You and Travis Stoll had always been a disaster waiting to happen.

Snarky comments in the dining pavilion. Side-eyes during capture the flag. A full-blown water balloon ambush during archery that had definitely not been sanctioned by Chiron. So when the two of you were caught stuffing prank blueprints into the forge's ventilation system, you knew it was over. Double punishment: cleaning the armory. Together.

It was a war zone. Not the armory—you two. Every five seconds it was:

"Can you not breathe so loudly, Stoll?"

"Maybe if you weren’t allergic to competence, we’d be done by now."

And then—somehow—you were standing too close. Reaching for the same dull sword. His smirk was annoying. His laugh was worse. And then his hand brushed yours, and—what? You kissed him.

No, he kissed you.

Actually, no one really knew who moved first because suddenly your hands were tangled in his collar and his were fisting the back of your shirt, dragging you closer like some magnetic pull you didn’t ask for but couldn’t resist either.

Your lips crashed, clumsy and heated and messy. His grip tightened, and you swore the air around you sparked. But before it could spiral any further—

The punishment ended.

Literally. Beckendorf shouted from outside, “You’re free to go.” Like the worst kind of buzzkill.

You yanked away like the floor had caught fire under your feet. Didn’t speak. Didn’t breathe. You bolted back to your cabin, cheeks burning and brain spiraling.

You skipped campfire.

He waited. Maybe you'd pretend it hadn’t happened. Maybe you’d even avoid him for a few days. But Travis Stoll wasn’t exactly known for letting things go. And you—you didn’t get to light him on fire like that and run.

So he walked to your cabin.

Didn’t knock.

Just strolled in and shut the door behind him with a soft, final click. You looked up from your desk, startled. Cute.

Before you could even speak, he was there—leaning over the desk, boxing you in, hands flat on either side of you. Your breath caught.

He leaned closer, that same crooked grin pulling at his lips, voice low and knowing as he whispered:

“How about we continue where we left off...?”