We continued working on the project, sitting side by side on the floor with the small table between us. It felt strangely comfortable, despite the mess of papers, laptops, and notes scattered around us. Time slipped by in quiet concentration, broken only by the occasional exchange about project details or a teasing remark from Aiden.
At some point, I caught him staring at me, his expression unreadable. He quickly looked away, clearing his throat. "So," he said, breaking the silence. "You're really focused when you're working. I mean, like… intensely focused."
I shrugged, feeling self-conscious under his gaze. "It's just… easier to bury myself in work. Keeps my mind occupied."
Aiden's smile softened, and for a moment, he looked as though he was about to say something, but he held back. Instead, he just nodded, offering a gentle, "Yeah, I get that."
After a while, I glanced at the time. It was well past one in the morning, and I stifled a yawn, feeling the day's events catch up with me. Aiden noticed and gave me a nudge. "Alright, I think that's enough for tonight," he said. "You look like you're about to fall asleep on the spot."
I managed a tired smile, stretching my arms. "Yeah… maybe I am."
He stood, gathering some of the scattered papers. "Let me grab you some blankets. So you'll be more comfortable on the couch."
I followed him over to the couch, settling down as he handed me a stack of blankets and a pillow.
He hovered for a moment, as if debating something, then spoke, his voice quieter. "Hey, if you ever… need to talk, you know you can, right?"
His sincerity caught me off guard, and I felt a strange warmth bloom
I looked over to where he pointed, noticing a small bag with a few essentials in it. "Oh, thank you, Aiden. You didn't have to do that."
"Figured you'd need it," he replied simply. "Bathroom's down the hall on your left, by the way."
I nodded, taking the bag with me as I headed toward the bathroom. Inside, I noticed some toiletries already on the counter and a small pouch labeled "Maya's stuff." I smiled to myself, recognizing it as his sister's things. Borrowing a bit of her face wash, I quickly brushed my teeth and washed up, feeling more awake by the second. The towel he'd gotten was soft, and I dried my face, carefully packing everything back in the bag before heading back to the kitchen.
When I returned, I found Aiden already sitting on the floor by the small table we'd used last night, with plates set out for both of us.
"Already freshened up?" he asked, glancing up with an easy smile.
"Yep," I replied, settling onto the floor beside him. "Thanks again… for all of this." I glanced down at the food he'd made. "It looks amazing."
"Hey, it's the least I could do," he said, brushing off the gratitude with a small wave of his hand. "Now, dig in. Let's see if it tastes as good as it looks."
I picked up my fork and took a bite, savoring the warmth and flavor.
"Wow, your cooking still amazes me," I said, surprised by how perfectly fluffy the eggs were.
He raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Thanks, I'll take that as a compliment."
I laughed softly. "I wish my cooking was as good as yours."
"All right, all right," he chuckled, raising his hands in mock surrender. "You can be better than me, it just takes more practice, you know."
I looked down. "I hope so. It really is good."
"I'm being serious, Raven," he said, his tone gentle. "I had a lot of lessons before I became this good, but I'm glad you like it."
We fell into a comfortable silence, focusing on our food. After a few bites, Aiden stood up and wandered off for a moment. I continued eating, savoring the warm breakfast he'd prepared. Before long, he returned, handing me a cold bottle of water and settling back down beside me.
"Thanks," I murmured, accepting the water.
"No problem," he replied, giving me a quick smile before taking a sip from his bottle.
As I continued eating, my phone, which was lying closer to Aiden, started ringing. Aiden glanced at the screen and reached over, picking it up to pass it to me.
"Your phone's ringing," he said, extending it to me. I noticed his eyes flick briefly to the caller ID, but he didn't say anything about the name displayed—*Elias*.
"Thanks," I said, taking the phone and shifting a bit to the side. I pressed the answer button, holding the phone to my ear. "Hello?"
"Morning, princess," Elias's voice came through, his tone light and teasing. "Did you sleep well?"
I glanced at Aiden, hoping he couldn't hear anything. "Morning to you, too. And yes, I did."
