✤ Adrian ✤
Julian had always been persistent, curious in a way that bordered on invasive, but never enough to call him out on it. He liked to poke, prod, and test the cracks in people. Normally, I brushed it off. Normally, I had nothing to hide.
But now?
Now, every time I saw him, something in my stomach tightened. And that is why I tensed when I heard him call my name as I was walking across the courtyard toward my building.
“Adrian!” I didn’t have to turn around to know who it was. The tone alone, calm, sharp, and deliberate, was unmistakable. Still, I turned and plastered on a polite expression as Julian approached with his hands tucked into the pockets of his coat.
“Morning,” I said. “You are out early,”
“So are you,” he replied as he came to a stop. He stood far too close for m
