Chapter 3 CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 3

YAEL

“Hey, you lost?”

The voice comes from behind me, amused but kind.

I turn and meet a pair of hazel eyes framed by soft, messy brown hair. He’s got that easy, approachable smile that immediately lowers your blood pressure. He’s holding a coffee in one hand, backpack slung over one shoulder like he’s in a college brochure.

“I’m not lost,” I say, clutching my folder. “I’m… strategically confused.”

He laughs, warm and light. “Strategically confused. Right. So… strategically confused about what exactly?”

I glance up at the sign above the door. Economics 101. “Is this Professor Allen’s class?”

“Yep. You’re in the right place.” He nudges the door open with his shoulder. “Come on, new girl.”

I squint. “How’d you know I’m new?”

“You’ve been standing here for five minutes reading the sign like it’s a map to Narnia.”

“Fair.”

I follow him inside. The lecture hall isn’t huge, but it’s buzzing. People already claimed their seats, grouped in clusters. I hover awkwardly near the back like a lost pigeon.

“Here.” He pats the empty seat next to him. “I don’t bite.”

“That’s what biters say.”

He laughs again—God, he laughs easily—and I slide into the seat beside him.

“I’m Liam,” he says, holding out his hand.

“Yael.”

“Nice to meet you, Strategically Confused Yael.”

I shake his hand, rolling my eyes. “Please don’t make that stick.”

“Oh, it’s already stuck. SCY has a nice ring to it.”

“Absolutely not.”

The professor walks in, silencing the chatter. Liam leans closer, voice low. “So what’s your major?”

“Political Science.”

“Same,” he whispers back. “You’re gonna see a lot of me this semester.”

“Fantastic,” I deadpan.

“Wow, calm down, I’m not proposing marriage,” he whispers, grinning.

I try not to laugh, but a smile slips out anyway. It’s… nice. Calm. Liam has the vibe of someone who’d help you move furniture without complaining.

Not the vibe of someone who’d, say, almost get you arrested at a club during freshman orientation.

Knox Hale.

Ugh. Even thinking his name makes my brain short-circuit in rage and something dangerously close to excitement.

Liam nudges me halfway through the lecture. “Hey, after class, want a quick tour? I know all the shortcuts. And where the good coffee is.”

I raise an eyebrow. “And why should I trust you?”

“Because I have a flawless five-star rating as a campus guide.”

“According to who?”

“Myself,” he says with zero shame.

I snort. “Fine. Deal.”

By Friday, I’ve kind of gotten into the rhythm of campus life. Classes, quiet room, Liam occasionally popping up like a golden retriever with caffeine.

Then the dreaded Club & Committee Sign-Up Week arrives.

Banners, balloons, people yelling “JOIN THE THEATRE CLUB!” at 8 a.m.—it’s chaos. I weave through the crowd like a soldier on a mission.

I know exactly what I want: the Debate Team and Academic Council. Serious. High-profile. Clean extracurriculars for my law school application.

I’m not here to waste time.

I’m not here for drama.

I’m definitely not here for him.

The orientation is in one of the big seminar rooms. I’m late because the sign-up booths were a nightmare, so I jog up the stairs, push the door open, and—

I stop dead.

No.

No.

No.

He’s here.

Leaning against the table at the front like he owns the oxygen in the room. Dark hoodie under a leather jacket. Black jeans. That lazy, wolfish grin that made my heart stutter against my will the first time we met.

Knox Hale.

Co-lead of the Academic Council.

Of course.

The universe hates me.

His eyes catch mine almost immediately. His grin deepens, slow and deliberate, like he’s savoring my horror.

“Princess,” he mouths silently.

I glare. If looks could kill, he’d be a chalk outline by now.

Aaron’s warning echoes in my head like a mantra. Stay away from him, Yael. He’s trouble. He doesn’t care about rules. He doesn’t care about you.

My gut? It does a treacherous little flip anyway.

I pick the farthest seat possible.

He still notices.

“Yael,” Knox drawls halfway through introductions, leaning casually on the podium. “Didn’t think this was your scene.”

I plaster on a fake smile. “I like to keep my enemies close.”

“Ouch.” He taps his chest, smirking. “Right in the heart.”

“You’d need to have one first.”

The room laughs. He raises his hands, mock wounded. “And here I was thinking we’d missed each other.”

“I didn’t,” I mutter.

Liam—because yes, of course Liam’s here too—leans over from the row in front of me. “You two… know each other?”

“Unfortunately,” I say.

“Intimately,” Knox adds.

My jaw drops. “We met once.”

“Twice,” he corrects, eyes glinting. “But who’s counting?”

I could strangle him.

The rest of the orientation is torture. Every time I raise my hand, Knox calls on me with that infuriating grin. Every time I avoid looking at him, he finds a way to make some smug comment.

By the end, my brain feels like it’s been through a blender.

I step outside, breathing in the cool air. Liam catches up to me, easy smile in place. “So… Knox Hale, huh?”

“Don’t,” I warn.

He laughs. “Alright, alright. I won’t.”

But there’s a spark of curiosity in his eyes.

Great. Just what I need.

One boy who makes me laugh.

One boy who makes me want to throw things.

Both in my orbit.

And Knox? He’s not going anywhere.

This semester just got a lot louder.