Rayline. 

With my heart pounding, I waited for Nicolas to turn the corner and leave me alone. I tried to take a deep breath to calm the last of my nerves. But as I looked across the field, I saw Cole Spencer coming toward me. I immediately looked down, trying not to make eye contact with him as I stood there. I wondered if he was coming over to ask me why I was looking at him so strangely. But before I could prepare myself, he was already standing in front of me. I looked at him slowly until I found him looking at me, and I swallowed. He was tall, and even more handsome from up close. 

"You're in the way," he said bluntly. 

"What?" I blinked a few times. 

"You're blocking the door," he said, and I turned my head to see that he was actually standing right at the entrance to the building. 

"Oh," I said as I stepped aside. "Sorry." 

He gave me one last look, and I swear there was a flash of orange in his eyes as he pulled the door open and walked inside without saying anything. Nicolas told me that people said he was cold, but at least he could ask politely. 

I took another deep breath before opening the door and entering the classroom. Even though I spent my time walking around and chatting with Nicolas, I was still a little earlier than most people. But I figured it was better to get to class early than late. 

I entered the room and took a quick look at the seats. There were a few students here and there, but my body froze when I saw Cole sitting a few seats behind me. Of course, I must be in the same class as him. I groaned inwardly. Luckily, he looked distracted with his headphones, so I quickly found an empty seat a few rows in front of me and sat down. I glanced at my watch. There were about ten minutes left before class started, so I rested my elbows on the table, my chin on my wrists as I closed my eyes. 

I wasn't sure how much time had passed while I waited quietly in my seat, but I didn't open my eyes again until I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I turned my head to see that a good looking man was sitting next to me. 

"Class is about to start," the man said with a bright, boxy smile on his face, and I rubbed my eyes. 

"Oh, thanks," I said quietly and looked around. 

The room was almost completely full now, with many students looking for a place to sit while I waited for the professor to arrive. As I scanned the crowd, I caught sight of Cole once again. He was looking at me, but it wasn't a piercing gaze, it seemed as if he was just observing me. But when he realized that I had caught him, he turned his head and stared at the table in front of him. 

"Are you a freshman?" the guy next to me asked, and I jumped. 

"Oh yes, I am. I'm Rayline Hale," I smiled. 

"Taylor Gray, I'm a junior." I nodded politely, taking in his features, his soft brown hair flowing to the side as his eyes shone brightly. He was very handsome, and from the brief interaction we had, I could tell he was very friendly. 

"All right, class." The professor walked into the room, and all the chatter slowly faded as attention shifted. "Let's begin." 

***** 

The time that the professor had spent teaching the class about the course and the syllabus had felt like hours. I had tried my best to pay attention, even jotting down the dates of other assignments. My concentration was only interrupted when I heard Taylor's soft snoring next to me, and I had to stifle a small laugh when he finally woke me up so I wouldn't miss any important information. 

"We're going to be doing a project together for the next few weeks. I know it seems like a lot, but you'll thank me later. I'll be assigning partners now for those who want to finish early." The professor projected a list of names on the screen with the students' names next to them. 

My eyes slowly scanned the list, and when I found his name, my jaw dropped as I read "Cole Spencer" next to mine. 

"You've got to be kidding me," I muttered, putting my hand to my forehead. That's when Taylor finally woke up from his nap, his eyes narrowing as he looked at the big screen. 

"Ugh, you're lucky," he groaned, and I turned my head. 

"Lucky, you say?" 

"Yeah, you've got Cole." I raised an eyebrow. 

"Are you close with him?" 

"Yeah, we're friends," Taylor replied. I was surprised by this information. "Uh, you just have to break through his tough exterior." 

As I looked around the room, I remembered the words of Nicolas who said that not a single girl would be able to break through him. However, I wasn't looking for a relationship or anything, so maybe this would be okay since it was only on campus and for my classes. 

"All right, that's enough for today. See you next week. Start working on the class assignment, and I suggest you get to know your partner. If you don't know him or her, please come forward." 

