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Roxxi shook her head, ponytail swishing. “Isn’t it too soon for that? No flyers are up yet, or decor. You know how crazy the town gets when those banners drop.”

She made a good point. It was close to starting, though. Maybe whoever was in the mask decided to get a jump on things. I wasn’t sure what the hell was going on.

“In what world would you guys be targets?” Layla asked, perplexed.

Ashton looked at her funny. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“She’s saying our status puts us above college traditions,” Cloe replied briskly.

Layla turned toward her, eyes wide. “That’s not—.”

The first warning bell echoed across campus, cutting her off and ending the conversation.

“Shit.” Roxxi gave my hand a quick squeeze. “We’ll have to circle back to this. You know my classroom is in the most remote part of campus, and I can’t be late again. Mr. Torrance has a hair up his ass lately, and he’s too old to fuck for an A.”

She darted past, already halfway across the bridge and calling something over her shoulder to a girl we only kind of knew, who was jogging awkwardly with a too-heavy bag.

“Did she just tell that girl to ‘run faster like her GPA depended on it’?” Xander asked, biting back laughter.

I grinned around my straw.

“See you guys in a few,” Ari said with a giggle.

She walked off in the direction she needed to go, her long dark hair cascading down her back, arms hugging her bag that held her tablet and laptop to her chest, brown eyes focused ahead.

Layla shifted beside me. “Should we really be splitting up after what just happened?”

Cloe shook her head. “I think we should be more concerned about why they were allowed to roam campus like that in the first place, before things have officially started.” She removed her fashionable glasses and slipped them into a case.

“Crowsfell has had an honor code for The Hunt for years. I’m almost positive whoever that was just violated all of it.

Don’t take my word on that, though. I need to fact-check. ”

Nick looked at her, clearly impressed. “And you remembered that code on a whim? Cici, I love that big brain of yours.”

“So… we’re safe?” Layla asked, uncertain.

Ryder gave a lazy shrug. “What’s your definition of safe?”

“Not being harassed or murdered by someone in a mask while trying to get to class.”

He laughed lightly. “If someone wanted to kill us, they’d wait until midterms. Morale’s lower, bodies would go unnoticed.”

Nick barked a laugh. “Man’s not wrong.”

Xander cracked a grin.

“Can you not?” I shot Ryder a look. “It’s too early for your homicidal humor.”

“Like you don’t love him for his violent tendencies,” Cloe chimed in, none too helpfully.

I glared at her, which wasn’t exactly a denial.

“Yes, we’re safe, Lay,” Ashton interjected, his voice clipped.

Ryder smirked, clearly savoring my boyfriend’s irritation and not even pretending to hide how little he gave a fuck about it.

The second warning bell sounded like a death knell.

A reminder we had five minutes to get our asses in seats before professors started locking doors and getting high on the power trip they would take by deducting participation or attendance points.

“We need to go,” Cloe urged.

Ashton leaned in, pressing a careful kiss to my cheek instead of my lips like he usually would. I offered him a small smile in return. There was more he wanted to say, I could feel it, but he wasn’t going to do it in front of everyone.

He turned and walked off. Xander followed, falling into step beside him. “So, what’d you do, Hayes?” I heard him ask, his tone laced with curiosity and just enough edge to say he had noticed the off vibes. Was there anything Xander didn’t notice, though?

Ryder shot me a look. The, we’ll talk later kind .

And because he wasn’t the only one with a sixth sense for tension, Nick added loud enough for everyone nearby to hear as he stared after them. “Yeah, we’re definitely going to discuss whatever that was.” Then his gaze softened as he slid it back to me. “You’re all good?”

I knew he wasn’t just asking about Ashton.

He meant the masked creep from last night.

I nodded and took another sip from my drink like it might ward off the conversation I knew was coming, the one that had the potential to make everything worse.

Ryder didn’t look convinced, but fortunately, time happened to be on my side.

“Later?” he asked.

“Of course.”

He clamped a hand on Nick’s shoulder and steered him toward the path they needed to take.

Layla trailed behind them, glancing back once before falling into step beside Ryder.

Once they were gone, I drifted closer to Cloe.

We made our way through a vine-draped archway and across the final bridge leading toward our lit class.

As we walked, I couldn’t get the mask out of my head.

It lingered, blank and unsettling, like a haunting afterimage.

Cloe nudged my shoulder, a subtle but deliberate gesture. “Since we're on a tight schedule, what do you want to tell me now before you share it with everyone else later? I need all the crucial details in case I have to step in and save your ass.”

I chuckled, clutching the still-warm paper bag tighter. “I don’t think that person behind us was targeting our friend group.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Starting strong with the masked poser. Alright, continue.”

I let out a slow, shaky breath. “I think I saw them. Or… someone like them. Yesterday. Twice. One at The Pit and the second when I was at Ashtons. Ryder was on the phone with me for that one.”

“And you didn’t tell us?” A moment passed. “Sanj why—.”

“I know,” I interrupted. “I know. I’m an idiot sometimes.”

“You’re not an idiot, you just don’t always make smart choices,” she replied instantly, her voice softening.

“Is that not the same thing?”

“It isn’t close to being the same, but I really need more details, like now.”

We arrived at the large wooden doors of the lecture hall.

Students were already filing in beneath the excessively ornate ceiling that resembled a cathedral more than a place for analyzing metaphors.

I adjusted my bag higher on my shoulder and stepped closer to her, lowering my voice.

“I’ll tell you everything after this. Promise. ”

She considered me for a moment, then nodded. “That’s doable.”

We entered the large room and headed up the stairs to our usual seats in the middle row, dead center. The perfect spot to see the professor and the least likely to get called on. I wasn’t sure how I was going to make it through this class with where my head was at, but I’d damn well try my best.