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T he next night, sitting at dinner, Jax kicks me under the table. “Would you stop staring at the baseball team ?”

“It’s not the baseball team.” I dip another chicken nugget in catsup and gesture toward their table with it. “There’s only like, eight of them over there. It’s part of the baseball team .”

“It makes me feel a little weird when you size up other guys in front of me,” he says. “And also, I think you’re making them feel weird too, you creeper .”

I kick him back. “They like being noticed .”

But really, I was looking at those ruddy-cheeked boys with the broad shoulders and wondering: could I like one of them instead ?

I don’t see it happening. I can’t date Jax and yet, I can’t imagine dating anyone else. I’ll probably just be alone forever. That’s what happens when you’re a coward, right ?

“Are you alright?” Jax asks .

“Yeah. Great.” I look at him like he’s nuts .

“You were doing that thing where you bite down on your lower lip,” he catches his lip with his teeth, “and stare off into space. It worries me .”

His eyes cross slightly as he imitates me, and I want to tell him, “I don’t even know why I’m in love with you.” Instead, I roll my eyes. “Lord forbid I think about something else for a second instead of being focused on you .”

“Hello?” He gestures to the baseball team. “You are not focused on me !”

If only he knew .

After dinner, Jax and I stroll into the residence hall lobby .

“Where are you going?” I ask, not really wanting to go back to my own room. I’m bad at concentrating on my homework. I think maybe the fight-or-flight instincts I picked up in the Far works against me when I’m staring down a row of antiderivatives .

“I’m going to this outdoors club meeting,” he says .

“Outdoors club? Since when are you outdoorsy ?”

“This is college, Landon. Time to try new things .”

“But for most people, that means beer .”

“Eh,” he says .

I hesitate, but I am not really a camping person. And I don’t want to be that pathetic girl that tags along wherever, as long as she’s following the right boy. Would I do ‘Outdoors Club’ on my own? No, no I would not .

“I’ll see you later,” I tell him .

There’s a faint flicker of disappointment across his face .

“Lots of homework to do,” I add. “I can’t flunk out. You need me .”

“I wouldn’t let you flunk out,” he tells me .

“Pshh, we both know I’m the smart one .”

He rolls his eyes. “That’s a contentious subject. But anyway, I’m also the one who studied all during high school .”

“I do hear that helps,” I admit .

“What are you having a hard time with ?”

“Bio,” I say. “And Calc. I just …”

“Didn’t pay attention in high school?” he fills in helpfully .

“Can never settle down, is what I was going to say .”

“Well, let’s meet up tomorrow,” he says. “I don’t know if I’d be any help in Bio since I’m not taking it, but Calc? No worries. You’ll get it , Ash .”

“Thanks,” I say. He used my first name. And he stands there looking at me, despite our banter, with warm concern in those brown eyes. He’s the boy who likes me even when I say things like I’m the smart one. How do you pass that up ?

“Well,” he says, “ Night .”

“Good night.” I head towards the door for the stairwell, then turn around. “Breakfast tomorrow? 8 : 30 ?”

“You’ve got it,” he said. “Bring your book .”

I duck into the stairwell before Jax can see me smiling. Something about him just makes me happy .

* * *

W hat doesn’t make me happy is walking into my room and finding the weird boy from earlier sitting on my bed .

I freeze in the doorway, my heart suddenly beating so fast that I can’t draw a full breath into my lungs. He’s wearing all black, down to those black motorcycle boots again. His black jeans and cable knit sweater hug his broad shoulders and leanly muscled frame closely .

He meets my eyes evenly. “Don’t freak out .”

“You want me to not freak out?” I hold the door open with my shoulder, half in and half out. I glance into the empty hall. Some of the doors are propped open, so at least I’m not alone. “Here’s a pro tip: if you don’t want a girl to freak out, don’t sneak into her room .”

“I wanted to talk to you,” he says, as if that’s totally reasonable .

“Okay. There’s phones, email, public spaces. No need to be a stalker .”

“I’m not stalking you.” The expression on his face is miffed. Of course, how rude of me to act as if the boy who broke into my room might have some nefarious purpose. “I had to talk to you about the haunting here on campus. I can’t do that in a public space, now can I ?”

“ Why not ?”

“Because we don’t let civilians know there are ghosts out there ?”

“ Why not ?”

“Because they can’t handle it,” he says impatiently .

I want to ask how he knows, because that seems like a pretty arrogant thing to say–- we can handle it, they can’t—and what kind of jackass says civilians anyway. But there are even more important questions .

“What do you want?” I demand .

“I can’t talk to you while you’re in the hallway .”

“The hell you can’t,” I say. “No one can hear you. The hallway is clear. But I’m not closing us in a room together when I don’t know your name, why you’re following me, or why I should trust you .”

He watches me steadily for a second. He has bright green eyes, the kind with wild variation in the hue; almost as dark as his iris at the perimeter, a brilliant light green in the center. They’re gorgeous eyes, heavily lashed. His hair is thick-cut and mussed, dark blond. He could be a model .

Boys that pretty aren’t trustworthy .

He shakes his head, disbelief written across his obnoxiously pretty face. “Sure, here goes. Best make sure we aren’t overheard, or your new barracks mates are going to look at you funny all semester .”

“It’s called a residence hall,” I say .

“Sorry, I didn’t know,” he says. “I’m not college material. I have too much to do with my life .”

“I think you and I have different takes on what it means to be college material .”

