Chapter 2

They were completely different people, with completely different temperaments. How had I connected them?

After a moment’s hesitation, I asked, “Have we met?”

Nathan looked genuinely stumped. He thought about it, then shook his head.

Awkward. He probably thought I was using some terrible pickup line…

To ease the tension, I hesitated, then handed him my phone.

“If you can’t beat it, just give it back. I’m almost out of lives.”

I leaned closer so I could see the screen.

His long fingers moved casually across it. A few cheerful cries of “Excellent!” later, he’d cleared the level.

Then he handed my phone back and turned toward the court, as though he’d just helped because he had nothing better to do.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. I’m about to go in.”

I blinked, put my phone away, and decided to actually watch the rest of his game.

He raced across the court, sweat gleaming on his skin. Sunlight poured through the skylights and caught him in its glow.

My heart clenched.

For a moment, two figures blurred into one.

Someone photographed Nathan and me sitting together and posted it on the campus forum. The thread shot to the top.

The title was: “HOW CAN TWO PEOPLE LOOK LIKE FATE JUST SITTING NEXT TO EACH OTHER?!”

BunnyNoBites: [That’s the girl who came second in the beauty contest!!! I never see her anywhere except class!!! How do they know each other????]

FailMeNot: [Hot people always look destined for each other… But honestly, Paige is prettier and looks more natural… We just don’t see her around since she went abroad…]

YourMajestyHasArrived: [Is it a crime to compliment two girls at once? Besides, Emily’s top of our department. She’s got plenty going for her.]

FeedMePlease: [Seconding this.]

StarveMeNot: [A million upvotes. Also, are our usernames a matching set?]

FeedMePlease: [Looks like it. Want to talk?]

YourMajestyHasArrived: [Take your flirting somewhere else!!]

LiterallyPsyduck: [I just want to know if they’re dating. Also, does anyone have her number? PLEASE.]

ShortAndSweet: [Then I’ll ask for his.]

OP: [I just snapped this while watching the game. They didn’t talk again afterward!! Also, I think Paige and Nathan went to high school together. Ship with caution!!!]

LiterallyPsyduck: [Wait, has anyone noticed Emily looks kind of like Paige?! Is this some replacement-girlfriend situation?]

YourMajestyHasArrived: [I heard Emily got surgery to look like Paige…]

ChloeComingHome: [Heard it from who? Did her plastic surgeon whisper it in your ear?]

The comments were lively. Somehow, everyone split into two camps.

Chloe showed me the thread. ChloeComingHome was her account. She pestered me all day, apparently expecting me to give her an entire romance novel’s worth of gossip.

Honestly, after that brief flutter at the basketball game, I hadn’t seen Nathan again. My crush on him seemed to have been just as brief.

I thought about it, then turned to Chloe. “Do you know Nathan Reed?”