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DANIEL

“Here you go.” I extend the water bottle toward Anya. She glares at me but drinks it anyway and I mentally applaud myself for successfully making her drink water. “Good girl.” I pat her head and give her the coffee mug. She pulls a face at me and snatches it from my hand. I chuckle. “Don’t be mad, Firecracker.” I pout.

She ignores me and takes a sip. I take her bag from her shoulder. She sighs in contentment and grins at me. “This is heaven. Thanks.”

“Welcome back.” I snigger. “The other personality of yours was being mean to me.” She smacks my arm, but I dodge it, intertwining our fingers instead. The students passing by eye her and I glare at them. A girl smiles and waves at me. I look at Anya. She is staring daggers at her, and I chuckle. She looks up at me, pulling me by my collar, and places a kiss on my lips. I smile against her lips.

She smiles slyly at the girl. The girl coughs, smiles sheepishly, and moves on .

“You look very hot when you are jealous, Firecracker,” I whisper in her ear.

“I was not jealous.” She scoffs.

“Good, you should not be.” I kiss her earlobe. “I belong to you.”

She shivers at the touch, her eyes shining with a mix of annoyance and delight. “You better remember that,” she says, attempting to sound serious but failing miserably. “Let’s go,” she says, her voice firm but laced with that playful edge I adore. I can’t help but grin as I follow her lead. There’s something about the way she takes charge that ignites a thrill in me. “Are you going to walk behind me the whole time?” She glances back, raising an eyebrow.

“Not a chance, Firecracker,” I reply, stepping up beside her. “I was just enjoying the view.” She rolls her eyes, but I catch the hint of a smile tugging at her lips.

“What are you going to study?” she asks.

“Whatever you teach me.” I shrug.

“I am not teaching you anything. If I do that, I will never be able to study myself.” She scoffs. I gasp playfully.

“Bullshit,” I say, “You have to teach me, baby.” I smile sheepishly. “I have no idea how I will pass otherwise.” I lean in and whisper in her ear, “I promise I will pay you back.” I wink at her.

“Get your mind out of the gutter.” She shakes her head. “Plus, I can get that from you even if I don’t tutor you.” She smiles at me.

“Ah, you know me so well.” I pout.

I stop outside the library and bend down on my knee. “What the fuck are you doing?!” she scans the surroundings urgently, seeming mortified.

“I will do anything you want, Firecracker.” I kiss the back of her hand. “But please, help me pass this exam.” Her eyes widen. She looks around and smiles fakely at the people staring at us .

“Fine, get up,” she grits out, narrowing her eyes at me. She is going to kill me, but I am enjoying the blush on her cheeks.

I get to my feet. “That was easy.” I smirk.

She takes my hand and pulls me inside the library. The quietness of the room envelops us. Anya leads me toward a secluded corner, away from the other students, her grip on my hand tightening. “You are hopeless, you know that?” she huffs.

I flash her a cheeky grin. “Just keeping things interesting, Firecracker. You wouldn’t want it any other way.”

She rolls her eyes but can’t hide the hint of a smile creeping in. “Alright, let’s get down to business.” Taking her bag from my hand, she takes out a textbook and opens it, the pages crinkling softly in the silence. “We are going to study Economics because it scares me,” she says.

“I have beef with Economics now.” I frown.

“You’re mad.” She laughs. “But cute.” She kisses my palm and I smile. She takes a deep breath, flipping to a page filled with graphs and charts. “Let’s start with supply and demand. It’s the foundation of everything in Economics.”

“Right,” I say, nodding seriously.

“Are you aware of the basics?” she asks. I nod. “Okay, then I am going to move on to the elasticity of demand and supply, okay?”

I try my best to keep up as she explains. I find my mind wandering, not just to the material but to how good it feels to be here with her. The way she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, the spark in her eyes when she gets excited about a topic—it all pulls me in. She flips to another page, and we dive deeper into the subject. As she explains concepts with her animated gestures, I can’t help but admire how passionate she is. It makes me want to pay more attention. She is so dedicated.

“Daniel!” she snaps, bringing me back to reality. “Are you even listening to me? ”

“Of course,” I exclaim. “That’s what I was born for.”

“Shut up and focus.” She rolls her eyes.

“Will it help if I say I was focused?” I smile sheepishly. “But on you.”

“Daniel!” she exclaims, exasperated. I raise my hands in surrender.

“I do not think anything else will go in your head anymore.” She shakes her head. “Twenty-five-minute study sessions will work best for you. Just an advice,” she says, picking up the textbook and putting it in her bag.

“You don't give advice,” I brush off a strand of hair from her face, “You order me.” I wink and she gives me a bored look.

I take her bag before she can.“Thanks.” She smiles.

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