We Were Never Strangers

CHAPTER 4

ADRIAN

The drive back felt strangely longer after dropping Isla off.

Not because of traffic.

There wasn't any.

The roads were nearly empty at this hour.

The city lights blurred past the windshield while soft music played through the speakers, but Adrian barely paid attention to any of it.

His mind was elsewhere.

Annoyingly elsewhere.

Twenty minutes later, he pulled into the driveway of the house he shared with the rest of Midnight Echo.

The two-story house sat quietly beneath the streetlights.

No lights.

No noise.

Which meant the others were probably still recovering from whatever chaos the party had turned into.

Adrian grabbed his keys and headed inside.

Darkness greeted him immediately.

The living room was empty.

A half-finished pizza box sat abandoned on the coffee table.

Someone's hoodie hung over the couch.

Typical.

Locking the door behind him, Adrian headed upstairs toward his room.

Within minutes, his suit jacket landed over a chair.

His tie followed.

Then he dropped backward onto the mattress with a long sigh.

Finally.

Silence.

For a few peaceful seconds, he simply stared at the ceiling.

Then his brain betrayed him.

Again.

The restaurant.

The dinner.

The mushroom soup.

His jaw tightened slightly.

She had noticed before he did.

Of course she had.

Nobody else caught it.

Not his parents.

Not his grandparents.

Not even him.

But Isla had.

Without hesitation.

Without thinking.

Just instinct.

Then came another memory.

Her standing in front of him near the terrace entrance.

Fixing his tie.

Adjusting his collar.

Muttering insults under her breath while doing it.

The corner of Adrian's mouth twitched.

And then—

The car.

The seatbelt.

Her eyes flying open in shock.

The way she'd nearly launched herself through the passenger door.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Adrian groaned softly and dragged a hand over his face.

Unbelievable.

He was replaying seatbelt incidents now.

This was getting embarrassing.

Rolling onto his side, he pulled a pillow over his head.

"Get a grip."

The room remained silent.

Unfortunately, his brain seemed uninterested in cooperating.

The last thing he remembered before sleep claimed him was Isla glaring at him from the passenger seat.

Which was somehow worse.

---

"IF I DIE TODAY, IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"

The shout echoed through the entire house.

Adrian opened one eye.

Then immediately closed it again.

Ethan.

Obviously.

A second later came another yell.

"I'M SERIOUS. MY SOUL IS LEAVING MY BODY."

Adrian sighed.

Morning.

Wonderful.

Dragging himself out of bed, he pulled on a black t-shirt and sweatpants before heading downstairs.

The smell hit him first.

Garlic.

Broth.

Coffee.

And something suspiciously burnt.

The kitchen looked exactly like he expected.

A disaster.

Noah sat slumped over the dining table with his forehead pressed dramatically against the wood.

A mug of coffee rested beside him.

Untouched.

Across from him, Ethan looked equally terrible.

His hair pointed in approximately six different directions while dark sunglasses covered his eyes despite being indoors.

"Light hurts," he announced to nobody in particular.

"Then stop looking at it," Noah muttered without lifting his head.

At the stove, Luca calmly stirred a large pot of soup.

Unlike the others, he somehow looked functional.

Annoyingly functional.

"Morning," Luca greeted.

"No, it isn't," Ethan replied immediately.

Adrian walked toward the coffee machine.

"You all look awful."

Noah lifted one finger.

"Respectfully."

"Shut up."

Luca snorted quietly.

"Party was that bad?"

Ethan looked offended.

"The party was amazing."

"Then why do you look like you're dying?"

"Because consequences exist."

A tragic silence followed.

Then Ethan suddenly pointed toward Adrian.

"You."

Adrian paused while pouring coffee.

"What?"

"How was the mysterious dinner?"

Noah finally lifted his head.

Immediately interested.

Luca glanced over his shoulder from the stove.

Three pairs of eyes landed on Adrian at once.

He already regretted coming downstairs.

"It was dinner."

Ethan narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"That sounds fake."

"It was literally dinner."

"With family?"

"Yes."

"Nothing interesting happened?"

"No."

A beat.

Then Noah spoke.

"So you're lying."

Ethan immediately pointed across the table.

"Exactly."

Luca nodded once.

"Definitely lying."

Adrian stared at all three of them.

Deeply unimpressed.

The worst part?

They looked entirely too pleased with themselves.

And unfortunately—

they weren't done asking questions.

The worst part was that they refused to let it go.