Gradually, everyone starts packing up their things, and I put my notebook away, slinging the bag over my shoulder as I watch Cole make his way to the door. Despite my brain telling me otherwise, I hurry over to him. 

"Hey, Cole?" He stopped and looked me up and down. "I'm Rayline. We'll be partners on this project." His demeanor changed slightly, probably realizing that I was talking about classes and not trying to ask him out or anything. 

"Oh." He turned to face me fully. "How did you know who I was?" 

"Uhh..." I thought for a moment, not wanting to say that Nicolas told me. "Taylor told me." I gestured at the man who was still picking up his things from the table. 

"Great." He glared at Taylor and there was silence between them. 

"So," I began, "I was hoping we could get started as soon as possible so we can move forward. Would you like to get together sometime?" 

"I guess." 

I opened my phone to check the schedule. "Are you free around three? We can meet at the library." 

"Whatever, that's fine," he said without looking at me. 

"All right," I said as I held out my phone to him. 

"Can you at least give me your number?" He looked at me, then at my phone, and once again I felt an orange glow in his eyes, like a smoldering fire. Maybe I had lost my mind? 

Cole took my phone and started typing. After a few moments, he quickly handed it back. "Don't text me unless it's about the project." 

He turned towards the door before I could say a word, and I stood there in disbelief and annoyance. "Huh, what?!" 

I was a little taken aback by his cold reaction. I didn't expect such a strong reaction just because I asked for a phone number. Look, maybe he was not very friendly, but this was a joint project and we had to communicate. I sighed, planning to remain professional in this collaboration even though my mood had been upset a little.

Rayline. 

I went through the rest of my classes without anything interesting happening. Since it was the first day, most of them were just going over the semester schedule and other boring things. Luckily, I didn't get lost a second time. 

"Hey!" I jumped at the voice behind me, but then I realized that it was Darren, and I breathed a sigh of relief. "How was class?" 

"You scared me!" I put my hand over my heart and he laughed. "And they're good, not too bad." He hummed in response and put his arm around my shoulders. "You want to grab some food and go back to your place?" 

"Ugh, I can't. I have to meet someone at the library for a project." 

"Ew, who's that?" 

"Cole Spencer," I said casually, but he gave me a weird look. 

"What?" 

"Nothing, it's just… I always get a weird feeling about this guy." 

"Do you know him?" I asked him. It was possible that he had interacted with him before. 

"Not really, he's like a friend of a friend. But there was something odd about him." 

"Odd, like what?" I asked him. 

"It's not that he's a weirdo or anything, it's just... he's always trying to distance himself or hide something." I just nodded my head in agreement with his words. Well, it's true what Darren said, he does look like a bit of a loner. 

"Well, it's just a project, so it shouldn't be too bad," I said, shrugging my shoulders, and he just nodded. 

"Want me to take you there?" 

"Sure." The two of us walked down the small street together, joking and talking about silly things. When we reached the building, I looked at my phone. It's a little after three. I hope Cole isn't waiting for us. He stops and turns around. 

"So, I'll text you later?" 

"Yup." I smile and Darren continues on his way. 

I pull out my phone and start typing, "Hey, this is Rayline." 

"Are you at the library yet?" 

Then it wasn't long before my phone vibrated, showing an incoming message notification, which was Cole's reply : "First desk on the right." 

I sighed quietly. I hadn't expected him to be more polite over text than in person. I opened the door and entered the large building, looking around for a moment before I noticed the dark figure at the table on the right. I waddled over and sat down, setting his bag aside and looking up. 

"Hey," I said cheerfully, trying not to make the situation too awkward. 

"You're late," he said as he flipped through the pages of the book on the table. 

"Yeah, sorry, I lost track of time for a second." It's not like I'm terribly late — maybe five or ten minutes? 

"Mhm." He pushed his book aside and looked at me. "Is that your boyfriend?" 

