The silence of Hell University's courtyard carried a strange, suffocating weight that night, as if something unseen had begun to shift, and for the first time since she arrived, Zein Shoin didn't feel entirely in control of herself.
Her thoughts weren't sharp, weren't steady—they slipped through her grasp no matter how tightly she tried to hold them, and that alone irritated her more than anything else. She stood still, pretending nothing had changed, until a familiar presence stepped into the dim light, calm and unshaken as always.
Ace Craige had found her.
"Go back," she said, her voice even.
"No," he replied without hesitation.
"I'm not asking," she added, finally turning to face him.
"And I'm not leaving," he said.
The air between them tightened, the distance suddenly feeling smaller than it actually was.
"This isn't your problem," she said.
"You are," he answered.
Zein's expression hardened slightly.
"Don't say that," she said.
"Then stop pretending you're fine," he replied.
"I am fine," she insisted.
"Lie," he said calmly.
Her breath caught for a fraction of a second.
"You don't get to call me that," she said.
"I just did," he replied.
A pause followed—long, heavy, and impossible to ignore.
"Why are you doing this?" she asked, her voice quieter now.
"Because you're not okay," he said.
Zein held his gaze, searching for something she couldn't name.
"…say that again," she said softly.
"No," he replied.
Silence fell again.
And this time—
It didn't feel empty.
"…it hurts," she admitted.