth, stopping whatever retort he'd been about to make. Oaklynn swivelled to see the cause and surprise flickered across her face.

"Luke?"

"Hey," he said, not taking his stare from Kasper. "Couldn't help overhearing a little of the debate. Everything okay?"

"I already said this doesn't concern you," Kasper grated.

Oaklynn shot him a scathing glance. "And who are you to decide that?" She looked back to Luke. "No, everything's not okay."

"Oaklynn, we're just trying to help," one of Kasper's friends interjected quietly. She looked a little older than them, with dark skin and long, thick braids of black hair sweeping down her back. Despite the evening chill she wore just a tank top and jeans.

"Well I don't want your help!" Oaklynn snapped back. "I want to be left alone."

"It's not that simple."

"The hell it's not. I am fine on my own. I don't need you or any of your God damned rules."

Kasper visibly bristled at that. "You know that's not an option."

Luke couldn't figure out what on Earth was going on, but whatever it was, those last words from Kasper sent a shiver up his spine. He looked at Kenny; the other boy gave a dubious shake of the head. At what point did someone have to step in and stop this?

In the end was Gabi that decided she had seen enough. In a swift motion she stepped forward, placing herself in front of Oaklynn and turning her back to the trio. Luke tensed, not sure how Kasper and his companions would react, but Gabi ignored them completely.

"We're heading to the Growler, karaoke night," she said, placing a hand on Oaklynn's shoulder. "Why don't you come with us? Should be fun."

It sounded innocent enough, but he could hear the firmness in Gabi's voice. She wanted Oaklynn out of this situation, and Luke felt a surge of gratitude towards her. He edged a little closer, just in case.

Oaklynn glanced past the other girl for an instant, seeing the anger etched on Kasper's face. The sight seemed to galvanise her. Her shoulders squared; her expression hardened and she looked back to Gabi.

"I'd love to," she said simply, stepping back from the trio.

"Oaklynn-,"

"You're not invited," Gabi snapped, cutting off Kasper's objection as she whirled to face him. She stared him down, daring him to press the issue.

For a moment it looked like he might, a tremor of anger running down his neck and his hands tightening into fists by his sides. Luke caught Kenny's eye; gave a tiny nod and together they inched forward. He felt his heart racing.

Were they really about to come to blows in the middle of the college campus? He'd been in a fight once before, back in high school – a resounding draw that earned him with a black eye and a busted lip. Kasper was older, strongly built and looked more than a little crazy; even with Kenny and Kyan to back him up Luke wasn't sure how this would go.

To her tremendous credit, Gabi didn't waver in the face of it.

The situation was saved, however, by one of Kasper's companions. The girl with black hair stepped forward and grabbed him by the arm, her fingers pressing against his skin. At first he didn't seem to notice, so she tugged hard, wrenching him backwards. The motion seemed to pull him out of his anger. He blinked, letting out a sharp gasp of surprise before looking at her. It was like he'd just been woken up from a dream. The girl kept a firm hold of him, leaning close and speaking quietly.

"We should go," she said.

Kasper stared into her eyes. Nodded. He looked almost ashamed.

"Come on." Gently she turned him and guided him away, walking alongside him and still gripping his arm. The second of Kasper's companions looked more interested than angry as he followed them, as if the whole thing had been some kind of experiment to be examined.

The trio faded into the distance, swallowed up by the lights and sounds of the campus leaving Luke and his friends staring. He exhaled deep, trying to calm his heart, feeling a tremble in his limbs after the face-off.

"Can't say I think much of your fan club, Oaklynn," Kenny chuckled eventually in an effort to pierce the tension.

"You alright?" Luke asked, moving over to her.

Oaklynn nodded. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Kasper's just an ass." She gave Gabi a grateful smile. "Thanks for stepping in like that."

"Don't mention it," Gabi replied. "He seems like a prize nutjob. What's his problem?"