I tilted my head to the side, wondering to whom he was referring. Then I looked out the glass window and realized that he must have a perfect view of me and Darren. 

"Darren? Oh no, we're just friends," I said casually as he continued to stare at me. "I don't have a boyfriend." 

"Alright!" I dropped the heavy book, trying to change the subject. "Did you read the assignment?" 

"Uh, yeah, we have to pick a mythological belief and talk about it or something?" 

"Yeah, do you have a preference for what we pick?" 

"Not really," he shrugged. 

"Well..." I turned the page. "We could do Greek or Roman mythology, but I think a lot of people would do that." He nodded. "Oh, what if we did something like Heaven and Hell?" 

"You think that kind of thing is interesting?" He raised his eyebrows. 

"That's pretty cool, right, more interesting than math." 

"Right," he nodded. "By the way, what are you majoring in?" 

I smiled a little. It was weird that he was the one who started the conversation and not me, who couldn't come up with a topic to force myself. 

"I haven't really decided yet. Even though I like science, I don't know if I'm smart enough or dedicated enough. Even though I love astronomy, stars, planets, and other things that are always beautiful, I'm leaning towards something more realistic like marketing or business." I looked up, our eyes meeting for a moment before I looked down. 

"What about you?" I flipped through the pages. 

"Uh, same thing, trying to stick to something realistic, something that makes money." He replied as he nodded. 

"So no passion or anything?" I ask and Cole pokes the inside of his cheek with his tongue as if he's embarrassed, probably because we just met. "You don't have to say it." I look down at the book. 

"Music, maybe." I shrug, but he looks away now, and I smile to myself. "That's really cool." 

Cole looked back at me, his eyes seemed to reflect a golden color, and I gave him a genuine smile. I went back to my work, but I knew he was still watching. 

"Have we ever met before?" he asked suddenly, and I had to furrow my brow in response. 

"No, not until today, why?" 

"You just look familiar." 

"I mean, I've been on campus with my friend before, but that's about it," I shrugged. 

I started to feel a little uncomfortable as his eyes remained fixed on me. 

"Okay, I found the chapter." I shifted my chair next to him so I could see the page, maybe a little too closely because I saw his body tense up for a moment. 

"See? Here they start talking about archangels, then a few pages later they talk about demons and hell." I pointed at the pictures followed by the long paragraphs. "They look so pretty," I said as I looked at the page with the beautiful white creatures, then at him, and his eyes lit up again, but this time they were yellow. 

"How—how about demons?" he stuttered a little, and I turned to the next page. 

"To be honest, they're kind of scary." I looked at the pictures of dark and deformed creatures. They had big, bat-like wings, long claws, and animal-like faces that gave me the creeps. "Of course, we'll never know what they really looked like, but it's cool to imagine a world where creatures like that exist." 

I looked up to look at him, but his expression was blank, his eyes glued to the page. When he finally came to, his face turned to mine, now only inches apart, and his eyes sparkled blue. 

"Why–why are your eyes like that?" I stuttered and was stunned when the color of his eyes changed. 

He gasped, and this time his eyes flashed a hazel color. "You must have seen something." 

I blinked as he slid back, staring down at the floor as he continued to stare at me. I thought I said it in my head, but I must have said it out loud without realizing it, I shook my head. 

"Y-yeah, you're probably right... Stupid." I turned around and started rummaging through my luggage. 

After a long period of silence, I caught him staring out the window, and I turned my head to follow his gaze. A young man was standing in front of the library. I couldn't see his face, but he had jet black hair and wasn't very tall, but for some reason, Cole became very agitated. 

"I-" He stood up suddenly and grabbed his bag. "I have to go." 

"Wait, what?" My eyes darted around as he started to walk frantically towards the back door. "Are you okay?" I reached out and grabbed his wrist, and he stopped, his eyes flicking to my hand, then to my face. 

"I'm fine." 

