"So... you and Mr. Tattoos, huh?"
I slammed the dorm door shut and groaned into my pillow dramatically. "Why is he everywhere, Ava? He shows up to my law class. My class. And then just—just—sits next to me like he owns the air I breathe!"
Ava, lounging on her bed with a face mask on and a spoonful of Nutella halfway to her mouth, raised an eyebrow. "And he didn't even smell like cigarettes today."
I paused. "…I noticed that."
"Oh, you noticed that, did you?" she said in the most annoying sing-song tone I'd ever heard. "Meilin Chen, did the royal bad boy clean up his act for you?"
I threw a pillow at her face. She dodged it like a pro.
"And he had his arm around your shoulder. Like, just there. While you were taking notes. Like you two were a thing."
"We're not a thing!"
Ava smirked. "Sure, and I eat salad."
I laughed despite myself, collapsing on my bed. "He's so... loud. Even when he doesn't say anything. He just looks at me like I'm a puzzle he wants to ruin."
Ava rolled over to face me. "He also looks at you like you're the only one in the room."
I stayed quiet. My heart was doing that thing again.
"And you looked back," Ava added, gently. "Don't deny it."
"Fine," I mumbled. "Maybe he's... not always awful."
Ava squealed like she'd been waiting for that exact sentence.
"But what about you, huh?" I sat up. "Austin Blake? Smirking at you like you're his next assignment?"
"Oh please," she said, waving it off, though her cheeks were suspiciously pink. "He's just a walking distraction."
"He called you a 'perk.'"
She scoffed. "I am a perk."
We both laughed until our stomachs hurt. I looked up at the glow-in-the-dark stars we'd stuck to the ceiling last week.
"I think I'm in trouble," I whispered.
Ava reached over, grabbed my hand. "That makes two of us."