The campus playboy

Viana's POV

Mom pressed a hand to her temple, sighing. “Please, just… try to give this a chance. For me.”

I hated that she said it like that. Like I was the bad guy for not jumping with joy over suddenly sharing a roof with the campus playboy.

Alvin reached for the chicken, spearing a piece like he hadn’t just detonated my entire life. “Don’t worry, sis,” he said around a mouthful. “I’ll try to keep the noise down when my fans stop by.”

I snapped. “Don’t call me that.”

His grin widened. “What? Sis? It fits.”

My stomach twisted. This year was supposed to be simple. Stay focused, keep my scholarship and avoid all distractions. But trouble had just unpacked his duffel bag in my hallway, and he lived across from my bedroom.

And his name was Alvin Monroe. The fuck!!!

The first thing I heard that morning was bass thumping through my wall. Not the gentle kind of background noise you could drown out, no, this was rattling my desk lamp, shaking the glass of water on my nightstand loud.

I threw the blanket off and stomped across the hall, and pounded on Alvin’s door.

“Turn it down!”I yelled, my frustration gaining a voice.

The music stopped for half a second,then his voice carried through, smug and lazy. “Morning, sis. Didn’t know you were such a light sleeper.”

Grinding my teeth, I shoved the door open without knocking. He stood shirtless, towel slung around his neck, still dripping from the shower as he scrolled on his phone. His speakers blared behind him, hockey gear dumped carelessly on the floor like a small tornado had torn through the room.

Pig.

I averted my eyes instantly, but not fast enough. His smirk grew. “Enjoying the view?” He asked. I slammed the door shut so hard the walls shook. “You’re impossible.”

By the time I’d finished getting ready and gone downstairs, Mom was humming to herself in the kitchen, setting a plate of eggs on the table.

She looked way too cheerful for someone who had just wrecked my entire life with an engagement announcement.

“Good morning, sweetheart.” My mom said giving me a warm smile that got me irritated more than I already was.

“Don’t you sweetheart me,” I muttered, dropping into a chair. “Why is he here?”

Mom blinked, trying to pretend she didn't know what I was talking about. “Who?”

I gave her a look.” You know who. Alvin. Why isn’t he living with his dad? Doesn’t Benson have a mansion or something?”

She hesitated just a beat too long before answering, smoothing her apron like she always did when she was trying to sound casual. “Look Benson travels a lot for work. Alvin was alone too often. We thought… it might be good for him to have some family time. To feel… grounded.”

Grounded, and in my house of all places. I almost laughed at the comical thought. Alvin Monroe was the least grounded person I’d ever met and confining him, or trying to, was not going to solve it.

Still, her words stuck in my chest. There had been a flicker in Alvin’s eyes last night, something tight and unreadable when Benson put a hand on his shoulder.

Something I hadn’t wanted to think about cause it didn't matter to me. I pushed my fork through my eggs. “So basically we’re babysitting him until his dad gets back.”

“Viana.” Mom’s voice was gentle but had a warning tone.

“Please, just try to make this work. He’s going to be part of this family. And despite what you think, Alvin’s… not all bad.” I bit my tongue before saying the hundred things on my mind. If she wanted to believe the campus golden boy was secretly misunderstood, fine. But I knew what I’d seen, a bunch of smug arrogance wrapped up in six feet of trouble.

---

By the time I got to school, the gossip had already started. In the locker room, girls were practically swooning as they reapplied lip gloss and adjusted their cheer skirts that would expose their entire underwear if a wrong move was taken.

“Alvin is literally unstoppable this year,” one gushed.

“Did you see that practice shot?”

“I swear he gets hotter every time I see him.”

“If he even looked my way, I’d—” Faint, you would faint. For some reason you all what to faint because of his abs.

I tuned them out, slamming my locker shut a little too hard. If they wanted to worship at the altar of Alvin Monroe, that was their problem. I wasn’t going to join the choir and I certainly would not allow them to destroy my peace.

At lunch, it was the same story. Alvin sat in the middle of the cafeteria, a crowd orbiting him like he was their sun. Girls laughed too loudly at his jokes, guys slapped him on the back. I picked the farthest corner table and stabbed at my salad, feeling a familiar wave of being the new kid, the outsider.

“Saving me a seat, or are you trying to start a one-person boycott of social interaction?”

I looked up, and a genuine smile touched my lips for the first time all day. It was Emily, her auburn hair pulled into a messy bun, her tray loaded with what looked like three days' worth of carbs. She slid into the seat opposite me without waiting for an answer.

“I see you’ve found the Sad Corner,” she said, nodding sagely. “Good choice. The acoustics are perfect for complaining.”

“It’s my favorite feature in the cafeteria,” I deadpanned.

Emily was my one solid anchor at Crestwood University, and our meeting had been a stroke of luck born of my own utter incompetence. On my first day, I’d been hopelessly lost, circling the same science department building almost three times, my schedule clutched in my sweating hand and I had missed two classes. I’d been on the verge of just sitting on the curb and accepting my fate when a voice had called out.

“You look like you’re trying to use that map to summon a demon and you are failing badly. Need help?”