CHAPTER 3: Come Stay With Me

EVELYN'S POV

I paced back and forth across my room, biting my finger, as my encounter with Damien replayed in my head.

"I'm not falling for this guy, right?" I asked no one in particular, then bit down so hard on my finger that I drew blood.

Eventually, after tiring my legs out, I crashed into my chair and picked up my philosophy textbook to study. Just as I started studying, the moaning started again. I slammed my palm against my face and let out a muffled cry. I was about to hit the demarcation, but my phone started buzzing. 

I paused, then glanced at my phone before picking it up.

“Lilly,” I muttered, clenching my jaw. “Now is not a good time.”

There were a few seconds of silence before she finally responded. 

“Oh… now I get why you're in a foul mood.”

“What do you want?” I asked, already tired.

“Hmmm…” she let out a low-pitched sound. “I just wanted to check on you, and also get gists about Damien. Rumors have it that you guys had a personal conversation after the council meeting ended.”

“Fuck off, Lilly…” I sighed, shaking my head. Then it occurred to me — “Yo… do you have any idea where I could get a different dorm? I'm literally getting choked in here.”

Lilly let out a small laugh before answering. “Knew you were going to ask sooner or later. Yeah… there are dorms you could rent out, but the real question is, can you afford them?”

I let out a deep sigh as I traced my mind back towards my savings. There's no way I could afford to get a room with the money I had left.

“Thought as much,” Lilly continued as if reading my mind. “And I'd have invited you to stay with me, but my roommate is as crazy as yours.”

“Yeah…” I responded wearily. “I wouldn't even dream of it.”

We both laughed and said a few more things before the call finally ended. 

The rest of the evening passed with my nose buried in my books. Thankfully, the silence next door lasted long enough for me actually to get some studying done.

By the time I closed my philosophy textbook, my eyes were already burning. I glanced at the clock, and it was already 11:47 PM.

I let out a tired sigh before dragging myself into bed. Tomorrow was the first official planning session for the charity program.

Hopefully, we'd just be given our schedules and sent home.

****

The next afternoon, I pushed open the doors to the council hall, and just like the previous meeting, only four students were present.

Jason was leaning against one side of the room, scrolling through his phone.

Across from him stood Damien, hands tucked into the pockets of his jacket, his expression as unreadable as ever. Beside him was a girl from Westlake I recognized from yesterday's meeting.

Sienna Carter.

The moment I stepped inside, Jason glanced up briefly before looking away with a scoff.

Damien's eyes met mine for only a second, he waved at me, and my heart skipped.

I nodded back awkwardly and took an empty seat.

A minute later, three members of the school board walked into the hall. One of them placed a stack of folders on the table before looking at the four of us.

"Thank you for coming," he paused briefly. "As you already know, the Winter Classic Charity and Student Leadership Program officially begins tomorrow."

He picked up one of the folders.

"After reviewing the schedule, we've decided to divide the four of you into two working teams."

Jason finally looked up from his phone, and he glanced at me.

"Each team will attend every charity event, community outreach program, media appearance, and leadership activity together throughout the next two weeks."

Then he opened the folder. 

"The first team, Damien Knight..." Then his eyes shifted to me. “And Evelyn Hayes."

For a second, I thought I'd misheard him. "What?"

The board member continued as though he hadn't heard me. "The second team will consist of Jason Brooks and Sienna Carter."

Jason immediately frowned. "Excuse me?"

"The pairings are final," another board member said before he could continue. "They were approved by both universities."

Jason's jaw tightened, and he let out a spiteful grin before finally settling down.

Silence settled over the room.

I slowly turned my head toward Damien, and he was already looking at me.

Unlike Jason, he didn't question the decision. He simply held my gaze for a brief moment before giving the smallest nod.

For some reason, that tiny gesture calmed me more than it should have.

***

I picked up my bag and started darting out of the hall as soon as the meeting ended. I was about to exit the door post when I felt a gentle pull on my hand and I stopped. I froze, then turned back slowly. 

Damien was holding my gaze, his warm grip wrapped around my wrists. “Hey… running off already?”

“Yeah…” I stuttered, gently pulling my arm from him, and he let go easily. “I just wanted to return to studying as soon as possible.”

“Well…” he said, squinting his eyes. “That's great, but we still need to discuss how to go about the charity event.”

“Oh yeah…” I slammed my palm gently against my forehead. “My bad, I just totally forgot.”

“Figured,” he responded, returning into the hall and I followed him. 

Jason straightened as soon as I got back inside with Damien, and just left with a stern expression on his face. 

I ignored him and just focused on the conversation between Damien and me.

***

After a few hours, Damien and I were eventually done planning. He offered to take me home, and I just couldn't refuse. He dropped me in front of my hostel.

“Thank you,” I muttered, as I exited his car.

I was walking through the hallway towards my dorm when I noticed small footsteps behind me. I spun around and Damien was walking right behind me with his hands dipped into his pockets.

“What…what are you doing?” 

“It's not really bad to know where my partner lives, is it?” Damien responded with a straight face.

“Yeah…” I nodded, then turned around and smiled… I didn't even know why I did that.

Taking the corner to my room, my whole body grew cold. Jason was right in front of my door, kissing Chloe passionately. He glanced at me just as I arrived, and smiled before continuing. 

I just couldn't take it anymore at that point, so I turned around and Damien was right there watching everything. I walked past him hurriedly, head lowered to the ground. He grabbed my hand before I could walk so far.

“Is this what you get to endure every time?”

“Yeah,” I responded, and a tear slid down my face before I could stop it.

He wiped my face with his thumb and stared at me for a few seconds.

“What would you say if I asked you to come stay with me… I have everything you'd need, and no one would even dare to disturb you.”

WHAT THE FUCK… IS HE REALLY ASKING ME TO MOVE IN WITH HIM?