Dangerous curiosity
1290 Words
By Wednesday afternoon, Anastasia Velez had officially become a topic.
Not because she tried to.
Because Blackthorn University was the kind of place where attention attached itself to anything unusual—and Anastasia was becoming very unusual very quickly.
Especially after being seen speaking to Zane Moretti twice in three days.
That alone was enough to start problems.
The Blackthorn Café
The café near the law building was packed with students escaping afternoon lectures and pretending caffeine could fix their lives.
Bianca sat across from Anastasia, aggressively stirring whipped cream into her drink.
“I’m serious,” she said. “You need to stop making eye contact with Zane.”
Anastasia looked up from her laptop slowly.
“I wasn’t aware eye contact was legally binding.”
“It practically is with him.”
“That sounds dramatic.”
“Because this school is dramatic.”
Bianca leaned forward now, lowering her voice.
“You don’t get it yet. Blackthorn isn’t normal. People here pick sides over stupid things. Friend groups become wars. Hookups become scandals. One rumor can destroy your semester.”
Anastasia raised an eyebrow.
“And Zane?”
Bianca gave her a look.
“Zane Moretti is the rumor.”
A laugh sounded nearby.
Male.
Amused.
“Damn,” Mason said while sliding into the empty chair beside Bianca. “That might be the smartest thing you’ve ever said.”
Bianca groaned immediately.
“Why are you here?”
“Because I sensed gossip.”
Mason looked toward Anastasia with a grin.
“So you’re the mysterious girl.”
Anastasia closed her laptop calmly.
“And you’re the loud friend.”
“Accurate.”
A second later, Jude appeared carrying coffee.
Then Eli.
And suddenly the entire atmosphere of the café shifted.
Heads turned subtly.
Whispers started again.
Bianca looked ready to evaporate from stress.
“This is exactly what I meant,” she muttered under her breath.
Mason dropped into the seat beside Anastasia like they’d known each other for years.
“So,” he said, “you have a name?”
“Depends who’s asking.”
“Oh, she’s fun,” Jude said immediately.
Eli stayed quieter, observing from across the table.
Anastasia noticed that about him.
He spoke less than the others.
But when he looked at people, it felt intentional.
Like he collected information without asking permission.
Mason placed a dramatic hand over his chest.
“You wound me. I’m Mason Carter. Future billionaire. Current disappointment to my parents.”
“Only current?” Anastasia asked.
Jude laughed into his drink.
Mason pointed at her.
“See? This is why Zane’s interested.”
Bianca nearly inhaled her coffee wrong.
Anastasia’s expression barely changed.
“Interested is a strong word.”
“Oh?” Mason smirked. “Then why does he keep asking about you?”
That got her attention.
Very slightly.
Enough for Eli to notice.
Before Anastasia could respond, a shadow fell across the table.
Silence followed instantly.
Zane.
Of course.
Black hoodie today. Rings glinting against tattooed fingers. Calm expression like he’d walked into a room he already owned.
Which, honestly, he probably did.
Mason grinned like an i***t.
“Speak of the emotionally unavailable devil.”
Zane ignored him.
His eyes landed directly on Anastasia.
No greeting.
No smile.
Just attention.
“You skipped criminal law.”
Anastasia blinked once.
“You noticed?”
“You were absent.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
A beat passed.
Then one corner of Zane’s mouth tilted slightly.
Bianca looked between them like she was witnessing a hostage situation.
Anastasia leaned back in her chair.
“Maybe I just don’t enjoy listening to old men explain crime while pretending they’ve never committed any.”
Mason actually choked laughing.
Even Jude smiled into his drink.
Zane, however, stayed focused on her.
“You say things like you’ve met criminals before.”
Anastasia held his gaze calmly.
“Maybe I have.”
The air changed slightly after that.
Subtle.
But there.
Because something about her answer didn’t sound like a joke.
Eli noticed it too.
The tiny shift in Zane’s expression.
Interest becoming curiosity.
And curiosity was dangerous when it came to Zane Moretti.
The Warning
Later that evening, Anastasia finally escaped the café after Bianca spent twenty full minutes panicking about “social consequences.”
They walked toward the dorm building under dim campus lights.
“You handled that way too calmly,” Bianca whispered.
“Handled what?”
“Zane Moretti staring at you like he was mentally undressing your personality.”
Anastasia snorted softly.
“That sentence physically hurt me.”
“I’m serious!”
Bianca grabbed her arm dramatically.
“You don’t understand how people here work. Girls literally compete over him.”
“That sounds deeply embarrassing for everyone involved.”
“It is,” Bianca admitted. “But Zane doesn’t usually pay attention to anyone for long.”
Anastasia’s expression stayed unreadable.
“Then he’ll get bored eventually.”
Bianca hesitated.
“That’s… the thing.”
“What?”
“He doesn’t look bored.”
That night, Anastasia couldn’t sleep.
Not because of Zane.
At least that’s what she told herself.
The real reason sat hidden beneath her mattress:
a black envelope she still hadn’t opened.
No address.
No sender.
Just her name written across the front in silver ink.
She stared at it for a long moment before finally reaching for it.
Inside was one photograph.
Just one.
Her breath slowed instantly.
Because the picture showed her.
Leaving the party Saturday night.
And written across the bottom in neat handwriting were four words:
YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED HIDDEN.
Elsewhere — The Moretti House
Zane sat on the balcony outside his family’s penthouse, cigarette burning slowly between his fingers.
Below him, the city glittered.
Cold and expensive.
Mason pushed open the glass door behind him.
“You disappeared after dinner.”
“I noticed.”
Mason leaned against the railing beside him.
“So,” he said casually, “you wanna explain why you’re suddenly acting interested in one girl?”
Zane exhaled smoke into the night air.
“I’m not interested.”
Mason laughed.
“Right. And I’m academically gifted.”
Silence.
Then Zane spoke quietly.
“She doesn’t act like anyone here.”
“That’s because everyone here is terrible.”
“No,” Zane said, gaze distant now.
“She acts like she’s waiting for something bad to happen.”
Mason’s smile faded slightly.
Because Zane rarely noticed details about people unless they mattered.
And when someone mattered—
things usually became complicated.
Zane crushed the cigarette beneath his shoe.
Then finally asked the question he’d been pretending not to care about.
“What did you find out about her?”
Mason grinned slowly.
“There it is.”
Zane looked at him once.
Mason raised both hands dramatically.
“Okay, okay. Her name’s Anastasia Velez. Transfer student. Came from Madrid.”
“Family?”
“Rich enough to afford Blackthorn.”
“That’s not an answer.”
Mason’s expression shifted slightly.
“That’s because there isn’t much information available.”
Now that was unusual.
At Blackthorn, everyone had history online.
Family articles. Social media. Scandals.
Money left footprints.
But Anastasia?
Almost nothing.
Zane’s eyes darkened slightly.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Final Scene
Back in Room 314, Anastasia stared at the photograph again.
Then slowly turned it over.
There was something else written on the back.
This time in red ink.
Stay away from Zane Moretti.
For the first time since arriving at Blackthorn…
Anastasia felt genuine unease.
Not fear.
Never fear.
But something close to anticipation.
Like standing too close to the edge of something dangerous—
and realizing part of you wanted to jump.
- Writer
