Chapter 4 - The Rivalry Escalates
1781 Words
Luca woke up the next morning with a heaviness in his chest he couldn’t quite name. It wasn’t fear, exactly. It wasn’t dread. It was something sharper, something that hummed under his skin like static.
He blamed Adrian.
He blamed the way Adrian had looked at him yesterday—focused, intense, almost hungry for a challenge. He blamed the way that look had followed him all the way out of the lecture hall. He blamed the way it had stayed with him long after he’d gone home, long after he’d tried to sleep.
He blamed the way a part of him had reacted.
He didn’t want that reaction. He didn’t trust it. He didn’t trust himself.
Not after everything that had happened in the life he’d left behind.
Talking to Cam last night helped, but the thought of Adrian still plagued him.
He dressed quickly, grabbed his bag, and headed out before his thoughts could spiral any further.
---
The campus was already alive with movement. He had texted Mara that he'd meet her there. Students hurried between buildings, some clutching coffee cups, others dragging their feet like they’d barely slept. The jacaranda trees were shedding petals again, scattering soft purple across the pathways like confetti.
Luca paused under one of them, letting a few petals drift onto his shoulder. In his first life, he’d barely noticed things like this. He’d been too busy trying to survive.
Now, every detail felt sharper. More fragile. More precious.
He brushed the petals off and kept walking.
He had Professor Reyes’s class again today.
And Adrian would be there.
He wasn’t sure if he was ready.
---
Mara spotted him before he even reached the building. She waved both arms dramatically, nearly hitting a passing student with her notebook.
“There you are!” she said, jogging up to him. “I thought you died again.”
Luca winced. “Please don’t say it like that.”
“Sorry,” she said, not sounding sorry at all. “But seriously, you okay? You look like you’re about to face a firing squad.”
“Close enough,” Luca muttered.
Mara blinked. Then her eyes widened. “Oh. Oh. Is this about Adrian?”
Luca didn’t answer.
“That’s a yes,” she said, linking her arm through his. “Don’t worry. If he tries anything, I’ll throw my chips at him.”
“That’s not comforting.”
“It should be. They’re spicy.”
Despite himself, Luca laughed.
It helped. A little.
---
Inside the lecture hall, the atmosphere felt different today. Tighter. More charged. Students whispered to each other as they took their seats, glancing between Luca and the front row.
Adrian was already there.
Of course he was.
He sat with the same perfect posture as always, but today there was something else in his expression. Something sharper. Something that made Luca’s pulse jump.
Adrian looked up as Luca entered.
Their eyes met.
It was only a second. Maybe less.
But it was enough.
Luca looked away first.
He hated that.
---
Professor Reyes entered, carrying a stack of papers. “Good morning, everyone. Today we’ll be doing a group analysis exercise. I’ll be assigning partners.”
A ripple of excitement—and dread—moved through the room.
Luca’s stomach dropped.
Group work.
He hated group work.
He hated the unpredictability of it. He hated the forced interaction. He hated the way it made him feel exposed.
Professor Reyes began reading names.
“Chen and Alvarez.”
“Ramos and Villareal.”
“Mara Santos and—”
Mara squeezed Luca’s arm. “Please be me, please be me—”
“—Dela Cruz.”
Mara groaned. “Betrayal.”
Luca tried not to smile.
Then Professor Reyes continued.
“Vale and—”
Luca’s breath caught.
No.
No, no, no—
“—Luca Navarro.”
The room went silent.
Mara’s jaw dropped. “Oh my god.”
Luca felt every muscle in his body lock.
Adrian turned in his seat, slowly, like he’d been expecting this. His eyes found Luca’s again, and this time he didn’t look away.
He didn’t blink.
He didn’t hide the spark of interest—or challenge—in his gaze.
Luca swallowed hard.
This was bad.
This was very, very bad.
---
They moved to sit together at one of the side tables. Luca kept his eyes on his notebook, pretending to organize his notes even though his hands were shaking slightly.
