Page 1 of Follow the Rhythm (Fairview City Omegaverse #2)

T he roof of my dorm was my favorite place at school.

My building was right at the edge of campus, so depending on which way I looked, I could either look over the tidy landscaping of St. Hildegard School of the Arts or out towards the woods that pressed close to the red brick wall that contained us.

It also provided a much-needed break from the other girls in my grade.

I wasn’t un popular, but I could only fake it so long before I needed an escape to take the edge off.

It felt like we were in constant competition with each other, and since I kept winning the prizes and praise, I knew they were all whispering behind my back.

But the best part of the roof was that Ellis had found a way to sneak up and hang out with me.

I wasn’t sure why he’d chosen me as someone worthy of hanging out with, so I tried not to think about it. I just hoarded each interaction to obsess over later.

The sun was just dipping below the tops of the trees when he arrived, making the jump from his dorm roof to mine look graceful.

I’d done a portrait of him for my final project this year, and Mr. Finch had called it “arresting.” It was a good word for Ellis.

He had loved sitting for the painting. I was proud of the way I’d captured his intensity, even if I hadn’t been able to replicate the exact blue of his eyes.

He was tall and elegant, with thick, straight black hair that hung to his chin, and those piercing, almond-shaped blue eyes.

I pulled out my earbuds and paused my music.

“You’re brooding, darling,” he said, taking his usual seat next to me.

My heart rate picked up like it did every time I caught a whiff of his orange and cinnamon scent.

He’d presented as an Alpha earlier that year, and his scent had intensified at a corresponding rate to my obsession with being around him.

I frowned. “I’m not brooding. I’m contemplating the futility of life.”

Ellis grabbed my phone. “The Smiths? You shouldn’t listen to ‘Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now’ on a rooftop. People might make assumptions.” He raised an eyebrow.

If I had to pick a reason Ellis and I clicked, it would be our taste in music.

He’d asked me what I was listening to on my third day at St. Hildegard’s, and after I’d stared at him stupidly for a full five seconds, I finally choked out “Beck.” He’d nodded approvingly and then launched into a monologue about how Odelay was overrated and Midnite Vultures was by far the superior album.

He was thrilled when I offered him an earbud so we could listen together.

Ellis was obsessed with music, which made sense since he was studying voice, guitar, and piano. I was obsessed too, but had absolutely zero musical talent, hence the fine art concentration.

“If I were really thinking about jumping, I’d choose ‘There Is a Light That Never Goes Out.’ Much more romantic,” I said.

“Shouldn’t we be celebrating rather than listening to sad new wave?” Ellis asked.

“ You can celebrate. You’re getting out of here and leaving me behind to rot,” I replied. Ellis was graduating in a week, and I still had a whole year of high school purgatory left.

“It’s hardly rotting,” Ellis snorted.

I gave him a wry look, then sighed. “At least we’ll get to hang out this summer,” I said, leaning back on my palms and turning my face to the last rays of the sun.

I’d convinced Aunt Natalie to let him come and stay with us for a couple of weeks after promising he wouldn’t make me a teen mom.

He had never even kissed me, so there was very little chance of that happening.

“About that…” Ellis said.

I turned to glare at him. “You can’t bail on me; we have tickets to see Young the Giant!”

“I’m sorry, darling, but I have a golden opportunity,” he said.

At first, I thought his slight British accent was an affectation to make himself even more interestingly attractive, but it was a legit byproduct of growing up there with his mom for the first seven years of his life. And I did love being called “darling.”

“What could possibly be more important than hanging out with me?” I joked, covering up the twang of hurt in my chest.

Ellis pulled me to his side. His scent wrapped around me, the orange notes crisper than usual. “You know the only thing that could take me from your side is a chance at fame and fortune,” he said.

“Yeah, right.”

Ellis squeezed me, then let me go again. “I’m going to London. There’s a pub that’s willing to let me play for tips, hopefully get my name out there.”