Ethan leaned across the table dramatically.

"No seriously. What happened at this dinner?"

Adrian took a sip of coffee.

"People ate food."

"Fascinating."

"They spoke."

"Incredible."

"They left."

Noah looked offended.

"Why do we even try?"

"Because you're idiots," Adrian answered calmly.

"See?" Ethan pointed aggressively. "He's meaner than usual."

Luca stirred the soup thoughtfully.

"Actually, he is."

Adrian looked at him.

"You too?"

Luca shrugged.

"I'm just observing."

"You're all observing incorrectly."

"Sure."

Nobody believed him.

Unfortunately.

A few minutes later, bowls of soup were distributed around the table.

Noah looked slightly less dead.

Ethan was still wearing sunglasses indoors.

And Luca appeared to have accepted his role as the only functioning adult in the house.

The conversation eventually shifted toward rehearsal schedules, upcoming performances, and classes.

Thankfully.

For approximately five minutes.

Then Ethan ruined everything again.

"So."

Adrian sighed already.

"What now?"

"The girl."

Silence.

Three heads turned toward him immediately.

Adrian stared.

"What girl?"

"The one from orientation."

Noah snapped his fingers.

"Oh, right."

Luca looked mildly interested now.

"Coffee girl."

Adrian regretted learning how to communicate.

"You mean the student sitting beside me?"

"The pretty one."

"The business major."

"The one you were talking to."

"The one from the cafeteria."

Each sentence made things worse.

"I talk to people."

The kitchen fell silent.

Then Noah started laughing.

Ethan nearly choked on his soup.

Even Luca looked amused.

Adrian looked deeply offended.

"What's funny?"

"You just said that with a straight face."

"You barely speak to professors," Noah informed him.

"And somehow we're supposed to believe you're making friends?"

"I'm not making friends."

"Exactly."

Ethan pointed dramatically.

"That's our point."

Adrian stood up.

"I'm leaving."

"You have class in forty minutes."

"I know."

"Running away is an admission of guilt."

Adrian grabbed his keys.

"I genuinely dislike all of you."

"We love you too," Ethan called after him.

The front door closed behind him.

Peace.

Finally.

Unfortunately, peace lasted exactly fifteen minutes.

By the time Adrian parked near the university, his phone already contained three separate messages from Ethan, one from Luca, and an extremely suspicious gif from Noah.

He ignored all of them.

Mostly because he had classes to survive.

And because he had no intention of thinking about the previous night again.

Which lasted until he crossed the central courtyard.

---

Westbridge University was already alive by the time Adrian arrived.

Students crowded walkways.

Coffee cups appeared in almost every hand.

Groups gathered outside buildings discussing schedules, assignments, and campus gossip.

Normal university chaos.

Adrian walked across the central courtyard toward the music building.

Then stopped.

Not intentionally.

It just happened.

Across the lawn, near the fountain, a familiar group of girls sat around one of the outdoor tables.

Maya was talking with enough enthusiasm for six people.

Serena was laughing.

Olivia looked half asleep.

Chloe was scrolling through her phone.

And Isla—

Isla sat in the middle of them, sunlight catching in her dark hair as she listened to whatever ridiculous story Maya was telling.

For a second, Adrian considered walking away.

Then something else caught his attention.

A guy approached their table.

The same guy from the first day.

The one who'd gotten lost trying to find his dorm.

Adrian recognized him immediately.

Apparently, so did Isla.

The guy smiled.

Said something.

Isla smiled back politely.

The conversation looked harmless.

Completely normal.

Yet something about it irritated him instantly.

The feeling was irrational.

Which made it worse.

The guy stayed for another minute.

Then two.

Then three.

Still talking.

Still smiling.

Beside him, Maya suddenly looked delighted by something.

Dangerous.

Very dangerous.

Adrian already knew that expression.

Matchmaking.

Chaos.

Disaster.

The poor guy never stood a chance.

"Well, that's unfortunate."

Adrian blinked.

A voice beside him interrupted the thought.

Turning slightly, he found Noah standing there holding an iced coffee.

"How long have you been here?"

"Long enough."

Noah followed his gaze toward the fountain.

Then slowly looked back at Adrian.

Then toward the fountain again.

Then back at Adrian.

"Oh."

Adrian felt immediate regret.

"Oh what?"

Noah's grin widened.

"Oh, this is getting interesting."

Adrian should have walked away then.

He should have gone to class.

Sat in his usual seat.

Ignored Noah.

