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‘Fuck!’ Juniper trudged through her room, stopping at her surprisingly empty desk.

Alert, now, he scanned the room for some sign of an intruder.

‘How the fuck has someone raided your room?’ He nudged an empty packet of Space Raider crisps with his foot. ‘And why did they leave their rubbish?’

‘That’smyrubbish. My room looked like this before, which is why you’re not allowed in it. Get out!’

Well, that was a relief. Sort of. He didn’t budge, instead saying, ‘You know, I’m used to feeling quite confused around you, but you might have to fill me in this time.’

Defeated, she slumped onto a pile of library books stacked on her chair. ‘They found my hamster.’

‘Eh? Cerberus?’ Juniper had treated him to a picture of the little guy the other day. The hamster looked more like a tiny dormouse, but saying so had got him into trouble.

Her head fell into her hands and she gave a muffled hum of confirmation.

‘How did he even get here?’

She said something like, ‘I’muggled’im’na’ty’it.’

‘Pardon?’

She groaned and slapped her hands down on her thighs. ‘I smuggled him in a tiny bit.’

‘What? Pets aren’t allowed in halls!’

‘I know. That’s why the smuggling part was necessary.’ One of the books fell off the chair, and she made no move to pick it up, instead glaring at it like it was responsible for all of her woes.

Aiden could only shake his head in disbelief. ‘Why on earth would you do that?’

‘Because!’ She waved in exasperation. ‘My mum and dad wouldn’t look after him properly, and living here is kind of miserable! I couldn’t just leave him behind.’

‘So now you’re in trouble.’ He would have laughed if tears weren’t rolling down her cheeks. Instead, he perched on the edge of the bed,their knees clashing as he rolled the chair closer to him. It soon got caught on a pair of leggings. ‘You never fail to surprise me. You really don’t.’

‘It’s not funny.’ She pressed her palms into her eyes, but he tore them away quickly, pulling her closer.

‘I know. I’m not laughing. Yet. I might later, when we get Cerberus back.’

‘How?’ she whispered. ‘They won’t let him back into halls. They might kick me out for this. I’m already…’ She bit her lip suddenly and turned away.

‘Already what?’

‘Nothing. Failing, probably.’

‘Yeah, that top grade you got last semester is really the nail in the coffin,’ he retorted sarcastically. And then he scanned the room as though he might find a solution to the problem under all the mess. He wasn’t necessarily surprised by it – he wasn’t the tidiest himself – but it did make him feel overwhelmed in such a small space. There was really only one thing he could think of, but that would require something he wasn’t sure he wanted.

And yet he’d do anything to help her, knowing that she must’ve felt pretty fucking shitty to let him see her like this.

He wiped the tears from her flushed cheeks with the pad of his thumb. ‘I’ll take care of Cerberus. He can stay with me until you can sort something out.’

She scoffed. ‘You hate him.’

‘I don’t hate him.’

‘You said he looks like a rat!’

‘A mouse. Mice are cute… to some people.’ He winced. ‘At least this way, you can come and see him anytime you want.He’ll be close by.’Andthat would mean her seeing him, too. Not that that was on his mind. He definitely wasn’t using Cerberus to win over his owner. That would be ridiculous and also selfish. And had he mentioned ridiculous?

She tilted her head, considering. The tears, at least, had stopped. ‘Why?’