Adrian sat across from him, folding his arms on the table. “You look like you’re about to bolt.”
“I’m fine,” Luca said.
“You don’t look fine.”
“Maybe stop staring at me, then.”
Adrian’s lips curved. “If it bothers you, you could just say so.”
“It does,” Luca snapped before he could stop himself.
Adrian raised an eyebrow. “Does it?”
Luca’s face heated. “I didn’t mean—just—can we work on the assignment?”
“Of course,” Adrian said smoothly. “I’m not the one stalling.”
Luca glared at him.
Adrian looked entirely unbothered.
---
Professor Reyes projected a case study on the screen. “Analyze the economic impact of the proposed industrial shift. Focus on labor displacement, capital flow, and long-term regional effects. You have thirty minutes.”
Luca exhaled slowly.
He could do this.
He’d done harder things.
He opened his notebook and began outlining the key points. Adrian leaned slightly forward, reading over his shoulder.
“You write fast,” Adrian said.
“You talk a lot,” Luca muttered.
Adrian huffed a quiet laugh. “Fair.”
They worked in silence for a few minutes. Luca tried to focus on the numbers, the projections, the structural implications. But he could feel Adrian’s presence like a heat across the table.
It was distracting.
Too distracting.
Adrian broke the silence first. “Your analysis yesterday was impressive.”
Luca froze.
He hadn’t expected that.
He hadn’t expected… praise.
“Thanks,” he said quietly.
“But,” Adrian continued, “you missed one thing.”
Luca’s head snapped up. “What?”
Adrian tapped the case study. “You focused on labor stagnation and capital imbalance. But you didn’t mention the political incentives behind the shift.”
Luca frowned. “That wasn’t the question.”
“It’s still relevant.”
“It wasn’t the question,” Luca repeated.
Adrian leaned back, studying him. “You’re very literal.”
“And you’re very—”
“Smart?” Adrian offered.
“Annoying,” Luca finished.
Adrian laughed.
Actually laughed.
Luca’s heart did something stupid in his chest.
---
They argued for the rest of the exercise.
Not angrily.
Not cruelly.
But intensely.
Adrian challenged every point Luca made. Luca countered every assumption Adrian threw at him. Their voices stayed low, but the tension between them grew with every exchange.
It wasn’t just rivalry.
It was something else.
Something electric.
Something alive.
By the time Professor Reyes called for the groups to present, Luca felt breathless.
Adrian looked energized.
“Ready?” Adrian asked.
“No,” Luca said honestly.
“Good,” Adrian replied. “Neither am I.”
---
Their presentation was sharp, clean, and unexpectedly seamless. Their arguments balanced each other. Their perspectives clashed and then aligned. Their voices overlapped in a way that made the rest of the class sit up straighter.
When they finished, Professor Reyes nodded approvingly.
“Excellent work. Both of you.”
Luca felt a strange warmth bloom in his chest.
Adrian glanced at him, and for a moment, something soft flickered in his eyes.
Something almost like admiration.
Luca looked away quickly.
He couldn’t handle that.
Not from Adrian.
Not again.
---
After class, Luca packed his things quickly, hoping to escape before Adrian could corner him again.
He wasn’t fast enough.
“Luca.”
He froze.
Adrian stepped in front of him, blocking his path. Not aggressively. Just… deliberately.
“You’re good,” Adrian said quietly. “Really good.”
Luca swallowed. “So are you.”
Adrian’s expression shifted—just slightly, but enough for Luca to notice.
“Then I guess we’re rivals now,” Adrian said.
Luca’s heart stuttered.
He didn’t want this.
He wanted to stay invisible.
He wanted to stay safe.
He wanted to avoid the path that had destroyed him before.
But Adrian was looking at him like he’d already made up his mind.
Like the line between them had already been drawn.
Luca forced himself to speak. “I don’t want a rivalry.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“Too late.”
Luca’s breath caught.
Adrian’s voice dropped, soft and certain.
“I’ve already chosen you.”
- Writer
