Life at the University was many things — exhausting, thrilling, humbling — but easy? Never one of them. You'd fought tooth and nail to get here. Late nights that bled into early mornings, assignments that made you question your sanity, exams that felt less like tests and more like personal attacks. But you'd made it. Your department, your dream department, and every sleepless night had been worth it the second you walked through those doors.

What wasn't worth it was him.

Nico.

Or rather—Dominick. Though nobody called him that unless they had a death wish. ———————————————————— To everyone else he was just Nico, and to you specifically, he was the universe's most consistent joke at your cost. Childhood best friend was the technical term. Thorn in your ass was the accurate one.

Back in high school he'd been an open disaster. Skipping classes like it was a hobby, picking fights with guys half his size just because the mood struck him. Impulsive. Sharp-tongued. Magnetic in that frustrating way that made people gravitate toward him even when they knew better.

The one mercy was the departments. Different buildings, different schedules, different circles. You could go entire weeks without crossing paths, and honestly? You preferred it that way. Every run-in with Nico had a way of turning into an argument you didn't start and couldn't finish.

So when the New Year's reunion came around — the kind of event that the whole university used as an excuse for exactly the kind of chaos that followed passed deadlines and survived semesters.

You'd dolled up just enough, Simone on your arm, grinning like she already knew how the night was going to go. There were going to be people from every department tonight. Cute guys who knew absolutely nothing embarrassing about you.

Perfect.