Ignored Daniel.

Ignored whatever ridiculous expression Maya was currently wearing.

Instead, ten minutes later, he found himself entering the business lecture hall in a mood significantly worse than when the morning started.

The business lecture hall was already half full when Adrian arrived.

Students filled rows in small groups while conversations echoed throughout the room.

Near the back, Noah was saving their usual seats.

Which was exactly where Adrian intended to sit.

Until he spotted Isla.

She entered with Chloe beside her, both carrying coffees and talking quietly.

Adrian's eyes followed them automatically.

Annoying.

Very annoying.

Then he noticed who was walking with them.

Daniel Hayes.

The same guy from outside the fountain earlier.

Still talking.

Still smiling.

Still existing.

Unfortunate.

Noah noticed Adrian stop walking.

Then followed his gaze.

Then immediately sighed.

"Oh no."

Adrian ignored him.

Instead of heading toward the back row, he walked down the steps toward the middle section.

Noah stared.

"You're kidding."

Adrian wasn't.

Several rows ahead, Isla and Chloe settled into two empty seats near the center of the lecture hall.

Daniel took the seat beside Isla.

Adrian's jaw tightened slightly.

Without a word, he slid into the row directly behind them.

Noah followed slowly.

Still looking confused.

"We've sat in the back of every class for a year now."

Adrian opened his laptop.

"And?"

"And now we're sitting here?"

"Looks that way."

Noah looked toward Isla.

Then toward Daniel.

Then toward Adrian.

Realization slowly dawned.

A dangerous grin followed.

Adrian immediately regretted everything.

"Oh."

"Don't."

"You are absolutely not fooling anyone."

"I'm not doing anything."

"Sure."

Before Noah could continue ruining Adrian's morning, the professor entered.

The room quieted almost instantly.

Professor Carter placed her notes on the podium and adjusted her glasses.

"Good morning, everyone."

A scattered chorus of greetings followed.

"Welcome to Introduction to Business Strategy."

The lecture began.

For the first twenty minutes, everything remained relatively normal.

Professor Carter discussed market structures, organizational frameworks, and the differences between management and administration.

Students took notes.

Some pretended to take notes.

Others were already fighting sleep.

Then Daniel leaned slightly toward Isla.

Adrian wasn't trying to listen.

Unfortunately, the lecture hall wasn't very large.

"So you're saying Maya talks like that all the time?"

A laugh escaped Isla immediately.

"That's actually her on a quiet day."

Daniel looked horrified.

"You're joking."

"I'm not."

Daniel laughed.

Isla laughed too.

The sound carried further than it should have.

Something unpleasant settled in Adrian's chest.

Ridiculous.

He didn't care who she laughed with.

Obviously.

Noah glanced sideways.

Immediately noticing.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Adrian kept his eyes on his laptop.

Determinedly.

Professionally.

Maturely.

Three minutes later Daniel said something else.

Isla laughed again.

Noah almost choked trying not to smile.

By the forty-minute mark, Adrian had stopped hearing half the lecture.

Mostly because Daniel apparently possessed unlimited conversation topics.

The guy talked during every break in the lecture.

Every transition.

Every pause.

How exhausting.

Finally, Professor Carter closed her presentation slides.

The room collectively relaxed.

Students began packing bags.

Conversations restarted.

Then—

"Before you leave, one more thing."

The room immediately groaned.

Professor Carter smiled.

"I'll be assigning your first semester project today."

The groaning became louder.

"Relax," she continued. "It's only worth twenty-five percent of your final grade."

Nobody relaxed.

Professor Carter waited patiently before continuing.

"This project will be completed in pairs."

That got everyone's attention.

Around the lecture hall, students immediately started looking toward friends.

Planning.

Negotiating.

Begging.

Professor Carter raised one hand.

"And before anyone asks—"

The room fell silent.

"You will not be choosing your own partners."

A collective wave of despair swept through the class.

Even Chloe looked mildly offended.

Professor Carter looked entirely too pleased about it.

"The pairs have already been decided."

More complaints followed.

She ignored all of them.

"Trust me," she said with a smile.

"Some of you are going to be very surprised."

Then she reached for the printed list on her desk.

Across the room, students straightened immediately.

Adrian looked up.

A few rows ahead, Isla did too.

And suddenly—

everyone was paying attention.

Adrian didn't know why he suddenly felt tense.

But for the first time that morning—

he stopped thinking about Daniel.

Because something told him the next few seconds were about to change the entire semester.