Chapter 154

Chapter 154

I ignored that completely and turned toward Lila. “Are you ready to head to class?”
“Five minutes,” she said calmly.

I nodded and walked away, feeling Jenna’s stare drilling into my back again.
By the time we left the building together, I exhaled sharply.

“She’s escalating,” I said.
“I know.”
“She mentioned internships now?”

“She’s gathering data,” Lila said casually.
“That sounds creepy when you say it like that.”
“It is creepy.”

I rubbed my temples. “This is exactly why I didn’t want you getting involved.”
She stopped walking, turning to face me fully.

“Alex… she already was involved. I just made sure she knows someone is watching,” she said in all seriousness. I studied her face. She wasn’t joking. She wasn’t being reckless; she was protecting.

The realization hit weirdly deep.
“You’re a pain in my ass,” I said quietly.
She grinned. “Family trait.”

By Friday afternoon, campus felt like it was vibrating with pre-weekend energy. Students rushing, laughing, planning parties, planning regrets.
Lila and I sat on the library steps, watching the chaos unfold.
“She asked me if you were seeing anyone,” Lila said casually.
My chest tightened. “What did you say?”

“That you’re complicated.”
I groaned. “That’s worse than saying yes.”
“It’s accurate.”

I leaned back on my hands, staring at the sky. “I really like Aria.”
“I know.”
“I don’t want this Jenna situation messing that up.”

Lila nudged my shoulder. “Then it won’t.”
“You sound very confident.”
“I am,” she said.

I glanced at her. “You’re scary when you’re confident.”
“You’ve known me your whole life.” 
“Still scary.”

She laughed, bumping my shoulder again.
“Relax,” she said softer this time. “I’ve got it handled.”

I watched students walking past, laughter floating through the air, weekend freedom buzzing through campus like electricity.
For a moment, everything felt normal again. Just college. Just life. Just me and my cousin navigating chaos the way we always had. But deep down, I knew something about Jenna’s persistence felt… unfinished.

And if college had taught me anything so far, it was that trouble rarely announced itself loudly. Sometimes it smiled sweetly… and asked to be your friend first. I exhaled slowly, pushing the thought aside as Lila stood and stretched.
“Come on,” she said. “Weekend. Food. Zero responsibilities for at least twelve hours.”
I stood, grabbing my bag. “You had me at food.”
She grinned, and we walked off campus together, stepping straight into whatever chaos was waiting next. 

College had this way of making everything feel louder when something inside me felt off.

The quad buzzed like usual, with people laughing, skateboards clattering over pavement, and someone blasting music from a speaker like they were auditioning to be campus DJ of the century. Normally, I thrived in that noise. It matched the way my brain ran. Fast. Messy. Always moving.
Lately though… things felt sharp around the edges. Jenna had officially entered what I liked to call the "unhinged phase." And somehow, she managed to make it look socially acceptable.

It started small. She showed up to classes she didn’t even share with me, sitting a row behind like she accidentally wandered in but stayed anyway. She started texting Lila constantly, asking random questions that somehow always circled back to me. Favorite food. Weekend plans. Study habits. Favorite places off campus.
Lila handled it like a professional spy. Calm. Neutral. Occasionally sarcastic enough to keep Jenna slightly off balance. But I could tell it was draining her too.

I leaned against a campus pillar outside the business building, scrolling through my phone while pretending I wasn’t waiting for Aria to finish her lecture. I checked the time again. Then checked it again like the clock was going to suddenly feel bad for me and speed up.

“Stalking?” Lila asked, appearing beside me with a smoothie in hand.
“Waiting,” I corrected.
“You’ve been waiting for twenty minutes.”

“Timing is important.”
“You’re whipped,” she said smugly. 
“I’m not whipped.”

“You rearranged your entire lunch schedule,” she retorted. 
“That was strategic,” I said.

She sipped her smoothie slowly, watching me like she was analyzing a lab experiment.
“Have you actually asked her out yet?” she asked.
“I’ve hinted.”

“Alexander,” she said flatly, “you once negotiated an internship extension with your father, the CEO magnate, at seventeen. And you’re hinting at a date?” she said 
I exhaled sharply. “She’s different.”
Lila softened slightly. “Different good or different terrifying?” she asked.
“Both,” I admitted.

Before she could respond, Aria walked out of the building, adjusting the strap of her tote bag, scanning the crowd absentmindedly until her eyes landed on me. That small smile appeared again, the one that made my brain temporarily forget how sentences worked.

“I’ll leave you to your emotional crisis,” Lila muttered, patting my shoulder before disappearing into the student crowd. I walked toward Aria, my heart doing that annoying uneven rhythm thing again.
“Hey,” I said.

“Hey,” she replied, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “You look like you’ve been standing there contemplating life choices.”
“Accurate.”
She laughed lightly. “What’s up?”

I shoved my hands into my pockets, suddenly hyperaware of how stupid I might sound.

“I was thinking… maybe you’d want to grab dinner tonight?” I said. “Off campus. Somewhere quiet. No cafeteria disasters. No caffeine that tastes like regret.”
She blinked, clearly surprised. For a split second, hope surged through my chest. Then hesitation crept into her expression.
“Oh,” she said softly. “Tonight?”

“Yeah. Or whenever. I mean… I’m flexible. Not emotionally. But scheduling-wise.”
She smiled at the joke, but it didn’t fully reach her eyes.
“I just… I’ve got stuff going on,” she said carefully.

“That’s okay,” I replied quickly. “Another night works.”
“Maybe,” she said.
Maybe. That word hit harder than I expected.
“Yeah,” I said, forcing a relaxed shrug. “No pressure.”

She nodded, relief flickering across her face like she’d been bracing for me to push harder.

We walked together toward the courtyard, talking about classes and assignments, but something had shifted. She seemed distracted. Checking her phone more. Pausing mid-sentence, like her thoughts kept drifting somewhere else.
By the time we split toward different lecture halls, that uneasy feeling in my chest had planted roots.

Over the next week, I tried again. Casual invites. Coffee. Study sessions. Movie nights with mutual friends. Every time, Aria stayed kind. Stayed friendly. Stayed… distant. And every time, that knot in my stomach tightened.
Meanwhile, Jenna escalated like she’d unlocked a new level of social warfare.

She started sending group study invites that conveniently included me and Lila. She started dropping by my study sessions with questions about projects she wasn’t part of. She even brought me coffee one morning like we were dating or something. I handed it straight to a random classmate.
She laughed like that was adorable instead of a rejection. I hated that laugh.

By Thursday afternoon, my brain felt fried. I needed air and quiet. Something that wasn’t people analyzing me, watching me, circling me.
I walked toward the backside of campus near the old stadium bleachers. Hardly anyone hung out there. Just concrete steps, cracked pavement, and the distant hum of traffic.