The sun in Evandor is brazen today — hot, gleaming, acting like it wants to be the center of the entire universe. The lawn outside the university hums with laughter, fresh grass, and that lazy warmth of early autumn. And yet somehow it feels like there's a small island around us. A private stage. A world reserved for two.
I, Victoria, lie on a blanket with my chin propped on my hand. Giselle lounges beside me in oversized sunglasses — like a celebrity pretending she is not famous.
In front of us, Theo is doing a handstand. The wind lifts his shirt, flashing his abs — for a heartbeat he actually looks impressive… until he collapses into the grass.
"Bravo," I drawl, clapping slowly.
Giselle snorts without removing her glasses.
Sebastian attempts a flip, lands upright, and throws his arms out as if waiting for applause. And, of course, he looks straight at me. As though I'm supposed to squeal and leap into his arms.
"They're so painfully clueless," I murmur, fighting a smirk. "They think they can impress us with tricks."
Giselle hands me a bottle of water and snorts.
"That's all they've got for now. Maybe in ten years you'll run into Theo again — and he'll be a top executive of some huge corporation. Can you imagine?"
We laugh. Heads turn our way. It's pleasant.
"By then I'll be a wrinkled old woman," I say. "They'll have more important things on their minds."
"Look," Giselle whispers suddenly, taking off her sunglasses.
I follow her gaze.
And my heart shoots straight into the burning sky.
Two older guys are walking toward us. Tall. Lean. Moving with that quiet confidence of men who know the whole campus is a stage — and they're the leads.
One is slightly taller: fair hair, cool eyes, broad shoulders.
The other — dark-haired, calm strength, a gaze that feels like he reads me in one sweep.
Their energy is different. Not boys. Men.
Theo and Sebastian notice them too — and instantly forget how to breathe.
When four guys approach two girls, it's like a ritual. Territory. Dominance. A silent elimination round.
I feel a sudden, unwelcome heat inside — like a sunstroke, but sweeter.
The taller one stops right in front of us, smiling with bold, polished confidence.
"Hey, girls. I'm Finn Monroe, and this is Alex Riviere. We're juniors."
He tilts his head slightly.
"And you two look like very pretty freshmen."
He speaks to us, for us, about us.
Theo and Sebastian may as well be ghosts.
"We're actually their friends," Sebastian blurts out.
"Classmates," Theo adds darkly. "So… what do you want?"
The tension spreads through the air like the scent of sun-warmed grass.
And I realize — with an embarrassing, electric jolt — that it excites me.
A soft flush climbs up my ears. My cheeks warm.
I pretend to fix my hair.
"Friends, huh?" Alex looks at Theo and Sebastian as if assessing a pair of faulty appliances. His arms fold; a slow, superior smirk touches his mouth.
Finn glances our way — at us — and then deliberately sits down on our blanket. Close to Giselle. Very close.
Giselle giggles and leans into him, her shoulder brushing his.
Theo's eyebrows shoot up as if someone punched him.
Sebastian steps forward, then freezes, clearly unsure what to do next.
"Uh…" Finn goes pink, but doesn't move away. If anything, he holds his breath to keep the moment intact.
Alex decides he's allowed the same — and sits beside me. Not near. Too near.
His knee touches my thigh.
And he looks at me as if imagining a kiss he hasn't earned yet.
My heart races too fast.
I exhale and shift — just slightly. Enough to draw a boundary. But not enough to shut the door.
"Comfortable?" he whispers, leaning in. His voice is warm, low.
"I'm not sure yet," I whisper back.
Theo and Sebastian look like they're about to start a fight.
Giselle shoots me a look that says: oh girl, it has begun.
A tremor runs through my knees. The space between me and Alex feels too small, too charged. His gaze plays over me — predatory, but in a beautiful, magnetic way.
Sunlight, the lawn, heat, male attention — everything weaves together into a sense that the world has suddenly moved closer, thicker, more real.
I draw a breath and realize:
This is the moment.
Something is about to change.
And right then—
Alex leans in, as if to whisper something against my ear.
I freeze.
