The dining area buzzed with low laughter and clinking cutlery. The long tables glowed under warm string lights, the night breeze carrying the faint scent of roasted food.
Flora sat among her classmates, half listening to their chatter while stirring the soup in her bowl. Her mind drifted to the lakeside, the almost-kiss, the way Shane's voice had dipped low near her ear.
She felt her cheeks warm again.
"Still daydreaming?" a quiet voice asked.
She looked up. Liam had pulled out a chair across from her, a bottle of water in his hand. His eyes, calm yet too sharp for comfort rested on her face.
"Liam. You startled me," she said, forcing a smile.
He didn't smile back. "You've been distracted all evening. Everything okay?"
"I'm fine. Just tired."
His gaze lingered, unreadable. Then softly:
"Flora, you should be careful around Anderson."
The words made her pause. "What do you mean?"
"I don't think he's as harmless as he looks," Liam continued, his gaze steady on Shane, who was across the courtyard talking to the teachers. "You don't know what kind of people you can trust."
She laughed lightly, misunderstanding the concern. "you didn't come here to spy on me, right, Liam."
But he didn't laugh. His expression tightened the same guilt-shadowed look she couldn't name.
Flora blinked. "What?"
He shook his head. "Nothing. Just, don't let him get too close."
She stared at him, irritation rising. "You don't get to decide that, Liam. Whatever happens between me and Shane, it's my choice."
Liam didn't say anything, his face masked with mystery only he knows.
---
Later that night, the students gathered around a large bonfire outside the resort. The orange flames leapt high, casting flickering shadows across eager faces.
Grace, ever composed in her cream sweater and high ponytail, took charge. "Let's make this more fun," she said. "Truth or dar, no skipping turns."
Excited cheers followed. Bottles clinked, the circle tightened.
When it was Flora's turn, the bottle spun and stopped pointing directly at her. Grace's smile sharpened.
"Truth," Flora said carefully.
"All right," Grace said sweetly. "Do you like someone in this camp?"
A few students giggled. Flora froze, heat rushing to her cheeks.
Before she could speak, Grace continued, "Oh come on, don't act shy. Everyone's noticed how you follow our vice president around."
Murmurs rose. Someone snickered.
Flora's throat tightened. "That's not, Shane just__"
"Helps you because?" Grace pressed, enjoying the spectacle.
"That's enough," Liam said suddenly, his tone low but firm. "Don't drag her into your games."
Grace arched a brow. "And who are you to interrupt, exactly?"
Liam's stare hardened. "Someone who knows where to draw a line."
Flora bit her lip, fumbling for words. The heat of the bonfire felt unbearable.
The tension rippled, but Grace didn't back down. "This is a activity student council design to maintain bond between all sections.
Her words silenced the crowd.
"You shouldn't corner someone for your amusement", Flora said calmness resting in her voice, but her cheeks burned either from question or her own thoughts.
Gasps fluttered. Grace's smile faltered, but before she could answer, a colder voice sliced through the noise.
"That's enough, president."
Everyone turned. Shane stood at the edge of the circle, hands in pockets, glasses showed the shadow of firelight.
He didn't shout. He didn't need to. His authority rolled through the space like a wave.
"End the game," he said flatly.
"Vice President... I was only," Grace began.
"Your job as president is to lead, not instigate." His tone was low, calm, and dangerous. "Next time, think before using the council's name to humiliate someone."
The silence that followed was thick enough to hear the fire crackle.
Grace's composure crumbled. "Y-yes," she murmured, looking away.
Shane turned to Flora, eyes softening, completely different from the cold authority he showed just now.
"Go back to your room," he said. "You don't owe anyone an explanation."
Flora hesitated, lips parting, but the quiet dominance in his voice left no space for protest. She nodded and left, the whisper of her footsteps fading into the night.
As she disappeared into the resort's hallway, Shane's expression hardened again. He turned back toward Grace, his tone icy.
"Next time, remember your position before you use it to humiliate someone."
---
When the crowd finally dispersed, only Liam and Shane remained near the dying fire.
For a long while, neither spoke. The flames burned lower, throwing shifting light across their faces, one calm and unreadable, the other sharp and cold.
Liam broke the silence first.
"You play the perfect gentleman," he said quietly. "But I see through you."
Shane's eyes narrowed. "You should be more careful with your assumptions."
Liam's lips curved slightly, not quite a smile.
"I don't know what your intentions are with Flora, but I'm warning you___ stay away from her."
That drew Shane's full attention. His voice dropped.
"You think you can warn me?"
"Someone needs to," Liam replied evenly. "People like you cold, unpredictable, always leave someone hurt in the end. I won't let that happen again."
The last words were quieter, almost to himself, but Shane caught them.
"Again?" he repeated, eyes narrowing.
Liam didn't answer. He simply stepped closer, the tension between them taut, calm precision clashing with quiet enigma.
"Don't misunderstand," Liam said finally. "It's not jealousy. It's caution."
Shane's tone turned frost-sharp.
"Sure looks like jealousy to me."
For a second, neither moved two storms locked in silence. Then Liam turned away, his voice barely above the crackle of the fire.
"She's not someone you can toy with," Liam continued, his voice calm but cutting. "If you hurt her, you'll answer to me."
"I don't toy," Shane said, eyes glinting. "But I don't back off either."
After a long pause, Liam stepped back. "Just stay away from her."
Shane's gaze was cold, controlled. "You don't get to decide that."
Their eyes locked one last time before Liam turned and walked off, his hands clenched at his sides.
Shane stood there, his reflection caught in the flicker of firelight.
For a moment, the ice in his expression faltered something softer, dangerous, flickering beneath.
---
Flora, upstairs in her room, lay awake long after the firelight faded.
Outside, the night wind carried faint echoes of crackling wood and something else tension unspoken, promises unsaid.
She didn't know it yet, but two very different men had already drawn their lines around her.