I couldn’t help but wonder about Thomas’s actual role in all this. The last thing I wanted was to blame someone for actions beyond their control.Leaning back, I turned to Adrien, who was still dissecting his breakfast with an absent-minded determination. “Am I the first person you’ve guided?” I asked.“Yeah, why?” Adrien replied, looking up with a hint of surprise.“Oh, nothing major. I’m just wondering when you’ll start teaching me things I can use in hunting class... Let’s be real, I don’t know shit about werewolves,” I said.Cam huffed, drawing my attention. I seized the opportunity to probe him, too. “Was Peter your first, too?”Cam chuckled. “No, second,” he said, his smirk wide and unapologetic.That is exactly what I figured. Thomas was his first. I didn't even have to ask. I stood up, pushing my chair back to make a big show of leaving. “I’m heading to the library for more research... Maybe you should come and actually teach me a thing or two, Adrien.”Adrien laughed with a

We exited the secluded part of the library to find Adrien sprawled on a couch, teetering on the edge of sleep. I jostled his shoulder to wake him. His eyes fluttered open, and he managed a groggy, "Hey. Y'all took forever... Did you find anything cool?""Yeah, why don't you like going back there?" I asked, curious by his apparent aversion to the hidden room we had just explored.Adrien rubbed his eyes and yawned as he sat up. "I don't like the whole stolen key, hidden room deep in a shadowy library vibe. We're not supposed to be in there... Honestly, it sounds like the start of every horror movie I've ever heard of." His chuckle was light, but I detected an undercurrent of genuine concern.His response made me laugh. It was quintessentially Adrien, yet something about it seemed rehearsed, too smooth and polished for a casual conversation. It was a detail I filed away to investigate later.Cam, who had been quietly observing our exchange, stretched his arms above his head and announce

Adrien was obsessing over sports gear, flipping through options on his phone with more focus than I'd ever seen him have in class. Rolling my eyes, I continued watching him, amused by his seriousness over something as mundane as hockey gear. Across the room, Bear and Jules were similarly glued to their phones. Seeing them like this, a world away from the phone-free zone at school, it was pretty clear why the school forbids them. It would be tough to keep their focus if their faces were always buried in screens. When his eyes lit up at the goalie gear, I knew I was about to be dragged into something.He flipped his phone toward me with a smirk. "We need to get you set up properly," he declared, loading the virtual cart as if money meant nothing. The total price soared, quickly surpassing my sparse savings left over from the Christmas card money.Which was supposed to last the whole semester and summer somehow."What? No, no, I'm not letting you spend money on me like that," I protes

"You were outside, man," I said, relieved. "Do you remember anything?"Adrien shook his head, still shivering. "No... I just remember falling asleep."Jules looked at me, concern etched on his face. "We need to tell someone. This isn't normal.""Yeah," I agreed, my mind racing. The dream, Adrien's disappearance, felt somehow connected. But for now, getting him warm and safe was the priority.After pulling his cot right in front of the fire, we sat by it, watching Adrien slowly regain warmth and color. Bear handed him coffee, and he sipped it gratefully."You scare..d us, man," Bear said.Adrien managed a weak smile. "Sorry about that."Jules sighed, shaking his head. "Just... don't do it again, alright?"Adrien nodded, the seriousness of the situation sinking in. "I won't. Thanks, guys."We stayed by the fire until the early hours, watching Adrien and ensuring he stayed warm. The adrenaline slowly wore off, leaving us exhausted but alert. I couldn't stop thinking about the dream and

Adrien and I walked back to the dorm room. The power was on, and a few more guys were milling around than before. We climbed the stairs, and at the fifth-floor landing, I paused and looked at him. He smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I don't want to be alone right now... So..." No surprise. I had already guessed he would do this. I sighed. "Well, come up to my room. I really need to clean before Alec gets back." Adrien followed me up and jumped onto the top bunk, watching me as I started to tidy up. "Are you a neat freak like Alec?" he asked. I snorted. "No, not in the least. But living with one tends to have that effect, I guess." "Yeah, when I roomed with him, he definitely made me cleaner. If a speck of dirty laundry hit the floor, he was mopping in here..." I decided to prod a little. "Yeah, or maybe that's why you keep your clothes so neatly tucked in your hamper now, well, most of the time anyway..." Adrien got a bit flustered. "Dude, okay. I wasn't going to say anything else ab