Kai Ashford's POV
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She walked in like a storm in glitter.
Again.
Sky Ren was late. As always.
Talking to three people at once. Smiling like she hadn't tripped on the stairs five minutes ago. Her laugh echoed through the lecture hall, sharp and warm and way too loud for 9 a.m.
She wasn't even trying to be the center of attention.
She just… was.
And everyone wanted a piece of her.
"Sky! Over here!"
"Sit next to me!"
"Did you get my text?"
I turned a page I hadn't read, jaw tight.
It was exhausting just existing near her.
And then she did it.
She grinned—right at me—and started walking toward the last row. Toward me.
Of course, she tripped halfway up the stairs, arms flailing, hair flying everywhere like a black curtain of chaos. She caught herself on the railing, then just laughed, brushing it off like gravity had personally challenged her and lost.
I looked away.
I was not amused.
Not even a little.
She slid into the seat next to me with a dramatic sigh, backpack dropping to the floor. Her hair took up half the desk. Again.
"You're in a mood," she said, poking my arm. "You didn't even say hi. Rude."
"I don't say hi," I muttered.
"Not to me you don't," she pouted, then leaned in closer. "Which is exactly why I'm sitting here. You're the only person in this school I'm not friends with. That's unacceptable."
"Maybe I prefer it that way."
"No, you don't."
I turned to look at her. Big mistake.
Her eyes were shining like she knew something. Like she'd already decided we were best friends or soulmates or lab partners for life. Her lips curled in a smug little smile.
She was wearing pink lip gloss.
Of course she was.
"I'm persistent," she warned with a wink.
I wanted to groan.
Instead, I looked down at my notes—and instantly regretted it. She'd somehow spilled glitter on my binder.
"Why are you sparkling?" I snapped.
"I don't know. My moisturizer might've been highlighter," she said innocently.
I blinked.
What did that even mean?
Then some guy walked by—blond, fake-smiling, clearly trying to flirt—and she waved at him. Waved. All sunshine and sweetness and "Hey, Ryan! Love the hoodie!"
He grinned back like he'd just won the lottery.
I felt something unpleasant spike in my chest.
What the hell was that?
I didn't even like her.
She was loud. Messy. Relentlessly happy. A walking, talking rainbow explosion.
And she was mine to be annoyed by.
Not Ryan's.
Not anyone's.
She turned back to me, completely unaware. "What?"
"Nothing," I muttered.
But it wasn't nothing.
It was a problem.
A her-shaped, glitter-covered, chaos-laced problem.
And I wasn't sure how long I could pretend I wasn't already losing.