I told myself I wouldn't think about her.
That lasted exactly ten minutes.
By the time my next class started, I was already scanning the room like an idiot, hoping—no, expecting—to see Tamika again.
She wasn't there.
For some reason, that annoyed me.
"Relax," I muttered to myself, dropping into my seat. "It's just a girl."
"A girl you keep turning around for?"
I froze.
Slowly, I turned my head.
Tamika.
Sitting right behind me.
Again.
"Okay," I said, blinking. "That's actually creepy."
She smiled, completely unbothered. "You say that like this isn't normal."
"It's not," I shot back. "You just… appear."
"And you just forget," she replied, leaning forward slightly.
There it was again.
That tone.
Like she knew something I didn't.
Before I could ask, the lecturer walked in, cutting off whatever weird moment we were having.
"Group project," he announced.
The entire class groaned.
"Pairs of two. You'll be working together for the rest of the semester."
I didn't even have time to react.
"Perfect," Tamika said behind me.
I turned. "Don't even think about it."
Too late.
"I'll partner with him," she said confidently, raising her hand.
My heart did something very stupid.
The lecturer nodded. "Done."
"That's not fair," I whispered. "You didn't even ask me."
She leaned closer, her voice soft enough that only I could hear.
"I didn't need to."
"Why not?"
"Because," she said, her lips curving into that dangerous smile, "you always say yes to me."
I stared at her.
"I've never said yes to you."
She just tilted her head, studying me like I was the one who didn't make sense.
"Not yet," she said again.
That phrase.
Again.
Something about it made my chest tighten.
The class ended faster than I expected, and before I could escape, she was already walking beside me.
"So," she said casually, "library?"
"For what?"
"Our project," she replied. "Try to keep up."
"I don't even know what the project is."
"You will."
"Do you always talk like this?"
"Only when you're being slow."
I stopped walking. "I am not slow."
She turned, walking backwards now, facing me with that same playful confidence.
"Then catch up."
And just like that—
She grabbed my wrist.
Not tightly. Not forcefully.
Just enough.
But it was enough to send a strange, electric feeling through me.
I forgot how to speak.
Again.
The library wasn't far, but somehow, the walk felt longer.
Quieter.
Different.
She let go when we reached the entrance, like it meant nothing.
Like it didn't just completely mess with my head.
Inside, she picked a table like she'd been there a hundred times before.
"Sit," she said.
I did.
Immediately regretted it.
"Okay," I said. "We need to talk."
"We are talking."
"No, I mean actually talk."
She rested her chin on her hand, watching me with soft amusement.
"Go on."
"Who are you?" I asked.
A pause.
Not long.
But long enough.
Then she smiled again.
But this time…
It didn't reach her eyes.
"That," she said quietly, "is a dangerous question, Felix."
My name.
The way she said it—
Like it meant something more.
"I didn't tell you my name," I said slowly.
She didn't answer.
Instead, she stood up.
"Come on," she said.
"Where are we going now?"
"You'll see."
"Why do you keep saying that?"
She glanced back at me, eyes softer this time.
"Because," she said, "some things are better when you experience them."
And somehow…
Even though nothing about this made sense—
I stood up and followed her anyway.
Because whatever this was…
It didn't feel like an accident anymore.