"Good to hear," he replied smoothly. "So, will we be meeting today, or are you busy?"
I thought for a moment, glancing at the time on my phone. "I have a class at eleven, so we could meet up after that."
"All right, princess," he said, chuckling a bit. "Just text me the address of wherever you want us to meet, and I'll be there."
"Okay, will do," I replied, feeling a bit self-conscious with Aiden sitting so close. "See you soon."
"See you soon, princess," he echoed, and I hung up, placing my phone back down on the table.
Aiden glanced over as I returned to my food. "So… since you've got class at eleven, you'll be heading out soon, right?"
I nodded, taking a sip of water. "Yeah, once I'm done here, I'll need to get back to the dorm."
"Well," he began, leaning back with a casual shrug, "I brought you here, so I'll drive you back. Besides, it's not far."
I tried not to smile too much at his insistence. "Oh, well… can't force you to change your mind, I guess."
He grinned, nodding. "Exactly. So no arguing."
We finished our breakfast in comfortable silence, and as we wrapped up, I started to stand, gathering our dishes. "I can wash these—"
Aiden cut me off, shaking his head. "No way. You're my guest. Just leave it. I've got this."
I hesitated but eventually set the dishes back down, holding up my hands in surrender. "Fine, if you insist."
"I do," he replied, giving me a playful look as he started clearing the table.
I grabbed the small bag I'd packed with the toothbrush and towel and stuffed it in my bag, double-checking to make sure everything was inside. Aiden was already waiting for me by the door when I was ready, and we headed downstairs together to his car.
The morning air was cool and fresh as we stepped outside, and I followed Aiden to his car. I slipped into the passenger seat while he got in the driver's side. He started the engine, and soon we were pulling out of the apartment building's lot.
After a few moments of quiet, he glanced my way. "Uh, Raven… after your class, if you don't mind, we could pick up where we left off on the project."
I shifted in my seat, feeling a twinge of guilt. "Oh, uh… could we maybe reschedule? I have to be somewhere today."
"Of course," he replied easily. "Whenever you're free."
The rest of the drive passed in a comfortable silence, and before long, we were close to the dorms. He pulled over, and I unbuckled my seatbelt, reaching for the door.
"Thanks for the ride, Aiden," I said, giving him a small smile.
He smiled back, warm and genuine. "It was my pleasure."
~
With that, he drove off, and I turned, making my way toward the dorm building. A few girls passed by, chatting and laughing, but I barely registered them as I headed to my room. As I walked in, I spotted Maya at her desk, huddled over what looked like assignments. She glanced up as soon as I entered.
"Hey, Raven. You didn't sleep here," she observed, eyeing my outfit. "And… are you wearing yesterday's clothes? Please don't tell me you stayed at the hospital all night."
I set my bag down, making my way over to my bed. "Oh, no, I left in the evening."
Maya raised an eyebrow, now fully sitting up in her chair. "Uh-huh… So, if you didn't stay at the hospital, then where were you? You definitely weren't here. Spill."
Rolling my eyes, I let out a sigh as I sat on the bed and started taking off my shoes. "Come on, Maya. Enough with the interrogation. But if you *must* know, I spent the night at your brother's place."
Her eyes widened, and a grin spread across her face. "Oh, *interesting*. You were at Aiden's place, huh? So, did anything… *interesting* happen?"
I shook my head, pulled off my shoes, and set them aside. "Obviously not. We were just working on the project, I had wrecked."
"Sure, sure," she said, leaning back with a smirk. "I know you don't want to spill any juicy secrets."
I rolled my eyes again, grabbing my toiletries and towel. "Please, don't start imagining things. Nothing weird happened. I'm going to take a shower. I've got class at eleven."
She crossed her arms, giving me a teasing look. "Aiden and Raven, all alone in his apartment, huh? Sounds… *interesting*."
I paused at the bathroom door, looking back at her. "My God, Maya. Nothing happened. Enough with the teasing already."
