Chapter 4 CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 4

YAEL

By the time I made it back to the dorm, I was one more hallway away from collapsing. My feet hurt, my head hurt, and Knox Hale’s stupid smirk was still burned into my skull like some cursed screensaver.

So when I heard a thud down the hallway followed by a very dramatic groan, I honestly thought it was in my head.

Then—

“Ow! Oh my God—why are these boxes so heavy?”

I blinked, dragging my gaze up to find a petite girl in oversized sweats kneeling in the middle of the hall, surrounded by luggages like she’d just survived a tornado. A shoe was dangling from one foot, her messy bun barely hanging on for dear life.

And she was glaring at a suitcase like it had personally betrayed her.

I sighed, walked closer. “You okay there, stranger?”

She looked up, eyes widening. Then she broke into a sheepish smile. “I—I’m fine! Totally fine. Just… fighting for my life.”

I couldn’t help it. I laughed. “Yeah, looks like the luggage won.”

She groaned dramatically. “It did. It crushed me. My pride’s gone. You’re looking at a shell of a woman.”

I bent down, grabbing one of the boxes. “Well, shell of a woman, need a hand?”

Her eyes lit up like I’d offered her gold. “Oh my God, yes please. I swear I’m not usually this clumsy—”

“Sure.”

“Okay, maybe I am,” she said quickly, grinning. “I’m Maya, by the way.”

“Yael.”

“Yael,” she repeated, testing the sound like it was something nice. “Pretty name.”

“Thanks,” I said, half smiling.

We managed to haul her stuff into the dorm together—hers was the room right next to mine. Two doors, one small shared common space in between. It wasn’t huge, but it was cozy.

Maya exhaled, collapsing onto her bed dramatically. “I swear I almost gave up halfway up the stairs. If one more person looked at me like I was filming a comedy skit…”

“You kind of were.”

“Rude,” she said, tossing a pillow at me. “You’re supposed to be my first friend, not my first hater.”

I caught the pillow easily. “Friend already? That was fast.”

She shrugged, smiling. “I make fast decisions. You helped me carry my emotional baggage—literally—so yeah, you’re stuck with me now.”

I chuckled, shaking my head. “Great. I’ve always wanted a clingy friend.”

“You say that now, but you’ll thank me when you realize I bake when I’m stressed.”

“Okay, you can stay.”

“Exactly.”

We both laughed, and it felt… easy. Warm. A weird change of pace from the mental warfare that was Knox Hale.

Just as I was thinking that, a male voice came from the next room.

“Hey, Maya, you done destroying the hallway or should I call campus security?”

My head snapped toward the sound.

That voice.

I knew that voice.

“Shut up, Liam!” Maya yelled back, then noticed my face. “Oh—right. That’s Liam. My cousin. Don’t mind him, he’s a little—”

Before she could finish, the door swung open.

And there he was.

Liam—the same cute guy from class—the same one who’d shown me around campus earlier this week. His messy brown hair, the same soft smile.

He froze when he saw me. “Yael?”

I blinked. “Liam?”

He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Wow, small world.”

Maya looked between us, eyes wide. “Wait—you two know each other?”

“We’re in the same major,” I explained, still processing the coincidence.

“And she’s the one who got lost outside my classroom on day one,” he added, grinning.

I groaned. “You don’t have to keep reminding me.”

Maya gasped. “Oh my God, you’re that Yael? He wouldn’t stop talking about you that day.”

“Maya!” Liam said quickly, face reddening.

I raised a brow. “Oh?”

“I—uh—it wasn’t like that,” he said, tripping over his words. “I just said you seemed cool. And like, confident. Even though you were completely lost.”

Maya fake whispered, “Translation: he has a tiny crush.”

He threw a pillow at her this time. “Do you ever stop talking?”

She ducked, laughing hysterically.

I couldn’t stop smiling. The energy between them was chaotic in the best way.

“This dorm’s gonna be fun,” I said, shaking my head.

“Fun? More like a sitcom,” Liam muttered.

“Oh, please,” Maya said, smirking. “You love me.”

“Unfortunately.”

I sat on the couch, watching them bicker, something tight in my chest loosening. It had been a while since I’d been around people who weren’t trying to one-up each other.

Maya turned to me suddenly. “So… you have any brothers? Sisters?”

My stomach twisted. “One brother. Aaron.”

“Nice! Is he single?” she teased.

I snorted. “No. And also terrifying.”

Liam looked up. “Wait—Aaron Levi? As in Aaron Levi, track captain?”

My eyes narrowed. “You know him?”

“Everyone knows him,” Liam said. “He’s kind of a legend. Dude’s intense.”

Maya grinned. “That explains why you look familiar. You’re the sister of the golden boy.”

I groaned. “Can we not?”

They laughed.

And then Maya, still smiling, said something that made my brain glitch.

“So… does that mean you know Knox Hale?”

The air shifted.

I froze. “Unfortunately.”

Liam rolled his eyes. “The campus menace. Aaron’s rival. There’s literally a betting pool about who’ll win the next race.”

Maya gasped. “A race?!”

Liam nodded. “The annual intercollegiate sprint. It’s next week. Whole school goes crazy over it.”

“Wait, like—Knox is in that?”

“Always. He’s fast. And reckless.”

Maya tilted her head. “You sound like you admire him.”

“I don’t,” Liam said quickly. “I just… respect the hustle.”

I looked away, my mind flickering to that smirk, that voice, that stupid “miss me, princess?” echoing from earlier.

Maya noticed. “Wait, why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?”

I sighed. “Because I’ve seen worse.”

They both stared at me.

Liam’s expression softened. “He bother you or something?”

“Something like that.”

“Want me to run him over with a scooter?” Maya asked sweetly.

I laughed. “You own a scooter?”

“No, but I could steal one.”

Liam groaned. “You’re gonna get expelled.”

She shrugged. “Worth it for a friend.”

I smiled faintly, glancing between them.

Maybe college wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

Later that night, I sat by the window, scrolling through my phone, when a message notification popped up.

Unknown Number.

You looked cute in that library cardigan, princess.

Shame about the spider though. Almost kissed you by accident.

My stomach flipped.

I didn’t need to guess who it was.

Knox Hale.

I threw my phone on the bed and buried my face in my hands.

God help me.

This semester was already a mess.