FAZER LOGINRyker’s POVFor a moment, I just stood there.The airport moved around me like I wasn’t part of it anymore. People rushed past with luggage, voices overlapped, announcements echoed overhead, and somehow, none of it touched me. I felt… stuck. Like everything had kept going, except me.Then I turned.The glass doors slid open with a soft hiss as I stepped outside, my eyes scanning immediately for the car.Ronaldo’s car.It wasn’t there.My chest dropped.No.No, no, no.I stepped forward, looking left, then right, like it might magically appear if I tried hard enough.Nothing.Of course it was gone.Why wouldn’t it be? He probably assumed we’d boarded already. We had said our goodbye. Chris and Oliver had gone in. Everything looked normal from
Ryker’s POVThe air in Ronaldo’s house changed after the garden, every time I tried to catch his eyes, he looked somewhere else. His hands. His shoes. The chandelier above us. Anywhere but me.He wanted nothing to do with me,that much I could figure out.Now we were in the guest room, the three of us sprawled across the beds they’d prepared, the soft sheets and expensive pillows making everything feel unreal. Like we were actors playing parts in someone else’s life.Chris was mid-story about some professor who accidentally emailed the entire class his grocery list instead of their assignment when the door creaked open.Ronaldo stepped in, Marilyn peeking from behind him.“Hey,” Chris said, instantly sitting up. “Look who decided to grace us with his presence.”Ron
Leo’s POV I don’t think I’ve ever felt more out of place in a room that used to feel like home.Ryan is halfway through a story about some girl he met at a gala, waving his hands around like he’s conducting an orchestra of nonsense. Warren is laughing too loud, adding his own commentary about how “easy” it is to get what you want if you know the right people. Their voices overlap, bounce off the walls, fill the space like thick smoke.And I just… sat there, watching and listening, but I couldn't hear a single thing the where saying.It’s strange. A few months ago, I would’ve been right in the middle of this, laughing, contributing, maybe even topping their stories with something worse. But now… it all sounds hollow. Like empty cans rattling down a staircase.“She started getting too attached,” Ryan says, shrugging. “So I cut her off. You know how it is.”“Had to,” Warren adds. “You can’t let them think they matter more than they should.”They both laugh.I don’t.My fingers tighten s
Leo’s POVI didn’t think I was the kind of person who did things like this.Not… balloons. Not soft lighting. Not carefully chosen corners and angles like love was something you could arrange and frame.And yet, there I was.Standing in the middle of that quiet hall tucked behind Mason Bridge, watching as the last string of lights was pinned into place.“Careful with that,” I said, nodding toward the cluster of white and gold balloons being tied to the pillar. “I don’t want them sagging.”Jason snorted from across the room, a small radio tucked under his arm, a box of decorations balanced against his hip.“Alright, boss,”I rolled my eyes, the room looked… different.The first time I had been here with Ryker, it had be
Ryker's POVThe airport had that familiar hum to it, the kind that never really quieted no matter the hour. Voices overlapped, announcements echoed overhead, and luggage wheels scraped across polished floors in uneven rhythms.I stood between Chris and Oliver, my backpack slung over one shoulder, my thoughts drowning out everything everything around me.We didn’t talk much while waiting at the boarding gate.There wasn’t really anything to say.Every now and then, Oliver would crack a dry joke that didn’t quite land, and Chris would scroll through his phone like he was trying to outrun the silence. I just sat there, elbows on my knees, staring ahead, replaying what-ifs.When boarding was announced, we moved with the line.The flight itself passed in a blur. The low hum of the plane, the dimmed cabin l
Ryker’s POVI was a bad friend.The thought didn’t just sit in my head. It echoed, bounced off the walls of my skull like it had nowhere else to go, like it wanted to be heard, acknowledged, punished.“I’m a bad friend,” I muttered again, this time out loud.Chris and Oliver were still standing across from me, both of them quieter than I had ever seen them. No jokes. No teasing. Just this heavy, uncomfortable silence that felt like it had weight.I dragged a hand over my face and reached for my phone again, even though I had already tried calling Ronaldo twice in the last five minutes.It rang.Once.Twice.Three times.Pick up. Please pick up.The call ended.I stared at the screen like maybe if I looked hard enough, it would change its mind and ring again.“He’s not going to answer right now,” Chris said gently.I swallowed. “I know.”But I still dialed again.This time it went straight to voicemail.Something inside my chest twisted so sharply I had to sit down.“I should’ve been
Ryker’s POVAt first, I thought we were actually going into the library, but he veered off before we reached the entrance, heading toward a smaller building tucked behind it.It looked almost abandoned.Like a storage space no one really paid
Ryker’s POVWhy would Leo suddenly want to see me behind the library?It had been almost a week since we last spoke. Not even a text. Not even a “come here” or “don’t be seen.” Nothing.And I knew i
Ryker’s POVThese past few days have been a complete rollercoaster.Finals were in less than two weeks, and every professor suddenly decided that meant we shouldn’t have a single second of free time.Assignments.Su
Ryker’s POV“He… suspended you?”The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them.The room suddenly felt smaller.Ronaldo sat on the edge of the couch, running his hands through his hair like







