Alina stared at the acceptance letter, her fingers trembling slightly.
"You're in?" Ethan asked, his eyes lighting up.
She nodded slowly, still processing. "I got in… to Havenridge."
"The same university I applied to!" Leo shouted from behind, nearly dropping the bowl of cereal he was holding. "We're gonna be campus buddies!"
Alina laughed, the excitement starting to catch up to her. "I guess the band's staying together."
They were all going to Havenridge—different majors, different paths, but still together. It felt like life was finally offering them something good.
---
Two months later, the trio had moved into student housing—Ethan in off-campus apartments, while Alina and Leo were placed in dorms nearby. Classes started, campus buzzed with energy, and for the first time in a long while, Alina felt free.
And that's when Jay happened.
He was charming, smooth-talking, and far too confident. A fellow literature major who sat beside her in class and wasted no time sliding into her conversations with flirty comments and sly smiles.
One afternoon, after class, he walked her to the café just off campus.
"So, Alina," he said, leaning a little too close, "what's a girl like you doing without someone to keep you company at night?"
She blinked. "Wow. That line actually works for you?"
Before Jay could respond, Leo appeared.
His jaw was tight, and his voice was sharp. "Hey, Alina. Ready to go?"
Jay looked him over. "Friend of yours?"
Leo smiled tightly. "Something like that."
Alina stood awkwardly. "Uh, yeah. I was just—"
"We're late," Leo said, eyes not leaving Jay's. "Study group. Let's go."
---
Back at the apartment, tension buzzed in the air like static.
Ethan looked up from the kitchen. "Everything okay?"
Leo dropped his bag harder than necessary. "Your sister has a new admirer."
Ethan's eyes narrowed. "What?"
"Some guy. Jay. Thinks he's cute."
Alina threw her hands up. "I can talk to people, you know. I don't need bodyguards."
Ethan folded his arms. "If some guy's bothering you—"
"He wasn't bothering me!" she snapped. "He was just talking."
Leo stood across from her now, frustration bubbling under the surface. "You didn't see the way he looked at you. He wasn't just talking."
Something unspoken hung in the air. Ethan's expression darkened.
"Leo."
Leo looked at him.
"You don't get to decide who she talks to."
Leo hesitated, then turned to Alina, his voice lower, softer. "I just… didn't like it, okay?"
Alina's heart thudded.
Was he jealous?
And why did she kind of like that he was?