She just laughed, raising her hands in mock surrender as I finally stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind me. The sound of her laughter echoed in my mind as I turned on the water, shaking my head with a slight smile. Maya's teasing was relentless, but I couldn't deny… maybe it was a little nice to be thought of that way, even if there was absolutely nothing going on between me and Aiden.
After my shower, I picked out something a little nicer than usual—a fitted top, a skirt that flared just enough, and a jacket to match. I ran a brush through my hair, smoothing it down before adding a few soft curls to frame my face. A touch of makeup followed—just enough to highlight my features without feeling overdone. As I looked in the mirror, I wondered if I'd put in too much effort. Was this… obvious? It felt silly to worry, but I couldn't shake the thought.
"Girl, it's already past ten!" Maya's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. "You're gonna be late!"
"Right!" I rushed out of the bathroom, grabbed a few stationery items, and stuffed them into my bag. "Thanks, Maya! You're a lifesaver!"
She waved me off, smirking. "Go get 'em, gorgeous."
I hurried out of the room, making my way across campus. Once I reached the main building, I glanced around, making sure I didn't accidentally bump into Sophie or Amelia. I didn't need that kind of distraction right now. As I approached the lecture hall, my phone buzzed. I pulled it out, seeing a text from Elias.
*Still waiting, princess.*
I felt a pang of guilt, realizing I'd forgotten to send him the meeting details. I quickly texted him the name of my school and the specific spot where we could meet, then slipped my phone back into my pocket, relieved that the professor hadn't arrived yet. A few moments later, another text came through from Elias.
*I won't need directions. I know the place.*
I frowned, typing back a quick reply. *How?*
*A friend of mine goes there,* he responded.
I shook my head, slipping my phone away as the professor finally walked in. The lecture was a blur—I tried to focus, but my mind kept wandering, anticipation building as the clock inched closer to the end of class.
Once it finally wrapped up, I slipped out of the hall and headed to the place I'd told Elias to meet me. As I entered the café, I scanned the room, looking for him. I was just about to text him again when someone tapped my shoulder. I turned, surprised to see Tyler standing there.
"Tyler! Hi."
"Oh, hey, Raven," he said. "I thought it was you. Sorry, we haven't seen each other around much."
"It's fine. I've been busy," I replied, trying to keep things light.
He nodded. "Yeah… And, uh, I wanted to say I'm really sorry about the whole USB thing. That was… not cool."
I shrugged, giving him a small smile. "It's cool. Aiden and I have been working on fixing it."
"Thanks for that," he said, relief evident in his eyes. Just as I was about to reassure him, my phone buzzed with a text from Elias: *I'm here.*
"Glad you two are fixing it," Tyler continued. "Aiden's actually—"
"Hey, dude." Aiden's voice cut him off, and we both turned to see him approaching. "Thought you were never going to come down from the car," Tyler said with a chuckle.
Aiden shrugged, glancing between us. "Well, you were taking your time, so I figured I'd check-in. Hey, Raven," he added, his gaze shifting to me. "What are you doing here?"
Before I could answer, a voice chimed in from behind me. "Hey, princess."
I turned, catching sight of Elias. He looked as composed and effortlessly stylish as always, a bit of mischief glinting in his eyes. "Hello," I greeted, a little flustered.
Aiden raised an eyebrow, looking between us, so I cleared my throat. "Uh, well, Aiden… I'm actually here to see him. Aiden, Tyler—this is Elias. Elias, meet Aiden and Tyler."
Elias waved, a slight smile tugging at his lips. "Nice to meet you both."
Tyler nodded back, and Aiden's expression remained neutral as he gave a polite nod. "Same."
"Well," Elias said, turning back to me, "I already got us a table." He pointed to a spot in the back, then offered me a quick grin. "I'll be waiting."
As he walked off, I turned to Aiden and Tyler, feeling a little awkward. Tyler gave me a friendly smile. "Good seeing you, Raven. But me and Aiden gotta get going."
"All right," I said, waving at them as we exchanged quick yet awkward goodbyes. Then, taking a breath, I made my way toward the table where Elias was waiting, wondering how this conversation would go.