My Love

American Boy

"There's a rumor going around that he speaks four languages."

Wes dropped into the seat across from Elias in their room, already talking before he'd fully sat down.

"Five," Theo corrected without looking up from his tray. "It went up overnight."

"See, that's how you know it's exaggerated. It keeps moving." Wes pointed his fork at Elias, as though this proved something. "Moreau Lucien. The transfer student. You haven't heard?"

"I've heard enough for one morning."

Elias dragged his highlighter beneath a sentence, keeping his attention on the page.

"Marcus said he was annoyingly sweet and polite to Mr. Dunkirk, their Quad Master ." Theo finally looked up, clearly pleased with himself. "Thanked him? That monster, For what?"

"That's not politeness. He's definitely a pick-me ." Wes shook his head and took another bite.

Elias hummed without looking up.

Campus produced a new obsession every few weeks. He'd learned not to care. Give it two days, maybe three, and everyone would find someone else to talk about.

He was wrong within the hour.

The lecture hall had a different energy that morning. Heads turned toward the door. Conversations dipped and picked up again in quieter voices.

The new student came in early, satchel over one shoulder instead of a backpack, and took the open seat two down from Elias.

Up close, he had the kind of face rumors usually oversold, and this one hadn't. Pale gold hair was pushed back from a high forehead, and a small gap between his front teeth should have undercut the rest of him.

Somehow, it didn't.

He smelled faintly of cedar and clean linen, subtle enough that Elias only noticed because he was sitting so close.

"Is this seat taken?"

Elias pretended to looked up.

The question was directed at him.

He glanced at the empty seat beside him, then back at the stranger. For some reason, his mind stalled on something as simple as answering.

"No."

The stranger waited, polite and patient.

Elias cleared his throat and shifted his notebook to make room.

"Go ahead."

"Thank you."

The stranger set his satchel down carefully and pulled a fountain pen from an inside pocket.

For a few seconds, neither of them said anything.

Elias returned to his notes, hoping that would be the end of it.

It wasn't.

"You're already in the reading," the stranger said, glancing at Elias's open book. "I wasn't sure anyone did it before the second week."

Elias looked at him again.

There was no teasing in his voice, no attempt to sound clever. Just genuine curiosity.

"Habit." He looked back at the page.

"Doesn't mean I understood it."

"What didn't make sense?"

Elias's highlighter stopped halfway across the sentence.

He hadn't expected a follow-up.

Most people asked questions because they were waiting for their turn to talk. This one sounded like he actually wanted an answer.

Elias hesitated, thumb rubbing over the edge of his highlighter.

"The bit about inherited guilt."

He tapped the page once.

"Chapter three."

The stranger leaned slightly closer, following the line Elias had indicated. He smelled flowery.

"That whole section's a mess on purpose, I think."

He turned the page with the tip of his pen.

"He wants you confused before he explains it."

Elias studied the passage again.

"Give it twenty pages," the stranger added.

"Gets worse before it gets better."

Elias let out a quiet breath through his nose.

"Not reassuring."

"No."

The stranger's mouth curved.

"But it's honest."

Something about the answer caught Elias off guard.

A laugh almost escaped him. He swallowed it and looked back down at his book instead.

"Lucien."

The name came so naturally that Elias looked up again.

The stranger held out a hand.

"Elias."

Lucien's fingers closed around his.

"Elias."

He repeated the name quietly, as though making sure he'd heard it correctly.

Elias pulled his hand back and tucked it beneath the table, suddenly aware of it.

He didn't know why.

The professor walked in a moment later, saving him from having to figure it out.

The lecture ended, and students spilled into the courtyard outside the humanities building, some heading toward their next class, others stopping beneath the trees to talk.

Elias fell into step beside Lucien without quite deciding to, their argument about the reading continuing as they crossed the stone path.

"I still think the author could've explained it better," Elias said, adjusting the strap of his bag.

Lucien glanced at him, amused.

"Then he wouldn't have had anything to write about."

"That's not an argument."

"It's a very good argument."

Elias shook his head, fighting a reluctant smile.

"You're impossible."

"I've been told."

They were passing the steps of the student centre when one of the Alphas sitting on the low stone wall called out.

"HEY, PRETTY BOY."

Lucien's steps faltered for half a second.

Elias turned before he could stop himself.

The Alpha was looking directly at Lucien, a grin spreading across his face.

"Relax," he said, raising both hands. "I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to your friend."

His eyes moved back to Lucien.

"The pretty one."

Heat rushed into Elias's face.

He turned away immediately, suddenly wishing he hadn't looked back at all.

Beside him, Lucien's shoulders had drawn in slightly.

Elias lowered his voice.

"Ignore them."

Lucien looked over.

"They're shitty people."

For a second, Lucien said nothing. Then he nodded and kept walking.