"Some people just can't take no for an answer." She ran the fingers of one hand through her hair, ruffling the dark locks before letting the hand slide back and down the side of her neck. Her eyes found his and he saw that twinkle of mischief return. "So, someone mentioned karaoke?"

*

The campus bar, The Growler, was a loud and lively place.

Luke felt like he'd been hit by a physical thing when they'd stepped through the front door, a cacophony of voices avalanching out over them. The smell of burgers, pizzas and chips mingled together into an unhealthy cocktail, fighting for space with the perfume and aftershave that were clearly in evidence. The place sprawled in a long rectangle of tables, booths, chairs and couches, with the bar near the entrance and a small stage at the far end.

While neither Luke nor any of his friends were old enough to be served alcohol, the bar operated a simple system of coloured bands slapped on the wrists of those under twenty-one, allowing them to let students get involved with the events hosted there. He examined the vibrant yellow band fixed into place around his right wrist, turning it left and right and watching it shine under the lights of the bar.

His attention was dragged back to the karaoke stage when Aliyah let rip with a crushingly melodic high note, rounding off a rock song he didn't recognise but made a mental note to track down at that moment. The transformation of the normally reserved nursing student was something to see, and she'd proved in no uncertain terms that she had a powerful set of lungs alongside a pitch-perfect singing voice.

A big round of applause rippled through the tables closest her as she finished off the song. Smiling bashfully, Aliyah gave a wave to the onlookers and put the microphone back into its stand. Cheers and more than one shrill whistle followed her off the stage.

"She's really good," Oaklynn exclaimed, joining the applause.

On the couch beside her, Luke nodded. "You're telling me."

"You jealous?"

"I didn't come here to be a singer," he laughed. "Nobody wants to see that."

"You weren't that bad."

"Liar."

She shoved him playfully, a smile brightening up her face. The whole exchange with Kasper and his minders seemed to have been forgotten for now. Luke wobbled before righting himself on cushions. The soft fabric sloped inward under the weight of their bodies; their hips rested together and he felt the tingle of electricity once again. It barely there, but noticeable, like a current crackled between them.

Luke tried not to react to it. They weren't here on a date, they were here because Oaklynn needed an escape from a bad situation. Though he was glad that his own singing hadn't driven her right out the door again.

He'd managed to warble his way through a shaky rendition of Fountains of Wayne's 'Hey Julie', much to the hilarity of his friends, fulfilling his obligation of making a fool of himself. In fairness to him, Gabi wasn't much better, but she took it all in stride. In a good karaoke it didn't matter if you hit the notes, as long as people could laugh along while you tried.

He let out an encouraging whoop as Kenny swaggered his way onto the stage, and his room-mate was in his element, prancing back and forth as an upbeat clatter of drums swelled in the speakers. Beside him, Oaklynn leaned forward and pressed her forefinger and thumb to her mouth, unleashing a piercing wolf-whistle.

"Hey," she said as she eased back against the cushions. "Thanks for letting me tag along here. I know your friends don't really know me."

"Don't worry about it," Luke replied, shaking his head. "Though it might've been nice if you met them under better circumstances."

"Yeah." She bit her lip, giving him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry you saw that."

"I'm just glad we came by when we did. Those two people with Kasper, were they...?"

"His family – proper family. We're... distantly related, not in any way that matters."

He itched with questions. "I mean, what about your folks back in Ontario? If they knew what was going on-,"

"They can't help," Oaklynn said, shifting awkwardly in her seat.

Luke saw the look in her eye and immediately decided that his curiosity could take a back seat. "You know what, sorry, just forget I asked. You've put up with enough crap for one night. Let's just have a little fun, okay? That's why we're here after all."

Her smile returned at that. "That would be amazing." She reached forward, picking a can of root beer up off the table and clamping the straw between her teeth.

"Then you might want to take a look at the stage."

Oaklynn almost spat out her drink in a sputtering laugh when he directed her attention back to Kenny, who at that moment was flat on his back on the stage, singing with as much soul as a freshman with a flair for the comedic could manage. He arched his back to bawl out the final note before collapsing in a limp heap as the instrumental finished off the song without him. More cheers thundered under the roof of the Growler and eventually Kyan helped him to his feet.

