Chapter 1: Hi

The sprawling campus stretched out in a sea of perfectly manicured lawns, dotted with towering palm trees swaying gently in the warm breeze. The paths wound through red-tiled buildings that gleamed under the golden sunlight, their sandstone facades weathered with history—grand and imposing. Students in casual clothes moved with purpose, some chatting, others riding bikes down the wide avenues.

In front of a wide fountain, two boys stood, noticeably impatient. One tapping his foot relentlessly—the sole hitting the ground in an irritated rhythm, while the other let out a low grunt, shifting his weight from one leg to the other.

The boy with light blue eyes had his arms crossed tight. Every few seconds, he'd mutter something under his breath, casting glances at the door with mounting frustration. "How much longer for fucks sake?" he grumbled, rolling his shoulders in frustration.

"No one knows," the other sarcastically muttered, though his foot kept stomping on the ground. "Probably got shanked again last night—don't give a damn—but hell knows I'm wiping that stupid smile off his face once he shows up—"

Just as the words left his mouth, water splashed on the back of his head! Holding suppressed irritation, the black haired boy slowly turned..

To find a grinning bro as he skidded into a stop. The boy's white and blue Cortez squeaked as he took in the glares from his two bros. Instinctively, he ducked, anticipating the headlock that was already coming from the wet haired boy.

"Can you be punctual for once, Hunt?" the other blonde grunted, and before anyone could say another word, Dominic found himself locked in a double headlock, laughing as the three tumbled into a wrestling match. They grumbled and cursed—yet, the laughter echoed in between their grunts. It wasn't until the only black haired boy stopped. Breathlessly pausing, followed by the other two, he glanced up..

To notice the wide-eyed stares from the onlookers. For a split second, the world seemed to freeze. But as if on cue, it only ended up with the crowd's—the girl's—swoons.

Of course. It always happens.

The bros exchanged exasperated looks before awkwardly scratching their heads—their egos flew to the roof more than they'd admit. Shrugging off the earlier commotion, they resumed their walk while still sneakily smacking each other's heads.

"Diamond at 5?" the lighter blonde haired boy asked, smacking Dominic playfully on the back of the head as he shot his bro a look.

Dominic barely had time to breathe when the black haired boy playfully gave another smack on the back of the head, causing him to stumble forward a bit. "Don't you remember, Wyatt? Toretto got himself a new passion." he teased, clearly enjoying the moment.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Tyty," Dominic joked, eliciting rolling eyes from Tyler. "Nah but I really need to join today or else I'll lose the fucking scholarship," he chuckled, straightening up and brushing off his bro's hand from his shoulders.

"Like you ever needed it, asshole." Wyatt snorted. Dominic chuckled, but it came out more bitter than he thought. The boys stopped laughing, exchanging a brief glance of guilt. As perceptive as he is, Wyatt quickly attempted to lighten things up. "I heard someone~ was getting chased around~"

"Yeah—! Broooo~" Tyler jumped in, narrowing his eyes playfully. "Probably get caught for an arranged marriage~"

Dominic closed his eyes and laughed, exasperated. The bros grinned, feeling a sense of accomplishment.

"Ah, just the usual. Girls and their crazy delusions," Dominic grinned, shaking his head. However his expression soured as he complained, "Except this time.. it was a whole damn family."

"Wrong target alert!" Wyatt cackled.

Dominic shrugged, still grinning. "I swear if any more psycho—"

When someone bumped into him from the side, sending him stumbling slightly!

In sudden urgency, he turned with his eyebrows raised, ready to snap. "What the—?"

It was a blur, but the culprit barely stopped for a sec. A flustered girl shot him an apologetic glance. Her honey-toned skin catches the sun's glow, curly hair bounced as she turned her head to him. "Sorry—!"

Hunt tilted his head slightly—as if something clicked. Like he recognized—

But she sprinted off.

He stood there, mincing his eyes with his head still tilted, trying to place where he knew her from—

"Kids these days."

