Fun Start, huh?
1150 Words
Why was he looking at me?
My heartbeat became a drumline.
He raised an eyebrow slightly, as if noting my racing pulse from across the floor.
Then he pushed off the railing and walked away without a word.
Rain exhaled shakily. 'Damn...that man's energy could make angels sin, Aria.'
'Yeah, couldn't agree more, Rain.'
The air smelled like perfume and nerves. I got into my first-ever lecture. The hall was so, so professional.
Well, my first class was 'Basics of s****l function'.
I slipped into the back row, praying no one noticed how exhausted and disoriented I still felt. I also prayed no one took the seat beside me, but the Goddess hasn't been very kind with me lately.
Someone plopped into the seat beside me.
"Hi!"
Golden hair. Bronze skin. Bright sea-blue eyes. A grin so...sunshiney it should be illegal. It was as if darkness was his enemy.
"I'm Kai," he said, offering a hand. "You look like you just crash landed emotionally. Want gum?"
I blinked. Whoa. That was fast...?.
"Um. Sure?"
He handed me gum and smiled proudly, as if he'd just donated his kidney to me.
"So you're the transfer student? People say you challenged the admissions board. That's beyond bold."
"I didn't mean to challenge—"
"That's even better! Natural chaos energy. I like it." He said, chuckling.
I laughed too. I couldn't help myself. That energy was horrendously contiguous.
Kai leaned in slowly, outta nowhere.
"Also, don't freak out, but Riven sat near the stairwell to listen to you enter class."
"What...? why?"
Kai rolled his eyes fondly.
"That guy is weirdly intuitive. He probably sensed you crying five buildings away."
I choked. "I wasn't crying!"
"You looked like you were about to," he said cheerfully. Also, were these two guys friends? Look at that contrast though.
Kai was chaos.
Warm, bright, ridiculous chaos.
And somehow... exactly what I needed.
Riven was calm and darkness.
Dark, unfathomable, mysterious.
And...I don't know if I wanted him as my friend.
The professor walked in, stern and battle-scarred and clearly...allergic to joy.
"Pair up!" he barked.
I froze. No introductions even?
I turned to sunshine beside me but he was already engulfed by darkness. Riven and Kai paired up, naturally. 'Cause they're friends.
'Sorry,' Kai mouthed, shrugged.
No one approached me for a hot minute.
They were too busy running to their known friends.
Then a slow click of heels.
Ophelia stopped in front of me, arms crossed. I looked up, ready to chew her face off if she mocked me right now. However,
"You can pair with me," she announced loudly.
Kai mouthed 'don't' at me. I could tell he knew she was bad news.
But I nodded. I loved a challenge.
Because refusing her would start a war I wasn't ready for. Mostly, I wanted to play with her a little.
"You wanna kiss me so desperately? Its a s*x school, darling." I said.
Ophelia circled me like a predator.
An amused, sharp exhale, she leaned from behind.
"I don't know...maybe I want you to kiss my ass instead." She said. This time, I scoffed in amusement.
The professor, apparently named Arlo Kiddman, a siren hybrid, called out techniques we needed to demonstrate. Erotic, superfluous details about...kissing.
Did I just predict the first basics of s*x? Im proud.
I tried to follow instructions. And I heck didn't mind involving my lips in reigning over Ophelia.
Ophelia stood beside me like a challenge carved into flesh. Arms crossed, lips tilted in that smug little curve that made me want to bite it off. Prof. Arlo droned on and on about “the anatomy of the perfect kiss,” but all I felt was Ophelia’s gaze sliding over me, slow and assessing.
“Try not to embarrass yourself,” she murmured, breath brushing my ear.
I turned to her, matching her smirk. “Worried I’ll outshine you?”
Her eyes flicked to my mouth...just for a second, but enough to spark heat between us. I swear I'm not gay, but damn.
“Please,” she whispered, stepping closer. “You won’t even come close.”
And when the professor turned away, she hissed,
"Run back to your pack, little nobody. They probably hate you for embarrassing them."
My breath hitched.
She smirked. "Oh... touched a nerve?"
Kai stepped forward, jaw clenched.
"Back off, Ophelia."
She laughed. "Or what?"
Riven's voice drifted from behind her.
"Or I'll shut you up for her."
Ophelia froze.
Riven stood like a storm in human form, hands in pockets, eyes flat.
Ophelia's bravado vanished.
She flipped her hair and stalked away.
Kai exhaled.
"She bullies everyone, but Riven? She's terrified of him."
Riven looked at me once, like he was memorising my fear and then walked away.
By evening, exhaustion dragged me down like chains.
I returned to my dorm, collapsed onto the bed, and checked my messages.
My breath caught.
A letter glowing blue and 'IMPORTANT' in my inbox.
No email address, though.
A single sentence stared at me through the screen,
"You were never supposed to be rejected."
A cold shiver ran down my spine. Whoa. Was it Prof David? Ophelia? The threat was unbelievably hostile. I brushed it off for the day, but it kept lingering in my head. Someone knows something.
When I clicked the chart in another mail, my schedule said I had one final task:
Mandatory Orientation Debrief – Professor David Paine.
Great.
My body already buzzed remembering his voice.
I followed the map to the staff wing, nerves bunching inside me.
The hallway smelled like leather, ink, and something dangerously sweet.
I stopped outside the staffroom door, smoothing my hair, trying not to overthink.
Knock.
My heart hammered.
Footsteps approached.
The door opened,
And my stomach dropped.
It wasn't just Prof. David Paine inside.
It was Diego.
My Diego.
My healer.
The boy whose lips I had tasted days ago.
The boy whose gentle romance was the only soft thing in my shattered life.
He was sitting casually on the couch, laughing with David like they'd been friends for years.
They both turned to me at the same time.
Diego stood immediately.
"Aria...?"
His voice was soft. Barely believing.
Professor David leaned back in his seat, eyes gleaming with far too much interest.
"Well," he purred, "this is interesting."
My throat dried.
"D-Diego?" I whispered. "What... what are you doing here?"
Diego smiled—bright, warm, breathtaking.
"I joined the academy too."
The room spun.
Rain whispered, Oh... sht.*
And then David rose slowly from his chair, approaching me with lazy, predatory elegance.
"Miss Hitchkin," he murmured, "you didn't tell me you had such... compelling connections."
My pulse skyrocketed.
Diego moved closer, protective, jaw tight.
Two men.
Both staring at me.
Both radiating completely different danger.
David smirked, sensing the tension.
"Oh yes," he said softly. "This year is going to be... very fun."
- Writer