“Probably.” He leans forward, bracing muscular forearms on his legs. “Here’s the thing, girl. There’s something bad on your campus .”

“A poltergeist?” I don’t use the Hunter abbreviation, geist , because supposedly hunting poltergeists is this guy’s world. I don’t want to sound like I’m trying too hard .

“I think so, but that’s the problem. We can’t get close enough to it to figure out what it is, or how to get it to move along out of our world .”

I stare at him, waiting for him to go on .

“All right,” he says. “Let’s start the beginning. So we came here — ”

“That’s not actually the beginning,” I said. “Who is we? Who are you ?”

“My name is Luke Chamberlain. We means me and my friend, Maverick .”

“You have a friend named Maverick ?”

“You’re criticizing, Ashley? Your parents sure didn’t try hard.” The corner of his mouth quirks up, and the smile softens his asshole-ish-ness, just a little .

“And you travel around…” I prompt, waving a hand at him to hurry up. I’m so restless my legs are jiggling; I want to go out for a run, but the things I know about have ruined night-running for me .

“Exorcising demons and generally saving the world,” he finishes .

“From the goodness of your heart? Or have you found a way to monetize ?”

“Is that important ?”

“Yes.” I don’t know that I would trust someone who claimed to take on a dirty, scary, dangerous job from the goodness of their hearts .

He snaps his fingers in the air. “Hey, Blue Eyes. Stay with me. On task… you don’t need to worry about how I’m paying for my hotel room. The point is, I’m here to protect you and the other co-eds from the dark stuff .”

I shake my head. “If you’re here to protect us, why are you bothering me ?”

“There’s gratitude for you .”

“Sorry,” I say drily. “But I still have to wonder why you’re sneaking up on me in coffee shops and going all B Kerin’s face, a pretty smile surrounded by long blond hair, looks back at me .

He doesn’t have to say it. He’s not asking me to help him; he’s asking me to help the next Kerin .

“This sounds like a wild goose chase.” I’m not protesting my involvement. I’m just laying out the issues so we can talk through them. “You don’t even know what you’re looking for .”

“I’m rushing Kappa Omega,” he says. “It’s late to join rush, but we found some strings to pull …”

“Shouldn’t that make it easy for you to protect the next girl? Why do you need me ?”

“Because,” he says grudgingly, “I don’t hear the dead. I’m not a psychic. We need one, and we need one at Kappa Omega parties and hanging around the house .”

“ Why ?”

“I can’t make this ghost appear,” he says. “I can’t figure out who it is so I can send it off to the afterlife. But you …”

“You think the ghost won’t be able to resist me .”

“I’m surprised he hasn’t found you anyway, now that there’s a medium right down the street. Normally ghosts flock like moths to that psychic flame .”

The KO house is just two blocks away from my dorm. I don’t much like the idea of a poltergeist with a penchant for murdering girls looming over my bed at night. “You also think the ghost won’t be able to resist wanting to kill me .”

“Well yeah,” he says. “ That too .”

“Great,” I say .

“Don’t worry, Ash,” he says. “I’ll be there with you every step of the way .”

“I’m not sure that makes me feel any better .”

He crosses his arms and flashes me the first smile I think I’ve seen. It’s cocky as hell, rounding his already-pronounced cheekbones. But it’s also pretty cute .

“It should,” he promises me. “I might not be college material, but sweetheart, you’ll find I’m pretty good in a fight .”

I pull open the door to my room and wave him out. “Good news, sweetheart . So am I .”

He doesn’t go, though. “You’ll do it ?”

“Yeah, of course I’ll do it,” I say impatiently .

You don’t get to deny your gifts when people need help. They’re not your gifts. They pass through you, but don’t belong to you .

I wish my gifts were supermodel cheekbones and a charming personality. I’d probably stay a lot safer .

Luke starts planning how we’ll break into the frat to try to find poltergeist traces. It’s Hell Week for the frat. The guys rushing will be running around like fools, trying to steal something, and the brothers will try to catch them. The house should be empty then. It’s the perfect time for Luke and me to slip and find a ghost .

“I’ll get away from them,” Luke tells me at the end of the plan. “We’ll go in together. All right ?”

“Yeah, of course.” I’ve never gone into a haunted house without my sister and her guys. While I’m sure I could, I don’t intend to start lone-wolfing it unless I have to. There’s brave and there’s stupid, and I intend to stay on one side of that line .

“You’re like half-civilian,” he added. “It’s hard for me to trust you not to do something stupid. With good intentions, though .”

“It’s hard for me to trust you not to do something stupid,” I tell him tartly, picking his knives off the bed to hand back to him. They’re surprisingly heavy in my hands. “Given that you’re half idiot .”

To my surprise, he grins .

“You’re not wrong,” he says easily. The way his smile crinkles his eyes at the corner makes him more than gorgeous. He’s cute, the kind of cute that makes butterflies rise in my stomach . “Kind of have to be half-idiot, to stay in this game .”

“Then why do you do it?” I ask .

“I don’t know.” He stops with his hand on the doorknob and glances back at me. “Why are you ?”

He doesn’t say goodbye. He ducks his broad-shouldered, powerful frame out the door and closes the door behind him .

The door softly clicks shut. It’s an anticlimactic exit. That man just changed something in my life. I don’t know yet how things are going to unfold, but I can feel it in my bones .

I was just getting used to my new life. Now I have the restless sense that nothing is ever going to be quite the same .