Just then, Tyler's voice woke him up from his reverie. Tyler watched the two girls sprint away, shaking his head slightly with a smirk. In contrast, Liam, with his sus face, sidled up next to Dominic, muttering, "New target alert?" and Tyler smacked him lightly on the back of the head. The two of them laughed and kept walking, but as for Dominic.. he couldn't help but glance back one more time.

Is she..?

"You okay—?!"

A girl glanced over just as you leveled with her. Her skin rich, velvety brown that seemed to glow under any light, and her face—soft yet striking—was framed by a cascade of wild, dark curls.

"Yeah—hurry!" you pant, grabbing her hand and pulling her along.

"Man, if you hadn't been late, we could've actually talked to that hot guy you just bumped into," she huffed as you both dashed down the path.

You rolled your eyes, completely unfazed.

This was the usual. Listening to her ramble on—especially—about boys.. being an utter.. complete..

"You can take him," she continued, "I'll take the other two. Or actually—no. I'll take the one bumped into you. We'll get married right after college.. a honeymoon in Saint Tropez—"

Delulu.

"Shush Talia. Gotta stop you there before you start daydreaming bout how your future kids would look like—again," you said, barely masking your irritation. "And for the record—they looked like they're younger than us—like.." you pause and pant as the two of you turn in the corner. But in all seriousness, you can already feel Talia's judging eyes as you continue with a degrading tone,

"Boys."

"Daddy issues."

"Oh, and by. the. way~ you mean if you weren't late."

"Me..?" Talia halted mid-stride with a face full of disbelief. "Me?!"

You gave her a side-eye as she scrambled to catch up, tilting your head challengingly. "Oh, don't be so—dramatic. I was ready way before you even—I was just—" you paused, thinking fast, not wanting for her to see your lowered pride, to mutter, "painting my face."

"More like painting my future," she scoffed. "You're just being a delulu—hoping she'd run into her indecisive ex who kept leading her on!"

With your mouth hanging open, you snapped your head to her, irritation plastered all over your face while with lightning speed—she drew a hand to your face.

"Don't even deny it—"

"Why is this becoming personal?!"

"Oh it is personal—!"

“Gosh you’re so Pisces coded.”

“Imagine being scolded by an Aquarius.”

"Okay, shush. First of all—it’s the sun. The rising’s Libra.”

“HOW IS THAT ANY BETTER—“

“OK WHY ARE WE—ok. Back to business, please. We need to figure out how the hell we're gonna get in without getting into trouble."

You both ducked around a crowd of people, weaving through the swarm as she rolled her eyes dramatically. "You're the one dragging me into this, babe. Just gotta accept the trouble that comes with it."

"Don't be a smartass. Think smart. Minimize the trouble. I still want to graduate, you know."

She gave you a bewildered look as you finally reached the door. "Huh? After all that yapping about how you just. couldn't handle architecture life anymore? After all your complaints about those flirty architects who have zero gentlemanly manners—?"

"Shut up, Tal for God's sake—"

"And after you smashed your maquette because your professor told you to redesign for the tenth time—"

"Shut it, Mosley. Now.."

Talia rolled her eyes, but her steps faltered as you came to a stop in front of the door. You exchanged a look, before shifting back your gaze to the door. Your eyes trailed nervously—up and down the imposing entrance. A sense of dread crept in, but neither of you dared to say it out loud. The tension grew, and without realizing it, you both gulped at the same time.

You shook your hands out, trying to shrug off the unease. A moment passed as you narrowed your eyes in determination. Until—with a deep breath, and a sudden burst of resolve.. you straighten your posture, looked at the door, and asked,

"How do we get in?"

You and Talia hurried into the classroom, barely slipping through the door as the professor made his grand entrance. Soon as you stepped inside, the weight of a hundred eyes fell on you. Every single student turned to stare, their gazes heavy with curiosity. Great, you thought. But then you remembered:

No matter, I have Talia to handle the sweet-talking.

