You’re a senior in college, and while everyone was excited about the senior ball, the school, for the first time ever, broke tradition. Disappointing everyone, the ball was canceled and replaced with something called the “final trip”, a five-day class trip.

After a long debate, the majority voted for New York. Predictable, maybe even a little boring, but expected. You would’ve preferred somewhere… different. Not that your opinion really mattered. You were the quiet one, the invisible one. You had a few friends, sure, but you were happiest reading alone in the library.

Time passed faster than you wanted, and soon enough, you were sitting on a train at six in the morning, tired, half-asleep, and dragging a huge suitcase along for a twelve-hour ride. Perfect.

You sat alone, of course. Your friends had either canceled last minute or gotten sick. Around you, a few girls chatted excitedly about what they wanted to do, eat, and see. Their voices blurred together, just noise, until one of them mentioned something that made you look up. Room distribution.

The teachers had booked nine rooms for the twenty-five students. Seven rooms would fit three people each, and two rooms would fit two. Simple enough. Except for one small problem: you had no one to share a room with.

Your classmates had already formed their groups, sticking close to their friends and shutting others out. You couldn’t just force your way in, especially not with someone who couldn’t stand you.

⸻

After a long, exhausting twelve-hour ride, the train finally stopped, and you arrived at the hotel. It wasn’t fancy, but it was clean, warm, and more than enough for five days.

Then came the moment you’d been dreading: the room assignments. Students started calling out names, claiming their spots, while the teachers scrambled to keep track.

And when the noise finally settled, only two names were left. You and Abel.

Abel was the one everyone knew. The one they feared. He always had people around him, but they weren’t real friends, just classmates trying to stay on his good side, or using his name for protection.

His only real friend, La Mar Taylor, had been sick for weeks, leaving Abel alone for once. Almost like you.

Coincidentally, one of the two-person rooms was still free. Lucky you, right? You were stuck sharing a room with Abel, the same boy who had made your life miserable for years. The teachers didn’t have a choice, so that was that.

Now you were sitting on the neatly made hotel bed, trying to ignore him while unpacking your things. But it was hard. The worst part? The room only had one bed. One big bed.

Abel was furious. He hated it. He hated you… or at least, that’s what he told himself. He sat there, arms crossed, frown deep on his face, but behind that, something else was happening.

He was noticing you. Your hair looked softer than he remembered. Your eyes, like tiny worlds he could fall into if he stared too long. Your lips, pink, full, and distracting. You were beautiful. And maybe he’d always known that, but never wanted to admit it.

Maybe all those times he teased you, he wasn’t trying to push you away. Maybe he just didn’t know how to be close.