Keeping his word, Luke forced himself not to ask anything more about Kasper and whatever strange feud Oaklynn seemed to be involved in. Everyone else seemed happy to leave the incident beyond the doors as well, and the night passed in a songs of varying quality, the clack of pool balls and thud, thud, thud of darts hitting boards.

Kenny, Kyan and Aliyah made their exit not long after eleven p.m. with early lectures and seminars to look forward to the following day. In the hour that followed, Luke lost two games of pool to Oaklynn in spectacular fashion, but salvaged a sliver of pride by beating Gabi at a game of darts. Just before midnight, the three of them trekked out into the rapidly cooling night air of Lasquette Bay, breath steaming in front of them as they turned for the residence halls.

Part of him expected Kasper to be waiting with his entourage, but they walked Oaklynn all the way back to her residence at the southern edge of the campus without incident. He couldn't help checking over his shoulder and checking between buildings as they went, but the night remained mercifully empty. When they reached the front door of her residence, Oaklynn stopped; turned. She gave Gabi a swift hug.

Then she faced Luke and slung her arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight embrace. His arms closed around her and he squeezed back, feeling her cheek press against his, her hair tracing playful lines on his skin. His breath hitched in his throat.

"Thanks for tonight," she said quietly. Then as though someone had twisted a key in a lock her arms suddenly released their hold on him. It took him a second to react and do the same, whereupon she stepped back unsteadily. In a nervous, flitting motion she swept her hair back behind her ears and glanced at Gabi. "Both of you. I had a really good time."

"Don't be a stranger," Gabi replied, gesturing to Luke with a flick of her head. "You know Luke, so you know Kenny. And Kenny seems to know just about everybody."

"Good night."

"I'll see you tomorrow," Luke told her.

She flashed her key card over the door lock and stepped inside, lost to sight as she walked quickly through the lobby. He couldn't see if she looked back. In the end, he and Gabi turned away, walking side by side back towards the other residence halls.

"I think that turned out to be a pretty good night, all things considered," Luke declared, still feeling mildly giddy after his embrace with Oaklynn.

"Yeah, sure," Gabi nodded "She seems nice."

Something in her tone made him glance over. "Something wrong?"

"No, of course not." She hesitated, folding her arms tight. "I just think..."

"What is it?"

"Well, just what the hell did we break up tonight?"

"What, with Kasper? Some kind of family misunderstanding, that's what she told me."

"That's it?"

"What else is she supposed to tell me? It's her life."

"It's yours as well, Luke." Gabi looked at him, her jaw tightening with discomfort. "Like it or not, it looks like she's got some problems that followed her here. You need to think about if that's something you want to get dragged into; that you want to drag us into."

He shoved his hands into his pockets. "What am I supposed to do? She's my friend. You saw that guy."

"Yeah, I know, I get it," she said quickly. "I'm not saying we shouldn't have gotten involved. It's just, you don't know her that well. Or her creepy stalker. Do you really want to get in middle of a mess like that?"

"What if I do?"

"I'm not sure you're thinking this through."

Luke felt the flush in his cheeks. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, c'mon, Luke, I can actually see the heart shapes popping out of your eyes when you look at her."

He grimaced. "That's not the point. Nobody should be getting followed around, or forced to do things they don't want to do, or go places they don't want to go. She's better off with us."

"Hey, she's welcome to hang out any time," Gabi said, raising her hands defensively. "On the surface she's good fun. I like her."

He frowned. "On the surface?"

"There's obviously more going on with her 'family' than either of us know."

"Fine, I'll buy that," he agreed. Then he stopped, turning to her. "Gabi, what exactly is it you're trying to say to me?"

Gabi cast her eyes to the ground for a moment, unwilling to meet his gaze. She scuffed a foot awkwardly against the concrete. Eventually she found the words.

"I just want you to be careful, okay?"