LILLY POV
By Friday, the skies over Ravenholt had turned moody, casting long shadows over the marble paths. Rain threatened but never arrived—like everything in my life lately, hanging on the edge of something.
I walked across the quad, clutching my hoodie tighter against the wind, when a voice called out behind me.
"Lilly!"
I turned to see Enzo jogging toward me, backpack bouncing, hair tousled by the breeze. We'd had Intro to Literature together the previous semester. He was always the one to offer up unexpected answers or notice things even the professor missed.
"Hey," I said, smiling. "You're heading to History?"
He nodded. "Mind if I walk with you?"
"Not at all."
We fell into an easy rhythm. I didn't feel nervous around Enzo. Maybe because he never made it complicated. Never looked at me like I was some puzzle he needed to solve.
"I heard you got the Legacy Grant," he said as we rounded the corner. "That's huge."
I shrugged. "Still feels unreal."
"You deserve it. Everyone in Lit could see how hard you worked, even when you weren't technically 'one of us.'"
I glanced sideways. "One of us?"
He chuckled. "You know what I mean. Before. When you were still… cleaning. People noticed you, Lilly. Maybe not always in the right way, but they noticed."
There was no bitterness in his voice. Just honesty.
We reached the history building, and I paused outside the door.
"Thanks, Enzo. Really."
He gave me a look I couldn't quite read, then smiled.
"Anytime. I've got your back."
I stood there a moment longer after he'd gone in, wondering why those words felt heavier than they sounded.
---
LUCA POV
Julian and I were heading toward the same building when I spotted her. Lilly. With Enzo.
They were walking together, talking. Laughing at one point.
"He's not new, you know," Julian said, catching my look.
"What?"
"Enzo. He's been around. Took Advanced Civics with me last year. Real smart. Low profile. People like him."
I knew that tone. Julian was warning me.
"He's just a friend," I muttered.
Julian raised a brow. "So you've talked to her? About anything? Or are you hoping he magically backs off?"
I didn't respond.
Lilly stepped into the history hall, and Enzo held the door for her. She thanked him. Her smile lingered.
That knot in my chest tightened again.
I wasn't angry. I was... restless.
Maybe it was the fact that Enzo didn't have to fight the same battles I did. He wasn't linked to the university board, or to a powerful name. He could just be.
And maybe that made him dangerous.
I was halfway into the lecture when my phone buzzed.
Samantha.
We need to talk.
I stared at it for a long moment. The last time she said that, it ended in chaos.
Still, something in me couldn't ignore the ripple she always caused.
I slipped the phone into my pocket, knowing today was far from over.
---
LILLY POV
Later that evening, I sat curled on my dorm bed, flipping through notes, my mind not on the words.
Enzo's voice echoed—"I've got your back."
I didn't doubt him.
But I did wonder what it meant.
And why the one person I couldn't stop thinking about hadn't said anything at all.
Luca Demon was silent.
And silence was beginning to sound a lot like distance.