“London?” I asked too loudly. My heart started thundering. “Couldn’t you find a place in the city?” I asked, trying to keep the desperation out of my voice. Fairview City was just a few hours south of St. Hildegard, close enough that maybe he could visit. London was… a disaster.

“I wouldn’t have free rent in the city,” Ellis said. “My mum’s old friend is giving me a free room.”

My stomach dropped, and I gripped my phone tightly against the wave of panic that engulfed me. Gone. To London.

“Well. Good luck, then, I guess,” I said. The temperature had dropped along with the sun. May upstate was still chilly enough to need a sweater at night, and I pulled mine closer around me.

“Jessie, don’t be like that, darling,” he pleaded. “You’re supposed to be happy for me!”

“Do not call me Jessie,” I snapped. “Especially not when you’re abandoning me for the entire summer.”

Ellis didn’t reply right away. I forced myself not to look at him.

“It’ll probably, hopefully, be longer than just the summer.”

I held my breath, like maybe if I didn’t move too much, I could reverse time and keep this whole conversation from happening. The taste of blood surprised me when I bit the inside of my cheek against the prickling of tears. I did not cry, especially about a boy.

“Well, we’ll see. Maybe you won’t be the instant success you expect to be, and you’ll have to come crawling back.”

Ellis looked hurt, which had been the point, but then guilt hit me.

“Sorry,” I whispered. “That was a shitty thing to say.”

Ellis tilted his head. Twilight deepened the shadows under his cheekbones. He was so lovely it hurt to look at him. “Luckily, I know you didn’t mean it.”

I nodded and then looked down at my lap. “When do you leave?”

“Tomorrow,” he said softly.

“What? You’re not going to walk at graduation?” Panic throbbed in my chest.

“What’s the point? They’ll mail me my diploma.”

To stay with me for another week , I thought. Instead, I said, “True.”

“I am sorry to spring this on you; it all just happened in the last couple of days,” he said.

“It’s fine,” I said automatically. It wasn’t. I was so not fine.

“Jess, darling, please look at me.”

I forced myself to meet his intense gaze.

“I’m going to miss you,” he said. “So much. You’re an incredible friend.”

I rolled my eyes to deflect. “I’m obviously going to miss you, too, you jerk.”

“No, seriously. You’ve been the one thing that kept me sane here with all these rich, entitled assholes,” he said. We were both scholarship students, which gave Ellis a huge chip on his shoulder and me a desperation to be the best at everything.

“Same, I have no idea what I’m going to do next year without you,” I said.

Ellis grabbed my hands and squeezed them. “I’ll text you all the time, every day,” he promised.

“You’re terrible at texting me now when you’re in the same time zone.”

“That’s just because I can see you whenever I want. We can video chat, I can tell you all about my successes, and you can brag about being the best at oil painting or charcoal or whatever,” he said earnestly.

“Okay,” I said. “Sure.”

“Work with me here, Jess,” he pleaded.

“Yes, FaceTiming will be good,” I said, exasperated. Ellis always wanted everyone to be as enthusiastic as he was.

He smiled, and my breath caught. I smiled back because how could I not? He was so excited about his future. I could be happy for him, too. Or at least pretend to be.

The moment lengthened. This happened sometimes, moments where I was sure Ellis would lean in and finally, finally kiss me.

Even now, his scent had intensified somehow. I breathed in deeply, closing my eyes and leaning forward.

If he was ever going to kiss me, it had to be now, this last perfect moment before he left and everything changed.

His lips met my temple, and I tried not to crumple. “We need to get back inside for curfew,” he whispered into my hair. I suppressed a shiver.

“Yeah,” I agreed flatly and leaned away from him. Sister Georgie would kill me if I wasn’t in my room for lights out.

We stood up awkwardly, and then Ellis wrapped me in a hug. “I’ll come find you tomorrow before I leave,” he said. He released me, gave me a little wave, and then bounded across the roof to his dorm.

I pressed my nose to my sweater, breathing in his scent. I vowed not to wash it for as long as possible.