Twilight bled indigo across Eldenwood's courtyard as Vivian paced beneath the Pinnacle Wing's leaded windows. Her gaze sliced through study carrels—no Adrian Stone at his customary station.
Then she saw him.
Leaned over Melody Vaughn's desk, his Oxford shirt sleeve rolled to reveal corded forearms. A graphite pencil moved across differential equations, its whisper audible in the chapel-like silence. Melody's rapt attention scraped against Vivian's nerves like broken glass.
How dare she monopolize glacial perfection?
Vivian's Valentino slingbacks clicked decisively across marble. Thirty heads lifted as she halted in the arched doorway—a peacock invading penguin territory. Melody's smile didn't reach her eyes.
"Problem, sister?"
Vivian ignored her, zeroing in on Adrian's bent neck. The precise angle of his cervical vertebrae fascinated her.
Vivian: (Draping herself over Adrian's back) "Professor Sterling's waiting, Stone. Must we delay dinner for..." She eyed Melody's notes, "Basic integrals?"
Adrian: (Freezing) "Release me."
Melody: "Vivian! This is—"
Vivian: (Nuzzling Adrian's collar) "Academic integrity? Please. You're hijacking Eldenwood's top CPU for remedial tutoring."
His scent—bergamot and frost—short-circuited her bravado. Before logic intervened, Vivian pressed her lips to his jawline.
A collective gasp vacuumed the oxygen from the room. Adrian stood abruptly, dislodging her. His eyes—arctic tundra under midnight—swept her before he strode past without speaking.
Melody: (Hissing) "Pathetic desperation won't make him choose you."
Vivian: (Touching her tingling lips) "Funny. He didn't choose you either."
Silence shattered into chaos.
"YEAH, VAUGHN!" yelled Scott Fitzwilliam, slamming his thermodynamics text.
"Eldenwood's own Catherine the Great!" crowed Naomi Ricci, snapping photos.
Xander Li vaulted desks to clap Vivian's shoulder. "Little Tigress! That's going viral before curfew!"
Melody's porcelain complexion mottled crimson. Wendy intercepted Vivian's exit, eyes wide behind thick lenses. "Dean Blackwood will mandate sensitivity training!"
"Worth it," Vivian breathed, pulse hammering where Adrian's stubble had scratched her mouth. Bryce materialized beside her, steering her into the cloister's shadows.
Bryce: "What the hell was that?"
Vivian: (Grinning wildly) "Spontaneous combustion theory."
Pinnacle Wing Corridor
Melody: (Blocking their path) "Father's trustee dinner is Thursday. Imagine his pride when this—" She waved her phone's video preview, "...plays during the endowment pitch."
Bryce: "Send it. I'll counter-leak your botched lip filler."
Melody: "Irrelevant gossip!"
Bryce: "To Vaughn Pharmaceuticals' board? Recall their 'natural beauty' campaign?"
Vivian: (Sweetly) "Choose wisely, sister. Does Father value donors... or dignity?"
Melody's retreating heels struck sparks from flagstones.
Bryce: "Stone won't forgive this."
Vivian: "Forgiveness implies he acknowledged my existence before." She touched her lips again. "Now he has to."
Gothic arches swallowed Adrian's silhouette as he descended the alumni staircase. Vivian broke free, chasing moonlight across the quadrangle.
"Stone!"
He didn't slow.
She caught his sleeve near the bell tower. "That wasn't— I didn't plan—"
Adrian pivoted. Moonlight carved his cheekbones into marble relief. "Your probation essay." His voice chilled her more than the autumn wind. "Submit it digitally. Avoid my office."
"Office? I just—"
"Exploited me for petty sibling rivalry?" His thumb brushed the spot she'd kissed—a mockery. "Find better hobbies, Miss Vaughn. My research has deadlines."
Vivian's retort died as his phone lit—Melody's contact photo glowing between them. Adrian swiped the call, turning away.
Vivian: "She's manipulating you!"
Adrian: (Without looking back) "Unlike your authentic theatrics?"
Clocktower Shadow
Roxy: (Emerging from ivy) "Well? Nuclear fallout or cold fusion?"
Vivian: "Both. He's... immovable."
Roxy: "Stone moves glaciers. Requires seismic pressure." She nodded toward Kane Volkov leaning against his Ducati at the gates. "Speaking of force..."
Kane: (Calling out) "Need an escape route, Princess?"
Vivian: "Why linger, Cobra? Your groupie left hours ago."
Kane: (Revving his engine) "Quality takes time. Unlike your..." His eyes dropped to her mouth, "...impulsive gestures."
Roxy: "Ignore him. Volkov specializes in corrosive commentary."
Kane: "And you specialize in self-deception, Roxanne." He tossed Vivian his spare helmet. "Ten seconds to decide: safety of privilege..." His smirk deepened, "...or the thrill of freefall?"
Vivian caught the helmet's worn leather straps. Adrian's dismissal echoed in her ears.
Vivian: (To Roxy) "Tell Bryce I'm researching... kinetic energy."
Roxy: "V! That's—"
Vivian: (Swinging onto the Ducati) "Seismic pressure."
Kane's laugh rumbled through her bones as they tore into the neon-soaked night.