Elias followed, keeping his eyes ahead.

He could still feel the embarrassment burning across his face, though he wasn't even the one they'd been talking to.

"Do they do that often?" he asked after they'd put some distance between themselves and the student centre.

Lucien adjusted the strap of his satchel.

"Often enough."

There was no bitterness in his voice.

That somehow made Elias feel worse.

"You're new here."

"I've noticed." Elias glanced at him.

Lucien's mouth twitched. Despite himself, Elias smiled.

"Give it a week."

"Is that supposed to reassure me?"

"No." He looked ahead.

"I'm just saying you'll get used to ignoring them."

Lucien studied him for a moment.

"You're surprisingly protective of someone you met this morning."

Elias immediately looked away.

"I'm not protective."

"Of course." Lucien's smile grew.

"I just don't like assholes."

"That's more believable."

Elias gave him a look.

Lucien laughed quietly.

The sound made something in Elias loosen, and for the first time since they'd left the lecture hall, Lucien seemed completely at ease again.

When he got to the library Adrian was already at their library table, feet up on the chair across from him, sleeves shoved to his elbows.

A stack of readings had been pushed aside with the specific disgust he reserved for anything assigned before noon.

"You're quiet today."

Adrian lowered his feet when Elias took the seat opposite him.

"I'm always quiet." Elias pulled out his notebook with an eye roll.

"You're quite different."

Adrian narrowed his gray eyes.

"Your eyebrows are doing the thing"

"What thing?" Elias frowned.

"The thing where you're pretending nothing happened."

He swiftly reached for Elias's bag before he could answer and started digging through it.

"Please tell me you have something else that isn't a granola bar."

"I only have a granola bar." Elias watched him pull it out.

"Devastating." Adrian tore it open anyway, already chewing before Elias had finished setting his books down.

A shadow fell across the table.

"Sorry to interrupt."

They both looked up.

Lucien stood there with a book against his chest, unhurried, the same easy manner he'd carried throughout the day.

"I wanted to return this earlier." He held out the paperback.

"You left it in the lecture hall." Elias reached for it.

"I didn't even realize—"

He stopped when Lucien's eyes moved to Adrian.

"Hi."

Lucien offered him the same open smile he'd given Elias that morning.

"I don't think we've met."

Adrian didn't answer.

Elias looked at him.

The granola bar had stopped halfway to his mouth. His other hand still held the wrapper.

"Adrian?" Elias nudged his shoe against Adrian's beneath the table.

Adrian blinked.

"I'm—" He lowered the granola bar.

"Sorry. I'm Adrian."

Lucien's smile widened slightly.

"Lucien." He held out his pale, slender hand.

Adrian stared at it for half a second before taking it.

"Nice to meet you." Lucien shook his hand once.

"You too." Adrian's voice came out quieter than Elias had ever heard it.

Elias stared.

Adrian's ears had gone red.

Not pink. Red.

Elias had never seen that happen before. Not during finals. Not during the fight at the grill. Not even when Adrian had been dared to call their professor "Dad" in front of an entire lecture hall.

Lucien seemed completely unaware.

He released Adrian's hand and glanced toward the clock above the stacks.

"I should let you two get back to it."

He looked at Elias.

"Good luck with the essay."

"Thanks." Elias nodded.

Lucien adjusted the strap of his satchel.

"See you tomorrow."

Elias watched him turn.

"Yeah."The word slipped out before he could think about it.

Lucien gave him one last smile before heading toward the stairwell.

A moment later, the door swung shut behind him.Silence settled over the table.

Adrian slowly sat back down.

Elias looked at him.

Adrian looked at the empty stairwell.

Ten seconds passed.

Then another five.

The granola bar remained forgotten in his hand.

"Who is he?"Adrian's voice was quiet, almost to himself.

Elias stared at him for a moment.

"Lucien Moreau."

"I've heard his name." Adrian finally looked at him.

"I mean, who is he?"

Elias almost laughed.

Instead, he leaned back in his chair.

"He's the transfer student everyone's been talking about."

Adrian glanced toward the stairwell again.

"Right." Something had shifted behind his face.

Elias saw it.

He knew exactly what it meant.

He just wished he didn't.

He'd known Lucien for one day. One lecture, one courtyard, one conversation.

He'd noticed the way Lucien smiled when he talked, the way he tried to make himself smaller when someone made a comment, the way he'd said Elias's name like he'd already decided to remember it.

And now Adrian had noticed him too.

That was the part Elias hadn't been prepared for.

Because he'd spent the entire day telling himself Lucien was none of his business.

It had been easy when Lucien was only a stranger sitting two seats away.

It wasn't going to be easy anymore.

Elias looked down at his untouched notes.

He already knew the answer.

He just didn't know how much it was going to cost him.