The sunlight was soft through the high dorm windows, filtered by gauzy curtains Liora hadn't bothered to pull fully shut. She sat at her desk with a mug of black tea cooling at her elbow, notebook open but untouched.
She couldn't stop thinking about them.
Kael and Riven.
The way Riven looked at him in class yesterday, like Kael was both a puzzle and the answer. The way Kael smiled at Riven—like something sacred passed between them without words.
Liora wasn't nosy. But she noticed things. That was her nature. Quiet. Watchful. A sponge for tension no one else paid attention to.
And something about those two didn't add up.
She hadn't meant to snap that photo yesterday. It was instinct. The way they sat in the library together, heads leaned close but not touching, books open, Kael throwing a snack toward Riven without even looking. Like it was muscle memory. Like it was love.
Her chest tightened. She didn't know why.
---
Later that afternoon
It was the literature lecture hall. Kael came in first. Loud as ever, laughing with someone in the row behind. Riven slipped in five minutes later, quiet, hoodie half up, settling next to him without a word. Liora watched it all from two rows behind.
They didn't speak.
Not with words.
But Kael bumped Riven's leg under the desk. Riven reached for a pen and brushed Kael's hand by mistake. Neither moved. Not at first. Then Kael shifted a fraction, just enough to stay touching.
Liora lowered her eyes quickly. Her pulse was fast.
When the professor announced a group assignment, her name ended up next to theirs.
Just her luck.
---
The walk after class
"You okay being grouped with us?" Kael asked as they stepped out into the late afternoon.
"I'll survive," Liora said, lifting a brow.
Kael laughed. Riven gave a rare, sideways glance. Curious. Maybe cautious.
"We can meet at the cafe near campus tomorrow," Riven said suddenly. His voice was softer than she expected.
"That works," Liora replied. Her eyes flicked between them.
Kael's smile didn't reach his eyes.
She wondered what they were like when they were alone.
She didn't know that Riven had spent the morning memorizing Kael's skin. That Kael had fallen asleep on the sofa, shirtless and flushed, with Riven's fingers tangled in his.
But she felt it.
There was something in the air between them.
Not just friendship.
Not just tension.
Something carved deeper.
And Liora couldn't look away.
---
The campus café buzzed softly with the usual weekend crowd—students scattered at tables, the scent of coffee mingling with old books and quiet conversations. Kael arrived first, tossing his backpack onto a chair with a casual grin that didn't quite reach his eyes.
Riven was already seated, head down over his notebook, fingers tapping a restless rhythm on the wood. He glanced up as Kael slid in beside him, offering a curt nod.
Liora stepped through the door moments later, clutching her own notes, the soft shuffle of her shoes barely audible over the hum of the room.
"Hey," Kael said, voice light but with an edge. "Ready to get this over with?"
Liora smiled, settling into the last empty seat across from them. "I'm here to survive, not to win."
The three spread out their materials on the small table, the space between them charged with an unspoken energy.
Kael leaned back, watching Liora with an amused tilt of his head. "So, what's the plan? I say we divvy up the work—Riven's good with research, right?"
Riven's eyes flicked to Kael briefly, a flicker of something unspoken passing between them before Riven answered quietly, "I can handle the data analysis."
Liora nodded, folding her notes. "I'll focus on the report writing and putting it all together."
Kael grinned, "Perfect. Teamwork makes the dream work."
But as they started discussing deadlines and responsibilities, Liora caught the way Kael's hand brushed Riven's across the table—brief, almost accidental, but deliberate enough to make her stomach twist.
She cleared her throat, steering the conversation back to the project. Yet her mind kept drifting to those fleeting touches, the silent conversations beneath their words.
As the afternoon sun dipped lower, the trio's conversation deepened, revealing cracks beneath the surface. Arguments over methods, disagreements on priorities, and sharp glances that only they seemed to notice.
When a sudden silence fell, Liora realized she was no longer just an observer. She was caught in the web they'd spun—a tangle of friendship, desire, and secrets waiting to unravel.
---
Kael pushed his chair back a little, stretching out his legs under the table. "So, if we want this done by next week, I think we should meet every other day, maybe after classes?"
Riven nodded slowly, eyes fixed on the margin of his notebook as if the words were etched there. "Works for me. But we'll need to be efficient. I'm not here to waste time."
Kael smirked. "Right, efficiency is your middle name, huh?"
Riven's gaze flicked to Kael, steady and unblinking. "Something like that."
Liora bit the inside of her cheek, sensing the undercurrent in their exchange. It was playful but edged with something sharper, like a hidden current beneath calm water.
"Okay," she said softly, "I'll organize the schedule and send you both a plan by tonight."
Kael gave her a nod of approval. "See? You're the glue holding us together."
Riven scoffed lightly, then leaned forward, voice low. "Don't get too comfortable with that role."
Kael laughed, but his eyes lingered on Riven a moment longer than necessary. "I'm not worried. You'll never let me slack off."
Their words were casual, but Liora felt the tension coil tighter around them. It wasn't just friendship—they carried history, familiarity, and a kind of quiet intensity that she couldn't yet name.
As the meeting wound down, Kael pulled his phone out, thumbs flying over the screen. "Alright, team. I'll start the outline and shoot it over. Riven, you do the heavy lifting on numbers, Liora, you polish it."
Riven closed his notebook, standing up first. "Don't forget to double-check the sources. We can't afford mistakes."
Liora smiled at the rebuke, feeling oddly protective of the pair. "I won't."
Kael stood too, stretching again. "See you guys tomorrow. Bring your A-game."
Riven nodded once, eyes lingering on Kael, then on Liora. "Tomorrow."
Liora stepped out last, the late afternoon sun warm on her face. She couldn't shake the feeling that whatever this was—between Kael and Riven, and now with her—it was only just beginning.