Morning came too quickly.
Sunlight streamed through the thin curtains of the dorm room, painting warm lines across Samantha's face. She groaned softly and shifted, her mind still half-drifting between sleep and memory.
Alex's smile surfaced again—clear as day.
She frowned and turned onto her side, pulling the blanket over her head like that might chase the thought away.
"Don't even try to hide it," Chloe said lazily from her bed across the room.
Samantha froze. "Hide what?"
"You were smiling in your sleep."
Samantha sat up. "I was not."
Chloe rolled onto her side, propping her head up with one hand, a knowing smirk on her lips. "You totally were. Same stupid smile you get when you're pretending not to like someone."
"That doesn't mean anything," Samantha muttered, grabbing her towel. "It was probably just a random dream."
"Sure," Chloe said sweetly. "And I'm the Queen of England."
Samantha tossed a pillow at her.
Despite herself, she smiled.
As they got ready for orientation, Samantha felt something unfamiliar stirring inside her chest—nerves, excitement, anticipation. New Generation University wasn't just another school. It felt… important. Like a turning point.
Outside, Adejo waited by the car, already dressed like any other student. Plain clothes, neutral expression, eyes alert.
"Good morning," he said calmly.
Chloe raised an eyebrow. "You're really committing to this undercover guardian thing, huh?"
Adejo opened the door. "Someone has to make sure you don't cause trouble."
Chloe scoffed. "Please. Trouble finds us."
Adejo didn't deny it.
New Generation University buzzed with life.
Freshmen crowded the courtyard, voices overlapping with laughter, music, and excited chatter. Banners fluttered overhead, welcoming students to a place full of promise and possibility.
Samantha's eyes wandered across the sea of faces—until they found him.
Alex stood near the faculty building, laughing with a small group of students. When he noticed her, his face lit up. He raised a hand and waved.
Her heart skipped before she could stop it.
"Oh, great," Chloe muttered. "Prince Charming has entered the scene."
Alex walked over. "Morning. You two look surprisingly awake."
"Give it time," Samantha replied, smiling despite herself.
They fell into easy conversation as they headed toward the main hall. Alex cracked a few jokes, Chloe rolled her eyes, and Samantha laughed more than she meant to.
Adejo stayed a few steps behind, quiet but observant.
Then he felt it.
A shift.
He turned slowly.
Across the courtyard, Nathan leaned against a metal railing. His posture was relaxed, but his eyes were sharp—locked directly on Samantha.
No teasing grin.
No sarcastic smirk.
Just a cold, unreadable stare.
Adejo's jaw tightened.
That one's trouble.
Samantha felt it too. She glanced over and immediately looked away, unease crawling up her spine.
"Does he ever stop staring?" Chloe muttered under her breath.
Alex followed their gaze. "Nathan," he said casually. "Don't mind him. He's… complicated."
Chloe snorted. "That's one word for it."
Orientation dragged on with long speeches, strict rules, and endless expectations. Samantha listened, but her thoughts drifted back to Alex's easy smile, and Nathan's unsettling stare.
When it finally ended, students scattered to their various classes, swallowed by the rhythm of university life.
By late afternoon, the campus had quieted.
Samantha left her engineering class feeling drained, her head full of equations and expectations. Chloe had disappeared into her own lectures, and Adejo remained somewhere nearby close enough to protect, far enough not to interfere.
Needing air, Samantha headed toward the library.
That's when she heard it.
Raised voices.
Rough laughter that made her skin crawl.
She slowed.
Down a narrow pathway between two buildings, a group of guys had surrounded a girl. She was pressed against the wall, clutching her torn jacket, fear clear in her wide eyes.
"Come on," one of them sneered. "Don't act shy now."
Samantha's heart pounded.
She took a step forward
"Back away."
The voice was calm. Too calm.
Nathan stepped into the space between them, hands in his pockets, eyes dark and unreadable.
One of the guys scoffed. "This doesn't concern you, man."
Nathan smiled.
It wasn't friendly.
"It does now."
The fight erupted instantly.
Nathan moved with frightening speed, fists flying, body twisting as he took hits that would've dropped most people. A punch split his lip. Another slammed into his ribs.
He laughed.
Actually laughed.
Blood ran down his chin as he wiped it away, eyes wild, grin sharp like pain was nothing more than a joke.
Samantha watched from her hiding spot, frozen in shock.
One by one, the guys backed away.
"This dude's insane," someone muttered before they fled.
Nathan stood there, bruised and bleeding still smiling.
When he turned to the girl, everything changed.
His voice softened. "You're safe now."
He slipped off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders, gently adjusting her torn clothes, checking her bruises withquiet care.
"Can you walk?"
She nodded, tears in her eyes. "Thank you… thank you so much."
"Go to the health center," he said gently. "And don't walk alone."
She watched him leave.
So did Samantha.
Nathan climbed the stairs leading to one of the old building rooftops.
Without fully understanding why, Samantha followed keeping her distance, her heart racing.
When he finally stopped, the smile vanished.
He leaned against the railing.
And broke.
Tears poured down his face—silent, raw, uncontrollable. His shoulders shook as he clenched his fists, staring out at the open sky like it might swallow him whole.
Samantha's chest tightened painfully.
This wasn't the reckless prankster.
This wasn't the cruel teaser.
This was someone drowning in pain.
She stepped forward.
"I think," she said softly, "I may have misjudged you."
Nathan stiffened but didn't turn around.
"And misunderstood you."
For the first time since meeting him, Samantha felt anger fade into something else.
Curiosity.
Questions.
A need to understand.
Who are you really, Nathan?