Chapter 1
Faye Sinclair glanced at the glowing screen of her phone and immediately regretted it.
9:47 a.m.
Her stomach dropped.
She had exactly thirteen minutes to make it across campus, catch the shuttle to the south building, and somehow arrive looking like a functioning college student instead of someone who had barely survived the night.
"Fantastic."
She shoved the phone into her pocket and broke into a jog, weaving through clusters of students who seemed to have all the time in the world. A pair of freshmen stopped in the middle of the walkway to take selfies. Someone nearly clipped her with a skateboard. Another student apologized after accidentally bumping her shoulder, but she barely heard him over the pounding inside her head.
The dull ache she'd been ignoring since dawn had grown into a relentless throb behind her eyes. Every burst of laughter, every honk from the road outside the campus gates, every ray of sunlight bouncing off the windows made it worse.
She should've gone back to bed after her alarm rang. Instead, she'd convinced herself she could survive on coffee, stubbornness, and the false hope that her professor might decide to postpone today's quiz. After spending the night finishing an assignment her professor had cheerfully labeled "easy" and memorizing formulas for a quiz she had absolutely no confidence in passing, she'd managed maybe three hours of rest. Four, if the accidental ten-minute nap she'd taken face-first on her economics textbook counted.
College was an outrageously expensive scam, and whoever invented it should be in jail.
Spoiler alert: life wasn't that kind.
The shuttle stop came into view just as a familiar hiss echoed through the air.
"No, no, no..."
The doors were already sliding open.
Panic lent speed to her aching legs as she sprinted the last few meters, backpack bouncing wildly against her shoulders. A few students glanced her way, but she ignored them, slipping through the doors seconds before they closed behind her.
She bent forward with her hands on her knees, drawing a slow breath while silently congratulating herself for making it.
One crisis down. About a hundred more to go before lunch.
Straightening, she scanned the crowded shuttle. Every seat was occupied, or so it seemed. Then she spotted a lone empty seat near the window, practically glowing like a reward for surviving the morning from hell.
Relief washed over her.
Finally... something had gone right that morning.
She threaded her way through the packed aisle, carefully sidestepping backpacks and avoiding the elbows of students who had clearly forgotten the concept of personal space. Her headache protested with every jolt of the moving shuttle, but she didn't care.
She was only a few steps away, close enough to reach out, close enough for her fingertips to brush the top of the seat.
Then someone slammed past her.
The force sent her stumbling into the nearest pole, and she barely caught herself before losing her balance. The stranger didn't even spare her a glance as he dropped into the seat she'd been reaching for, adjusted the strap of his backpack, and settled in like he'd been there all along.
For a moment, Faye could only stare. Then a short, humorless laugh escaped her.
"You're kidding."
The guy looked up at her, a faint crease forming between his brows.
"Is there a problem?"
Faye pointed at the seat. "Yeah. I was about to sit there."
He glanced down before looking back at her. "Looks like I got here first."
"By cutting in front of me." She gestured toward the pole she was still holding. "I almost fell, and you didn't even apologize."
His eyes flicked briefly to her hand before returning to her face.
"You didn't fall."
"That's your takeaway?"
"I'm just saying... you caught yourself."
Faye let out a sharp laugh. "Wow."
"What?"
"You nearly knocked me over, stole the last seat, and somehow you've convinced yourself you're the reasonable one."
A corner of his mouth twitched.
"I wouldn't say 'reasonable.' Just lucky."
"Lucky?"
"Last seat on the shuttle." He gave the seat a light pat. "Timing was on my side."
She stared at him in disbelief.
"You're unbelievable."
"I've heard that before."
She folded her arms. "Has anyone ever told you you're kind of a jerk?"
"Kind of?"
She blinked.
"Wow. So you admit it."
He shrugged. "Depends who's asking."
"Someone whose morning you've officially ruined."
He studied her for a moment before asking, "Bad day?"
"Does it look like I'm having a good one?"
"Not particularly."
For the briefest moment, she thought he might actually get up.
Instead, he leaned back against the window.
"Well... That's unfortunate."
Faye narrowed her eyes. She let out a slow breath, reminding herself that assaulting strangers before ten in the morning was generally frowned upon.
"Look," she said, trying again, "I've had a terrible morning. I haven't slept, my head feels like it's being used as a drum, and I was two seconds away from sitting down."
For one hopeful moment, she thought he'd finally do the decent thing. Instead, he looked at her with a hint of amusement and asked, "So... you're asking nicely?"
Faye stared at him. "Was any part of that unclear?"
