Even on one Friday evening, after his last delivery, Ryan walked into the campus café to return his apron, and froze.
Adrian was there.
He was sitting with two of his friends. They were Dylan, from Computer Science, and Liam, a medical student whose father owned a private hospital. They looked like guys who never struggled for anything and had their paths laid out for them. Adrian leaned back in his chair, quietly listening as the others talked.
Ryan kept his head down and went to the counter, pretending to count the bills in the drawer. Still, he could feel Adrian's presence across the room that made everyone else seem too loud, too different.
When he left, he found himself irritated. Not because Adrian had done anything wrong, but because he hadn't. He just existed perfectly, and Ryan hated how he was becoming so aware of it.
Why was he even this aware? Because Ethan talked about him too much? Because of the tutoring suggestion? Or was it something else entirely?
By mid-semester, Ryan was starting to run out of time. He didn't ask for help. He didn't improve. And the thought of failing again, and having to drop his scholarship, wore him down like a slow poison.
_____________________
The afternoon sunlight slid through the long glass windows of the faculty building, tinting the hallway gold. Ryan Kane stood outside the lecturer's office, his heart beating faster than it should for something as simple as a student-lecturer meeting. His palms were damp, his shirt clinging slightly to his back.
After a lecture on Psychology, a general studies course, one of the courses, he can't help but wonder what business he has with it, the class rep had mentioned that the course advisor requested to see all scholarship students.
He knocked once.
"Come in," came the deep voice from inside.
The office was cool, air-conditioned, with lined shelves and books that looked like they hadn't been opened in years. Behind the desk sat Dr. Mensah, the Management Theory lecturer for the upper levels, but also the assigned course advisor for scholarship students in Ryan's level.
Across from him, seated casually on the edge of a couch, was Adrian Val.
Ryan froze mid-way. Of all people to run into here, why him?
Adrian was the kind of person people noticed easily. Tall, broad-shouldered, with deep dark eyes and jet black silky hair. He was the first and only son of a powerful conglomerate family, nephew to the school's owner, and, 'somehow', the most disciplined face of his infamous friend group.
Ryan stepped in quietly, keeping his eyes on the floor.
"Ah, Mr. Kane," Dr. Mensah said, adjusting his glasses. "Have a seat."
He obeyed, setting his worn file on his lap.
The lecturer adjusted and flipped through a sheet of paper, frowning. "Your attendance is worrying, Ryan. Your grades have slipped drastically. Even last semester, you were way below 3.0. What's happening to you?"
Ryan swallowed. "I've been… working, sir. My shifts sometimes..."
"Shifts?" the lecturer cut in. "You're on scholarship. You should be using that opportunity to study, not exhaust yourself on part-time jobs. This isn't a vocational college. You're here to do more than just the basics."
The words stung hard, but Ryan didn't flinch. This was nothing to him as he had heard much worse than this.
What even unsettled him wasn't the scolding, it was the faint awareness that Adrian was there, a few feet away.
Dressed in an oversized shirt and sitting on a black couch that in a way elevated his aura, Ryan could feel the weight of his gaze, steady and unreadable.
Dr. Mensah went on, his voice loud enough to fill every corner of the room. "Even if I don't teach your level directly, I keep tabs on my scholarship students. The school expects discipline, and I want to see improvement, Mr. Kane. Not just on your grades but improvements on your attendance, assignments, and everything."
Ryan nodded faintly. "Yes, sir."
He didn't know why his throat felt tight. If it were anyone else sitting there, he would've brushed it off. But something about Adrian being there made the shame feel worse.
The lecturer's tone softened slightly. "You're industrious, Ryan. But being industrious will not give you a second class, not to mention a first class, in this college."
Ryan forced a small nod, trying to focus but his mind kept drifting. He could barely keep his eyes open lately, running from work to class to nowhere. And now, this.
He blinked, realizing Dr. Mensah was still speaking.
"...and if you don't take responsibility for your attendance and grade, young man, even a scholarship won't save you from failure," the lecturer concluded, his voice sharp with finality.
Ryan stared blankly for a moment, the words echoing faintly. And then, through the fog of exhaustion, one thought surfaced. A thought sudden, unwanted, and terrifyingly clear.
I need Adrian.