There he was again, hazel color flashing, and I slowly pulled my hand back. He headed for the back door, leaving me standing in confusion. I glanced at my things and back at the door as he stepped out, and without thinking, I started packing everything as fast as I could to follow him. 

I stuffed my things into a bag and slung it over my shoulder before running after him. But when I pushed open the big door, there was no one there. I turned around to see where he had gone. There was only one road leading in either direction, and there was only a forest right behind the building, so he wouldn't be out of sight in the short time it took me to get my things. 

I sighed and let my arms fall to my sides. I looked down at the ground, the wind brushing the side of my face, when I saw something strange— a large feather blowing past my feet. 

"What kind of feather is this?" How strange, I thought to myself. I bent down and picked up a black feather. It looked very unusual, about four inches long, and very soft when I touched it. I twirled it between my fingers, trying to understand how it got here. Could the trees in the forest have something else? 

Suddenly I had the feeling that someone was watching me. I looked around, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. But in the middle of this quiet forest, there was only the sound of the wind and the leaves rustling. Maybe I was too paranoid after the strange incident earlier. 

Shaking my head to get rid of this strange feeling, I made my way out of the forest and back to the campus. Even though I tried not to think about the incident, the feather was still a mystery. And what was even stranger was that Cole's eyes had suddenly changed color. What's going on here?

Rayline. 

A part of me wanted to send Cole a message, to ask him if he was okay, to ask him why he had to leave so suddenly that day. But every time I started typing, I heard his voice in my head telling me not to message him except about the project. But why should I care? 

My other classes for the week were going well. I have met some nice people so far, but no close friends yet. Meanwhile, Darren made sure to talk to me every day, which I always appreciated. I was surprised when Taylor greeted me a few times when we passed each other on campus. We didn't have that class again, so we only had one interaction, but he's still very nice. 

It's Saturday, so I've been at home the whole day, getting some work done. I'm typing on my laptop when I notice my phone is on. Darren is calling. 

"Hey, do you want to go to a party tonight?" His voice sounded cheerful as always. 

"Party?" My eyebrows knit in confusion. 

"Yeah, one of my friends is having a party. It should be a lot of fun. So get out of the house now." 

"Um... I don't know, I don't think my parents will let me." 

"Come on, you're a college student now! Say you're going to a friend's house." As always, he always pushes me, even if it sounds amusing. "And tell them you'll be with me. Because they love me." 

"True, but still." I laughed listening to his compliments to himself, silly guy. "I don't even know if I should go. You know I'm not much of a party person." 

"Come on, please?" His voice sounded pleading this time. "If you're not having fun, I'll drive you home." 

I purse my lips to think. I've never been to a party, especially a college party, so I wasn't really sure what to expect— maybe I'd have a good time. Loving yourself is not selfish. 

"All right." 

"Hell, yeah! I'll be there at 9!" 

"Okay, bye," then I turned off my phone with him. 

I laughed and went downstairs to get a snack to take to the study room, passing my parents who were sitting in the kitchen. 

"Hi honey, how's the study going?" 

"Good," I said as I picked up my snack. 

"You didn't tell me about your first week. How were the classes? Did you meet anyone nice?" My dad chimed in. 

"Um, yeah, a few people here and there, but nothing too interesting happened." Well, except for the weird way in which I got dumped by Cole, but I didn't think that was something that needed to be mentioned. 

"By the way, where's Mom, Dad? 

"Hmm, she's still in her room..." My father looked at me skeptically and I froze. "What's wrong?" He raised his eyebrows and I smiled sweetly. 

"Dad, I wanted to tell you that Darren and I are going to a friend's house tonight." 

"A friend's house?" My mom looked up. 

"How late?" my dad added. 

"Um, I'm not sure, but I'll be with Darren the whole time, and I'll text you when I get home." I gave him an honest look and he nodded. 

"All right, but you better not be irresponsible." 

"Really?" I straightened up, surprised. 

"You're a big girl, so you can do whatever you want," my mom said. "But you need to be safe — no drinking, no drugs." She pointed and I raised my hand. 