"Just making sure."
"You know," she said, folding her arms across her chest, "most decent people would've offered the seat by now."
He gave an easy shrug. "Probably."
"You don't seem too bothered."
"Should I be?"
She let out a disbelieving laugh. "Seriously?"
Another shrug. "I'm sitting down. You asked. I said no."
"So that's your final answer?"
"Looks that way."
"Unbelievable."
"I've been called worse."
A quiet laugh rippled from somewhere behind them, but Faye refused to look. She wasn't about to give their unexpected audience the satisfaction of seeing her even more annoyed.
Faye rolled her eyes, instantly regretting it when the movement sent another sharp throb through her head. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "A little."
"A little?"
"You make it hard not to." His gaze lingered on her for a moment. "Your expressions keep changing every five seconds. It's... entertaining."
"My expressions?"
He gestured vaguely toward her face. "You were glaring at me a second ago. Now you look like you're trying to decide whether to yell at me or throw me off the shuttle."
She opened her mouth, closed it again, then tried once more, wondering how she'd managed to lose an argument with someone she'd known for less than a minute.
"I've known you for less than a minute."
“So I noticed."
"And you're already on my list."
One of his brows lifted. "Should I be worried?"
"Probably."
"What kind of list is it?"
"People I'd happily trip down a staircase."
He studied her for a second before letting out a quiet chuckle.
"Seems a little harsh."
"I haven't even started being creative yet."
A moment later, he calmly reached into his backpack, and hope flickered inside Faye, until he pulled out a pair of wireless earbuds instead.
"No."
He looked up at her, one brow lifting. "No?"
Faye pointed a finger at him. "Don't tell me you're about to ignore me."
"I wasn't planning to," he said evenly.
Relief flickered across her face, but it disappeared the moment he slipped one earbud into his ear.
"...Until now."
Her jaw fell open. "Seriously?"
Without a trace of guilt, he fitted the second earbud, tapped it once, and flashed her a small, almost apologetic smile.
"You're unbelievable," she said, throwing her hands up.
He gave a small nod. "I've heard that before."
"You can't just end a conversation like that!"
"Sure I can." He accompanied the words with an exaggerated sweep of his hand, silently declaring the conversation over.
He leaned back against the window, closed his eyes, and, just like that, dismissed her completely.
Faye tightened her grip on the overhead rail, silently spending the rest of the ride imagining increasingly creative ways to make his life miserable. Nothing illegal... probably.
By the time the shuttle rolled to a stop outside the university's south entrance, she was already squeezing past the students in front of her before the doors had fully opened.
The cool morning air hit her face as she stepped onto the sidewalk, and she let out a slow breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
She took a few steps away from the curb, rolling the stiffness from her shoulders. The headache still lingered, but at least she no longer had to look at the most insufferable person she'd ever met.
She'd barely taken a few steps when a familiar voice stopped her in her tracks.
"Hey."
Against her better judgment, she turned.
The seat thief stood just inside the open shuttle doors, one hand hooked around the overhead rail. He wasn't wearing the earbuds anymore.
He was looking directly at her, and for one ridiculous second, Faye thought he might actually apologize, until he lifted a hand and gave her a lazy little wave instead.
"Hope your day gets better."
Faye blinked, and for a brief moment she wondered if he was actually serious, but the grin tugging at the corners of his mouth gave him away, drawing a humorless laugh from her.
"Don't worry," she called back. "I'm sure karma's already looking for you."
He pressed a hand dramatically against his chest.
"That's cold."
"So is your personality."
A few nearby students snorted, and someone muttered, "Ouch."
The driver glanced at them through the mirror.
"Closing the doors," he warned.
The guy gave an exaggerated sigh before stepping farther inside.
"Guess this is goodbye."
"You can only hope."
The warning chime sounded, and as the doors began sliding shut, he flashed one last infuriating grin.
"See you around."
"Not if I see you first."
The doors slid shut between them, and after holding his gaze for exactly one second, Faye confidently raised her hand and extended her middle finger.
His eyes widened in exaggerated surprise before he burst into silent laughter behind the glass.
As the shuttle pulled away, Faye let her hand fall with an exasperated groan.
"Unbelievable."
Shaking her head, she turned toward the academic building, muttering under her breath about arrogant strangers, stolen seats, and the suspicious lack of consequences for people who clearly deserved them.
If there were any justice left in the universe, she'd never have to see that smug idiot again.
Unfortunately for Faye Sinclair...
The universe had an excellent sense of humor.