"Sorry, professor," Talia began without missing a beat, flashing a guilty-but-charming grin before continuing, "my horoscope said I should avoid crowded places before 9:15 AM, so—you know. Safety first."

Or not.

You closed your eyes in exasperation and pressed your hand to your forehead, mumbling under your breath, "Oh God—" while Talia maintained her brilliant grin to the frowning professor.

But by some divine intervention—or maybe just a first-day leniency—he sighed and shook his head. "Next time don't even bother coming here."

Eyes widened, you both lowered your heads, apologizing quickly. Then, your eyes swept over the packed room—searching for seats. It was packed, and you can't find a side-by-side seat for you and her. However, useful for once, Mosley spotted a couple of free spots and motioned hurriedly.

"You sit there," she whispered, motioning to the far left. "I'll be over there," gesturing to the right side of the room, already making her way over. Without much choice, you gave her a quick nod and began climbing the steps toward your seat.

As you moved through the rows, your eyes darted around, trying to focus on your spot—but there was something.. Something nagging at the back of your mind—like.. like you were being watched.

You reached your row, and something—or rather, someone—caught your eye. You squinted. Damn your weak eyesight. Even with the soft lenses, everything beyond a certain distance was still a blur—and there.

A figure, seated right beside the empty seat, staring right at you. And your breath caught in your throat.

It's him.

The guy you bumped into.

Your eyes widened in surprise—and without thinking, you looked away just as you slipped into your seat. Still, carefully giving just enough space between you. Your heart raced as you stared straight ahead, trying to focus on anything else. But curiosity tugged at you.

Why did he seem so.. familiar?

You stole another glance to your left—and sure enough, he was still watching. This time, though, there was something dangerous in his gaze. A small, knowing smirk curled at the corner of his lips, like he was in on a secret you weren't. Then, as casually as he had been staring, he looked away.

Flustered, you quickly turned your attention back to the front of the class, heart pounding in your chest. Fumbling with your notebook, you tried to look like you were paying attention as the professor droned on. Every time you shifted in your seat, you were acutely aware of his presence—the space between you somehow feeling far too small.

You opened your notebook, pretending to take notes. But after a few minutes of trying to scribble down whatever the professor was saying.. you gave up. Your brain had clearly decided not to cooperate. Instead, you found yourself doodling absentmindedly in the margins.

Then you heard it—someone clearing their throat from beside you. Startled, your head snapped to the side. It was him. And for reasons you couldn't explain, your heart leaped in your chest. Maybe it was because you weren't expecting it. Or maybe—let's be honest, it's hard to concentrate when you're sitting next to a stranger who.. looks too good to be sitting next to you. Though, as he looked like he was about to say something, the professor's voice thundered through the room.

"Silence!"

Both of you froze, his mouth snapping shut as his head tilted slightly, scratching the back of his head in defeat. Your eyes went wide as you sat back, retreating into your seat to avoid the professor's wrath. Silently cursing why the hell people aren't already talking with each other too by now.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw two guys next to him react. One, with jet black tousled hair, similarly handsome—softer jawline though—turned casually, looking like he had been taking notes the whole time. The other, more an oval shaped face, blinked groggily, his cheek still red from where it had been pressed against the desk, looking like he had just woken up.

You stole a glance back at the guy sitting next to you, just in time to catch him in a silent exchange with the nerd boy—who shot a quick glance your way before turning his attention back to the professor, unbothered.

When you looked back at the boy next to you, he gave you the same raised eyebrows. You sighed inwardly. Somehow.. disappointed? Knowing that you can't talk to him anymore.. at least not while the professor is watching—

But then, an idea struck you.

You grabbed your pen and started doodling on the corner of your textbook, sketching out a simple lettering. Out of the corner of your eye, you sensed him glancing over in quiet curiosity, but quickly looked back at his phone—in which he's been hiding under the table.