"I won't, I promise." 

***** 

Darren led me down the sidewalk, our arms intertwined as my black skirt swayed against my thighs. I decided to wear a tank top and a tight skirt, something more out of my comfort zone. On any other occasion, I would never have been caught in something like this. This outfit showed off my curves even more, but it had been sitting in my closet for a long time and I had never worn it before. I also wore a jacket to make it look more casual. 

The party turned out to be not too far from campus. Even though the area was a little more secluded, with the nearby woods right across the street from the house. It wasn't too much of an inconvenience when I saw everyone scattered outside. I paused as I approached, my body starting to fidget as the mansion came into view, clearly owned by someone rich. I knew that if I lost Darren here, I might never find him again. 

"Hey, don't worry, I'll be by your side the whole time." I nodded and Darren pulled me along. 

Once inside the house, I felt overwhelmed. There were people everywhere, bodies colliding with the loud music playing in the background. I did my best to stay by Darren's side as he pulled me towards the kitchen, and when we got there, I saw two faces I wasn't expecting. 

"Hey, Darren!" Taylor yelled greeting Darren from the kitchen table, and next to him was none other than Cole, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. I suddenly felt uncomfortable. 

"Hey, man!" Darren let go of my hand to high-five Taylor, and I continued to look between the three of them. 

"Hey, Ray," Taylor smiled sweetly at me. 

"Hey, you guys know each other?" I asked. 

"Yeah, we've known each other for a while." They both smiled while Cole remained silent. "Besides, this is his house." My jaw dropped. Wow, that was like screaming money everywhere! And he laughed. I had no idea he was that rich. 

"Can I get you guys something to drink?" Taylor asked. 

"Sure," Darren replied, and Taylor quickly poured him a glass of beer. 

"Rayline?" 

"Oh, no thanks. I don't really like to drink." 

"Come on, take it easy." Darren elbowed me in the side. 

"Hey, someone has to make sure I get home," I retorted, and he shook his head and took a sip of his drink. 

"Sure you don't want to, cool kids?" I had to stifle a laugh at Taylor's funny nickname for Cole— well, it sounds like a song title, doesn't it? and I could see him glaring at me. 

"I'm good, bro." He got up and headed for the door. "I'm going to the bathroom." 

As soon as he left the room, Darren turned to Taylor. "How did you get him to come over here?" 

"A lot of begging," Taylor sighed. "I thought if he actually came and drank, maybe he'd soften up." 

"Is he okay?" I asked, and they both turned to me. 

"Yeah, why not?" Taylor replied, taking another sip from his glass. 

"Well, when we were working on our project the other day, he kind of freaked out and left." 

"Freaked out?" Darren asked. 

"Not really 'freaked out,' but he looked pretty freaked out." 

Taylor looked at the door, then at me. "Was anyone else there?" 

"What do you mean?" 

"Was anyone else there watching you?" 

"Um..." I paused for a moment, trying to think. "I saw a guy watching us from outside, but I don't think that's anything unusual." 

I could see that Taylor was thinking hard. "What did he look like?" 

"Uh, medium height, dark hair, but I can't see his face." Taylor hummed quietly. 

"Is there something wrong?" Taylor took another drink and shook her head. "Oh no, I was just thinking of possibilities." I raised an eyebrow but did some more thinking. 

"Hey." Taylor nudged Darren's shoulder. "I think someone's watching you." 

Then the three of us looked into the living room. There was a tall, cute girl staring at Darren, and I could see the smirk on his face that made me roll my eyes. 

"I think I'll go over there." 

"Hey, you said you'd stay with me," I whined, and he looked at me as if to say, "Come on, let me go to her," and I sighed, "All right." 

"You're the best, Ray." He ran out of the room and I also saw Taylor staring at a girl across the room. 

"Go talk to her," I said with a grin on my face. 

"What?" He looked between me and the girl. 

"Uh, no, I can't." 

"Why not?" 

