Theo's POV
The air was crisp, the kind of London chill that bit through jackets and made your breath fog. Austin and I were leaning against the railings just outside the old library tower—our usual post-class haunt—when I spotted them. The two girls.
Meilin Chen. Her laugh echoed down the pathway like a melody you couldn't forget. Ava was beside her, arms linked, both of them bundled in oversized hoodies and giggling about something ridiculous. Probably us.
Austin nudged me. "Our favorite firecracker and her loudmouth best friend."
"Didn't know angels took night walks," I muttered, a smirk tugging at the corner of my mouth. "Shame if someone... followed them."
Ava spotted us first. Her eyes widened, and she elbowed Meilin, who turned—and promptly stopped walking.
"Are you stalking us now?" Ava called, mock annoyance in her voice.
Austin grinned. "We call it coincidental supervision."
Meilin folded her arms. "Coincidental supervision... every night?"
"Just making sure London's safe for little scholarship girls," I said, pushing off the railing, unlit cigarette dangling from my lips.
Her gaze locked on it immediately. "Seriously?"
I didn't get a word out before she marched up to me, plucked it from my mouth like it belonged to her, and tossed it into the nearest trash bin.
"Still disgusting," she muttered.
I blinked. She wasn't even mad—just... disappointed.
"You smell disappointment, sweetheart?" I murmured, tone teasing but eyes locked on hers.
"You were doing so well," she huffed, arms crossing again. "No more."
I leaned in a little, the distance between us shrinking. "Guess you inspire good behavior. Dangerous, you know."
Her cheeks pinked under the streetlamp. She didn't back away—but she didn't answer either. Her silence said enough.
Behind us, Austin and Ava were lost in their own back-and-forth, the flirting more obvious now, bolder.
Meilin turned on her heel. "We're going back."
"Then we'll walk behind you," I said easily, falling into step beside her.
"Why?"
"Because now I'm curious what other bad habits you want me to break."