Finished with your masterpiece, you carefully nudged the textbook slightly toward him. It took a few seconds, but he eventually glanced down—maybe noticing something annoying in his line of sight. But a little smirk played on his lips, certainly amused.

Without hesitation, he picked up his once unused pen—and in one quick motion, he wrote back.

Hi.

And a delighted grin bloomed on your lips, and you had to bite your lip to stop it from getting too obvious. Catching your reaction, he couldn't help but look away—course without losing that gorgeous smirk of his.

...

That.. smirk.. I swear I've seen it somewhere—damn my short term memory!

Fearing to move even a single nudge on the paper, you write carefully. Tending to the vocals and consonants—so he could be deceived by your unusual good writing.

'Have we met somewhere? You look oddly familiar.'

And a little chuckle escaped his lips. Caught you off guard, his reaction caused a wrinkle up on your forehead as you tilt your head to his.

However, the little movement somehow caught the boy beside him as his eyes widened. Nodding to your little escapade, in one swift motion, he dropped his pen—and elbowed the blonde guy who was still half-asleep. The guy jolted awake, blinking in confusion before his gaze darted between you and his bro, clearly annoyed.

The 'handcrafted by God himself' guy was about to put the pen to the paper—when a sudden burst of static crackled through the loudspeakers overhead, causing everyone in the room to jump in their seats as a voice came through the static, sounding distorted.

"Morning, Cardinals."

Every conversation, every idle note-taking, every whisper? They died down, leaving the room in dead silence. Not just him, the whole class instinctively retracted their heads to the foreign sound. The professor stopped mid-sentence, blinking in confusion as the voice continued,

"Today, we're bringing you something special. Let's talk about Professor Aldridge from the architecture department~"

You could hear gasps ripple through the room, students turning to one another with wide eyes—some holding back shocked laughter.

"Oh, you know. Mr. High and Mighty who thinks making students redo projects ten times is a learning experience. But what about the time he 'accidentally' spilled coffee on a student's final maquette and blamed the student for it?"

Students looked around in disbelief, while others were already leaning over to whisper the latest gossip. The voice continued, smooth with a mischievous edge,

"And don't get me started on the infamous grading scandal last semester. Who knew favoritism could look so good on paper, huh?"

A ripple of reactions followed—some students scoffed in disbelief, others raised eyebrows, trying to recall if they'd been affected by that 'scandal.' The professor at the front of the room looked completely bewildered, his face a shade paler.

"Or the way he waits until the last minute to cancel classes—because he's busy taking a 'long lunch' with The Dean?"

The room collectively gasped, a few students stifling laughter behind their hands as the professor dropped his lecture and hurried out the door, clearly intent on finding the source of this rogue announcement.

Through the glass panel of the door, you could see Professor Aldridge himself storming down the hallway. His face was an alarming shade of red as he was shouting something incoherent to no one in particular. A few students on the other side of the window looked like they were trying not to laugh.

Then, an ear-piercing screech rang out as the speaker cut out, making half the class wince and cover their ears. Some students took the opportunity to chuckle quietly while others exchanged knowing glances, as if they were savoring this scandalous moment.

You bit your lip, trying to hold back the laughter that threatened to spill out. Across the room, Talia was already grinning at you, eyes twinkling with mischief. She caught your gaze, threw you a playful wink, and in response, you bounced your brows in sublime amusement.

Meanwhile, Dominic was silent. His ocean eyes, dark and unreadable, were fixed on you, observing. He wasn't really paying attention to the fiasco all over the room, no.

His attention was elsewhere.

He watched you and Talia exchanged glances. Almost like he was trying to piece something together—something.. just out of reach. His brows furrowed slightly, the gears in his mind turning. But whatever it is.. all he knows.. is that there's something.

Like a game had just begun..

and none of you knew the rules.

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You can elevate your experience by also listening to songs I added to this story's playlist! I'll reveal the Playlist by the end of this story, so.. Stay Tuned!

The song that matches this Prologue's vibe:

Gracie Abrams - Close To You (Official Visual)

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