The idea itself startled him but it stayed. Out of everyone, Adrian was the only one who could actually help him pull through this semester. He'd thought about asking others, but he barely had friends. Even approaching the top students in his level felt impossible to him. Those people already had study groups, routines, and affluence he couldn't stand close to. And deep down, Ryan's pride feared rejection, especially from someone in his level. So Adrian was the best fit. He was the only upper-class man Ryan knew; they barely knew each other, apart from Ryan, who was forced to get to know Adrian through Ethan, and Ryan had less time with him compared to his coursemates. So yeah, Adrian was the best fit. Ryan thought conclusively.
The course advisor kept talking on and on, circling back to his earlier points like a preacher repeating his sermon. Ryan tried to keep up, but the room wavered in his vision. His chest beating hard. Normally, he could handle long hours, harsh words, even hunger. But now, in this small room and under this third party's gaze, he felt like all his gathered stamina had vanished.
When the session finally ended, Ryan exhaled shakily with relief, hitting him. At least it was over. At least he hadn't completely lost face in front of Adrian.
He muttered a quick "thank you, sir," gathered his things, and turned to leave.
The corridor outside was bright, silent. He took one step forward, then another, and suddenly the world shifted.
His vision blurred, his knees gave way, and the last thing he felt was the cool air against his face before everything went black.
In the dark, there was motion. Arms were around him. The faint rush of air. The warmth of someone's body as he was being lifted.
His eyelids fluttered weakly. For a second, through the haze, he caught a glimpse of a familiar face, dark hair, a jawline he knew too well.
Then everything disappeared.
_____________________
The first thing that hit Ryan was the aggressive white light, followed by the unpleasant smell of drugs and injections, the kind that stuck on one's nose. His head ached, and his vision swam with blurry shapes and movement. For a long moment in that haze, he couldn't tell where he was. He kept still as a figure moved into view, a nurse in a neat blue uniform leaned beside him, checking his pulse. And behind her was Adrian Val, standing and watching silently
"Hey," Ryan mumbled, his throat felt dry, words rasping over each other. He swallowed, coughing lightly. "Th-thank you."
Adrian said nothing, his head bending slightly to the side with dark observing eyes. The silence was heavy, yet not unkind.
The nurse kept at it, hovering over him, asking the usual questions, making him sip water, telling him to lie still as Ryan's mind floated, trying to remember what had happened.
He recalled in flashes, leaving Dr. Mensah's office, palms damp, chest tight, legs shaking. The sunlight glowing through the hallway windows glaring like it was mocking him. Then the blur, the floor rushing up, the tiles hard against his skin, arms scooping him up without thought. Adrian. He remembered the brief impression of how calm he looked, the silent strength that seemed to exist without effort. And then black.
Ryan's stomach clenched with embarrassment, hitting him with full force. He had always been the one to push through, to manage, to survive. He had never been the one to collapse in front of anyone, and certainly not in front of Adrian Val.
Adrian drew back slightly, as if sensing Ryan's attention. "Now I'm sure you're okay," he said finally, his voice low. "I should get going."
Something about the way he said it, casual and distant, was disturbing. And the thought of Adrian leaving felt intolerable. Without pausing to think, he reached up and tugged at the hem of Adrian's shirt. That motion was hesitant, embarrassing, but not enough to stop him.
Adrian's brow lifted slightly with a faintest hint of curiosity in his eyes. He said nothing nor moved an inch. He just waited.
Ryan's heart raced. His thoughts were scattered all over his headspace. Confusion. Anxiety. He was well aware of who he was before him. Someone from an entirely different world, someone considered perfect. And now he had to force those words out.
"I… I need help," he said finally, his voice barely above a whisper. "I… can't do this alone. Can you… tutor me?"
Those words sat there for a moment, waiting to be answered.
Adrian didn't move or blink. He just stared down at him with unreadable eyes, and a long last silence.
Ryan pressed him lip together, waiting, with his eyes still on Adrian yet unable to read him. He had no clue what Adrian was thinking, and that only made him more nervous.
The nurse had left quietly after leaving a few papers and prescriptions on the bedside table, and a list of instructions. She had warned him about rest, hydration, and meals he was clearly skipping, but once she was gone, it was just the two of them, Ryan and the presence of Adrian Val.