Fred was easy to like.

Chill, weird in the best way, genuinely friendly. You’d bumped into him in the hallway while trying to find your Advanced Experimental Design class, and within two minutes, you were already laughing at memes on his phone and listening to a story about how he once nearly set the lab on fire trying to microwave fries in a thermal accelerator.

—“Alright, partner,” he grinned, pushing the classroom door open dramatically, “you’re sittin’ with me. I’ll show you the secret snack stash when the professor forgets we exist.”

What you didn’t expect was her.

GoGo.

Sitting at the back, legs crossed, earbuds hanging from her neck, eyes fixed on her tablet. The air felt heavier instantly.

Fred greeted everyone like it was a party. You froze for a split second. She looked up. Her eyes met yours. Just for a second.

But in that second, it all came back.

The history. The breakup.

Her expression didn’t change much—just the slightest raise of an eyebrow before she looked back down at her screen.

Fred dropped into the seat beside her.

—“Oh hey—know my new partner? They're awesome.”

GoGo didn’t respond.

Not a word.

But her jaw clenched, just a little. That was enough.