Relax, Rose. Breathe.
"It's just college. Not the apocalypse," she mumbled under her breath, dragging a comb through her hair with quick, nervous strokes. "You're not a kid anymore. You're an adult now. Adults handle things."
She wasn't sure if saying it aloud made it any truer, but it felt reassuring enough.
Her morning routine was minimal—light gloss on her lips, hair pinned back neatly, and a glance in the mirror that said, Good enough. Rose had never been the girl who needed much more than that. Light makeup suited her just fine.
The moment she stepped out of her house, she realized she was already racing against time.
"Oh crap, my lecture!" she gasped, breaking into a half-run, clutching her tote bag as she made her way to the main college building.
The corridors were already thinning out, doors closing one by one. She glanced at her phone.
Two minutes.
"Just make it in time, Rose. You got this."
But fate had other plans.
She turned a corner too fast—and collided headfirst into someone solid. A startled gasp escaped her lips as they both toppled to the ground. Papers scattered. Her bag hit the floor. And then, silence.
"Are you blind?" came a sharp voice, deep and unmistakably annoyed.
Her gaze snapped up—and oh, of course. Just her luck.
Danny Cole Fraser.
Student Council President. All while being in the same damn year as me. While I was trying to not trip over my own shoelaces on day one, he was already making speeches on stage and shaking hands with the dean.He was probably allergic to smiling. And definitely, ridiculously good-looking.
"You came out of nowhere," Rose shot back, brushing her hair from her face as she sat up.
He raised an eyebrow, and his sharp blue eyes scanned her face. "You have dimples," he remarked casually, like that was somehow the most offensive thing he could say.
Rose blinked. "You have a personality disorder," she muttered under her breath, pulling her hand away from his.
They both got to their feet in stiff silence, brushing themselves off. Danny gave her one last unreadable glance before walking off without another word.
Great. First day. Late to class. And now she'd literally crashed into the student council president.
Couldn't have made a better first impression if I tried, she thought dryly, slipping into her lecture hall just as the professor began roll call.