°•°•°•°
🕷️ KIERAN 🕷️
.
Marcus was the first one to step into the room. Adrian followed behind him, already talking before the door was fully shut.
Kieran was seated near the window, one leg bent, elbow resting on his knee. A cigarette burned slowly between his fingers.
Marcus glanced around the room, then frowned slightly. "Why does it smell like paint?"
Adrian waved it off. "Probably one of his weird hobbies again."
Their eyes moved to the far side of the room, landing on the canvas.
Kieran's fingers tightened slightly around the cigarette as Marcus approached the canvas.
Adrian followed. "What is it?"
Marcus tilted his head. "Since when do you paint people?"
"Yeah. Thought you only did abstract stuff. Or whatever angry lines this is." Adrian snorted.
The painting wasn't finished. The face was still incomplete, but the shape, the posture, the way the hair fell around the shoulders, it was all clear enough.
"Why does this look awfully familiar?"
"Everyone looks familiar. It's a school full of people, stupid."
"No," Adrian pointed at the canvas. "This isn't random. This is someone."
"Drop it." Kieran finally spoke, his tone flat.
"I've seen her before in the normal dorms. Who could it be..."
Marcus looked at Kieran carefully now. "Since when do you paint people who actually exist?"
Kieran stood up. "Get out."
Adrian blinked. "What?"
"Both of you," Kieran said. "Now."
Adrian raised his hands slightly. "Relax. I'm not judging. I'm just saying it's new."
"You're done here." He turned away from them.
"Whatever. You're weird today."
....
°•°•°
🪷LYRA🪷
.
Classes ended quietly. Just the usual sounds of students packing up and footsteps filling the hallways. Sienna hadn't shown up all day, because she was feeling a bit under the weather.
Lyra adjusted her bag on her shoulder and stepped outside, heading toward the dorms.
The sun was warm out. Students were scattered around the courtyard, some talking and some sitting.
She passed the main fountain and slowed without meaning to. Someone was lying beside it. Xavier.
He was stretched out on the stone edge, with one arm folded under his head and the other holding a small white flower. A lily.
He wasn't doing anything with it, just turning it slowly between his fingers, staring at it like he had nowhere else to be.
The sunlight casting a warm glow on his face in a way that made him look unreal and relaxed. Nothing like the intense player everyone screamed about during practice.
Lyra stared for a while and before she could turn away, he looked up.
Their eyes met. She hiccupped, it slipped out before she could stop it.
Xavier blinked, then smiled slightly, clearly amused.
They stared at each other for a few seconds too long. Lyra felt her face warm and immediately shifted her grip on her books, turning to leave like nothing had happened.
"Hey," he called.
She stopped.
Xavier sat up and got to his feet, walking closer to where she stood. He didn't keep his distance though, he stopped right in front of her, close enough that she could smell his cologne.
"Sorry about earlier," he said easily. "The ball."
"That...it's okay. Really."
"You sure? That must have scared you."
"I'm fine." There was a brief pause, silence weighing in their midst.
"You're new," he said, more statement than question.
She nodded. "Yeah."
"Thought so. I remember faces." He tilted his head. "If you don't mind me asking… why'd you move?"
"I wanted a change of environment." she said simply.
He nodded, and then lifted the flower he'd been holding and, before she could react, gently tucked it behind her ear, brushing her hair aside in the process. His touch was light and careful, like he wasn't trying to scare her off.
"There," he said with a grin.
Lyra tightened her hold on her books, pressing them closer to her chest.
"Keep it safe," he added, stepping back.
She didn't respond. She just watched as he picked up his bag from the fountain ledge, slung it properly over his shoulder, and walked off like that was a totally normal thing to do.
Lyra stood there long after he was gone, fingers hovering near the flower.
---
By the time Lyra got back to the dorm, the sun was already dipping lower. She pushed the door open and stepped inside, dropping her bag on the chair by her bed.
Sienna was sitting cross-legged on her bed, scrolling through her phone, hair pulled up in a loose bun. She looked up the moment Lyra entered.
"Okay," Sienna said slowly, eyes narrowing. "I like the new look."
"What look?"
Sienna tilted her head, tipping her chin. "Don't play dumb. It suits you."
Lyra reached up instinctively, her fingers brushing against something soft near her ear. The flower.
"Oh," she said quietly. "Yeah."
She took it out carefully and looked at it in her palm. It still looked fresh, not wilted at all. She hadn't even noticed she'd kept it the whole walk back.
"See? I knew it. You come back glowing and expect me not to notice?" Sienna's grin widened.
Lyra shook her head, sitting down on her bed. "It's nothing."
"Mhm. Sure."
Lyra pulled out her phone, mostly to change the subject. She tapped the screen, ready to text her aunt like she'd been trying to do for days.
"That's weird," she muttered.
Sienna glanced up. "What?"
"There's still no reception," Lyra said, frowning at the screen. "I haven't been able to reach my aunt for days now."
She refreshed it again. Nothing changed.
"No bars?" Sienna asked casually.
"None. It's been days."
Sienna shrugged and went back to her phone. "Yeah, that happens."
"All the time?"
"Pretty much," Sienna said. "The network here is trash. Everyone complains about it at first. You'll get used to it."
Lyra stared at her phone for a moment longer before locking the screen.
"Oh," She placed the flower carefully on her desk instead of throwing it away.
"Shut up!" Sienna suddenly jumped up from her bed. "You… you…" Sienna screamed, pointing at Lyra like she'd just uncovered a crime.
Lyra froze. "What… what?"
"You… Xavier freaking touched you!" Sienna practically shouted, wobbling on her feet. "That flower..."
"What do you mean?"
Sienna flung her phone at her, shoving the screen toward Lyra's face. "Look!"
Lyra squinted at the screen. It was a post and it showed a picture of Xavier standing so close to her with his hand on the side of her face.
"What is this ..how-"
"Okay, let me break it down. This is Ravencrest's app, it's the school's private network. And only the upper-class students or privileged ones can post, so they control what everyone sees. It's more of an 'exclusive' social tool rather than a normal social media platform. Basically, the whole school is watching. Plus it doesn't require internet."
"This… this is real? People can see this?"
"Like I said earlier, the network here is trash so this app tracks everything, events, gossip, cute moments, practically your life if you're lucky… or unlucky!"
Lyra stared, holding her phone like it might bite her. "And… no one told me about this?"
"That's because you're new, Lyra. And newbies don't get the handbook. But guess what?" Sienna leaned in conspiratorially, eyes sparkling with mischief, "you just officially entered Ravencrest's gossip radar. And heads up, people are going to hate you for getting that close to Xavier. No one's ever been that close before. You'll see."
"Hate me… for that?"
"Welcome to Ravencrest, Lyra. You're officially on everyone's radar now."