"I'm, uh... I'm kind of shy when it comes to flirting," he admitted, looking down at his glass, and I laughed. 

"But you're so friendly." 

"Yeah, but... I don't know, I'm nervous." I laughed at his adorable demeanor. He seemed so at ease around his friends. 

And after a minute of silence, he turned to the other room. 

"Okay, I'm going to go mingle, you want to come?" Taylor headed for the door. 

"No, I don't. I'll find a way to keep myself entertained." 

"Okay, but don't get into trouble." I nodded as he walked out. 

As soon as he was gone, I started walking around the room, looking at the luxurious kitchen, the countless cupboards probably filled to the brim with food. Then I walked out into the hall, where several people were scattered about, chatting and drinking. I managed to nudge them when I felt a light tap on my shoulder. 

"Hi!" I turned to see the cute girl Taylor had been ogling earlier. 

"You're Rayline, right?" 

"Uh, yeah, sorry, do we know each other?" She chuckled. 

"I'm Irish. I was in your history class, though I'm sure you didn't see me with those guys." 

"Oh," I said, quickly remembering seeing her in class. "I remember, sorry." 

She laughed. "That's okay, I just wanted to introduce myself, you seem really nice." 

"Oh, thank you. You're very nice too," I smiled, but then I noticed her eyes moving over my shoulder, then back to me. 

"Hey, I noticed you seem to know Cole Spencer." I looked down, smirking, and now understood. "Yeah, not very well, but I do know him." 

"You guys aren't related or anything, are you?" 

"Me? Oh, no, not at all." I shook my hand. "Sorry, I'm just curious, and just so you know, I'm not talking to you just to ask about him. I'm just curious." 

For some reason, I was still skeptical, but I nodded politely. "Do you know if he's seeing anyone?" I put on a fake smile. 

"Um-" I don't know why I didn't say no, it was the truth, but I also remembered that he didn't like girls throwing themselves at him. Besides, he didn't seem to be in a good mood. 

"I don't think he's interested in meeting anyone right now." 

"Oh," she pouted, and I saw Taylor smiling with a group of people next to him. 

"You know who you should talk to?" I pointed at Taylor. "I think he really likes you," I said, and her eyes lit up. 

"You think?" 

"Yes, he's very sweet. I'm sure you'll get along with him." Her eyes lit up with excitement. 

"Okay." She walked happily toward the group of men. 

I grinned — here I was playing Cupid, even though I couldn't flirt with a guy for the life of me. I wish I could get close to a guy I like. How do people do it so easily? While it was hard for me. 

I turned around in the long corridor and saw Cole at the end, leaning against the wall. I looked around for a moment and took a deep breath before walking over to him. He was playing with his phone and didn't seem to notice me until I was right next to him. "Hey," I said with a warm smile. 

"Hey." He gave me a quick glance, then looked back down, and I sighed. Clearly, I should be more direct when trying to get close to him. There was no dancing around him. There was no game. So I took another breath. 

"Look, I was just wondering if you were all right?" 

He finally raised his head, put his phone down, and faced me fully. "Why not?" 

"Well, the way you left last night, I don't know — you seemed really freaked out. I tried to follow you, but you disappeared very quickly." 

I stared at his eyes intently, and this time I saw them again — glowing blue, but only for a moment. 

"Why did you follow me?" His voice sounded annoyed, but also a little desperate. 

"Um, I don't know, because I was worried..." I said innocently and he sighed as he looked to the side and turned back to me. 

"Look, when I leave, don't follow me," he said, his expression serious. "And I'm fine. I don't need your attention." 

"Okay... but Taylor seemed worried that someone was following you, so—" 

"He told you that?" he cut me off as the orange color flashed in his eyes again and I swallowed nervously. Maybe I shouldn't have said that. 

"He said something like, I–" 

"You idiot," he muttered, looking around, but now I was getting annoyed with his attitude. 

"Look, why don't you stop being nosy and just mind your own business? Do you get it?"