THEY CHOSE THE WRONG PREY

CHAP 4 - RAVEN

Raven Hale became the talk of Crescent University in less than a week.

Nobody knew where she came from.

Nobody knew why she had transferred in the middle of the semester.

But somehow, everyone knew her name.

It was impossible to walk across campus without hearing somebody mention her.

"Did you see Raven this morning?"

"Raven's taking Advanced Psychology."

"I heard Raven turned down a Student Council position."

"Apparently she was at the gym at six in the morning."

Selene was already tired of hearing about her.

The morning sun reflected off the fountain while students rushed between classes carrying coffee and backpacks. Everything felt normal until a loud scream erupted near the Student Center.

Not a scared scream.

An excited one.

"Oh my God, she's here!"

Selene stopped walking.

"What now?"

A crowd had gathered near the entrance.

And right in the middle of it stood Raven.

Dark blazer.

White shirt.

Dark hair moving slightly in the breeze.

She looked completely unaware that half the university seemed obsessed with her.

"Unbelievable."

"You sound jealous."

Selene nearly jumped.

Zoe had somehow appeared beside her holding an iced coffee.

"I'm not jealous."

"You totally are."

"I'm not."

"You are."

"I'm literally not."

Zoe grinned.

"Keep telling yourself that."

Selene rolled her eyes.

"She's not even that special."

Zoe nearly choked on her drink.

"You're joking."

"I'm serious."

"Half the university is obsessed with her."

"Exactly my point."

Zoe stared.

"You dislike her because she's popular."

"I dislike her because she's weird."

Before Zoe could respond, Raven suddenly glanced in their direction.

Not toward the crowd.

Not toward the students surrounding her.

Toward Selene.

The eye contact lasted less than a second.

Yet it felt intentional.

Selene immediately looked away.

Later that afternoon, Selene was finally enjoying a few minutes of peace beneath a tree near the Humanities Building.

For once there were no assignments, no strange dreams, and no Zoe talking nonstop beside her.

Just lunch.

Just silence.

Then a shadow fell across her notebook.

Selene didn't even need to look up.

"No."

"Hello to you too."

She sighed.

Raven smiled and sat down anyway.

"There are literally hundreds of places to sit."

"Probably."

"Go sit in one of them."

Raven ignored her and pulled a bag of chips from her backpack.

"Want one?"

"No."

"Okay."

She ate one.

A minute later, several students walked by.

"Hey, Raven!"

"See you later, Raven!"

"Good luck on the presentation!"

Raven waved casually.

The students continued on their way.

Selene watched them leave.

"Aren't you tired of that?"

"Tired of what?"

"Everyone knowing your name."

Raven shrugged.

"Not really."

"I would be."

"Why?"

Selene didn't actually have an answer.

The bell rang in the distance.

Students immediately began heading toward their next classes.

Selene stood and grabbed her bag.

"So where are you going?" Raven asked.

"Class."

"Oh."

A pause.

"Why?"

"I'm going there too."

Selene stared at her.

Raven stared back.

Neither moved.

Finally Selene sighed.

"Fine."

The two of them started walking.

A few steps later Raven spoke again.

"Do you always walk this fast?"

Selene groaned.

Meanwhile Raven kept walking beside her as if she hadn't done anything wrong.

Students greeted her everywhere they went.

And the annoying thing was that Raven greeted them back.

She wasn't rude.

She wasn't arrogant.

She wasn't pretending.

She was genuinely nice.

And somehow that irritated Selene even more.

By the time Selene got home, her social battery was completely dead.

She tossed her backpack onto the couch and collapsed beside it.

Finally.

Silence.

Her apartment wasn't much. A small living room, a tiny kitchen, one bedroom, secondhand furniture, and entirely too many books.

But it was hers.

And right now it was the only place where Raven Hale couldn't annoy her.

At least, that's what she thought.

Her phone buzzed.

Selene groaned.

No.

Absolutely not.

She picked up the phone and looked at the screen.

Raven Hale....

Selene sat upright.

"How did she even get my number?"

After staring at the screen for several seconds, she finally opened the message.