But he… never gets the chance.
Theo and Sebastian explode so abruptly it feels as if someone has lit a fuse in the air.
"The hell do you think you're doing?!" Theo practically growls, stepping forward.
"You are being unbelievably rude. Who even told you you could sit here?" Sebastian adds, his voice trembling not with fear but with pure anger.
For a heartbeat, the world narrows to four guys and two girls on warm grass.
A dangerous scene.
And I am its center.
Alex and Finn exchange a glance.
Surprised.
Almost offended.
Then, as if on cue, they spring to their feet. Their shoulders square, their expressions sharpen.
They advance on our boys—slow, deliberate, predatory. Two seasoned players who know exactly where the opponent's weak spots lie.
The air thickens.
I swear I can reach out and touch the tension between them.
Feel it with my fingers.
And for some reason, it sparks a strange heat low in my belly.
"Are the boys… unhappy about something?" Finn asks, voice so soft it becomes an insult.
Theo's fists clench. Sebastian steps closer.
Eye to eye.
Two against two.
And I realize: one more word, and they will swing at each other.
Right here.
Right in front of us.
A scene made for a movie.
And the strangest part?
I like watching.
A small thought slides through me: who wins?
And who do I want to win?
"Stop acting stupid!" I burst out, shooting to my feet. "You'll get expelled for fighting! All four of you!"
Finn and Alex turn their attention to me at the same time.
And then…
They smile.
Not sheepishly.
Not apologetically.
But as if I've just said something charming.
Something that amuses them.
My pulse jumps.
Why is it suddenly so hot?
Giselle leans forward beside me.
"Okay, pause the scene. What is it you want from us?" she asks, as if negotiating with two corporate sharks.
It works: the tension cracks, just for a second.
Finn and Alex relax slightly.
But Theo and Sebastian… the opposite.
Their shoulders drop, as if they have already lost the fight.
Both of them.
Instantly.
Because we did not choose them.
"Do you know the club 'Angel'?" Alex asks out of nowhere.
I freeze.
The Angel.
A name that shivers through the city like a legend.
Glamour, danger, millionaires.
A place you do not enter without money, connections… or fate itself.
"Who doesn't know it," I breathe. "That's where all the rich—"
"The spoiled heirs," Giselle says with a grin.
Alex leans closer. His scent—warm, clean, fresh—is suddenly too close.
"We can get you inside. No line. No questions. Guaranteed," he says.
My heart…
My heart begins pounding so hard it feels ready to burst.
This isn't just an offer.
It's a chance.
The chance.
My chance.
My eyes light up—excitement, hunger for something larger than my life so far.
I can barely breathe.
Giselle claps her hands, squealing like a puppy seeing its first snow.
"Oh my God! We're going!"
"We'll meet you Saturday evening by the dorm entrance," Alex says, looking only at me. "Do not be late."
He leans in the tiniest bit, as if about to say something else…
Something personal.
Something that would slide along my skin.
But he doesn't.
Finn and Alex leave, moving with the confidence of winners.
I remain sitting on the grass.
My heart races.
My thoughts dissolve into sweet, reckless fantasies.
The Angel.
Finn.
Alex.
My hero…
whomever I choose him to be.
And then—
"You're not seriously going, are you?" Theo crashes into my dreams like a wet dog into a white bedroom.
"And what's the problem?" Giselle snaps, not bothering to hide her annoyance.
Sebastian stands, fists tight.
"Then we're going with you. Someone's gotta protect you from those… jerks."
He looks so serious it's almost a battlefield vow.
Giselle and I exchange a glance.
Our eyes meet—and we smile.
Soft.
Modest.
Grateful…
so we do not hurt them.
Because they are our boys.
And we are their weakness.
But inside me…
A storm.
Saturday—The Angel.
Saturday—a choice.
Saturday—something will change.
I lie back on the grass under the sun, feeling my knees tremble, and think:
How am I supposed to survive until then?
"Vic," Giselle whispers. "You do understand that in there… anything can happen?"
Yes.
And I smile with my eyes.
Because that is exactly what I want.