The next day at campus felt… off.
For Zara, at least.
She'd told herself she wouldn't think about Sky after what happened in the hospital. She told herself he wasn't worth the mental space. She told herself she didn't care.
But somehow, she'd walked straight into class that morning scanning the room for him like it was instinct.
Nothing.
His seat — the one tucked in the far left corner — was empty.
She caught Henry's eye across the room. He mouthed still absent and shrugged, but she just rolled her eyes and looked away.
Still absent. Still avoiding. Still… whatever he was doing.
The lecturer droned on, his voice muffled by the chatter of students flipping pages and scrolling through notes. Zara tried to focus, but every time she wrote something down, her pen seemed to move slower, her mind drifting back to that moment in the hospital.
That look.
It wasn't just cold. It was… guarded. Like a door slammed shut in her face.
By lunch, she and Henry sat under their usual tree near the campus courtyard. Henry was halfway through a chicken wrap, watching the basketball court where some first-years were practicing.
"You're quiet today," Henry said through a mouthful of food.
"I'm fine."
"You're lying."
She groaned. "It's nothing, Henry. I just—" She stopped, fiddling with the straw in her drink. "I don't get him. I don't get Sky. One minute he's… well, I don't know what he is, but the next minute he's acting like I'm the most annoying person on Earth."
Henry smirked. "Maybe you are."
She smacked his arm, but a smile tugged at her lips before she could stop it. "I'm serious. Do you think I did something to him? Like, maybe I said something—"
"Zara," Henry said firmly. "You've barely talked to the guy. If he's cold, that's on him, not you."
She wanted to believe that. But it was hard to let it go.
---
Across town, Sky sat in the hospital cafeteria, pushing untouched food around his plate. His grandmother's surgery had been successful — the fracture repaired — but the word cancer still rang in his ears like an alarm that wouldn't stop.
The doctors had outlined a treatment plan. Chemo. Medication. Checkups. All necessary, all expensive.
He'd spent the morning on calls — government aid, charities, old contacts of his father's — but every answer seemed to circle back to the same cold reality: not enough money.
He leaned back, exhaling sharply. His hands rubbed over his face, and for a moment, he let the weight of it all sink in. He was twenty-one, barely keeping up with his classes, and now the only family he had left needed him to become… everything.
Dropping out of school to work more hours wasn't off the table.
---
Later that week, Sky finally came back to campus.
It wasn't because he wanted to. It was because the hospital bills were growing, and missing too many classes would ruin his grades. He needed his scholarship to survive — literally.
When he walked into the lecture hall, conversations hushed for a beat. It wasn't intentional, but after being gone for two weeks, his presence felt… noticeable.
He slid into his usual seat without looking at anyone. But out of the corner of his eye, he could see Zara a few rows ahead, whispering something to Henry.
He didn't need to hear to know she was talking about him.
---
That afternoon, the library was quieter than usual. Zara had gone there to study for a makeup assignment, Henry tagging along but quickly getting distracted with his phone.
They were leaving when she stopped, spotting Sky at the far end of the hallway outside the library. He was leaning against the wall, talking into his phone, his voice low but urgent.
She didn't mean to eavesdrop. Not really. But his tone made her pause.
"…No, I can't get that much in a week. I already asked… Look, I'll find a way. She's not going without treatment."
Her steps slowed.
"I'll sell it if I have to. I don't care. She's all I've got left."
Zara's brows furrowed. She? His grandmother, maybe? She took another quiet step closer, heart thudding.
But before she could hear more, Sky turned — catching sight of her.
His expression hardened instantly. Without a word, he ended the call, brushed past her, and walked away.
Zara stood there, frozen between confusion and curiosity.
Who exactly was this guy? And why did she suddenly feel like there was a whole story she wasn't supposed to know?
---