She turned fast...and froze.

Her eyes locked with a sharp, intense gaze. Her whole body went stiff.

"AHHHH!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

She yanked up her panties, and tugged down her gown in a flash. Her chest heaved, her eyes stayed wide.

Thoughts scrambled in her head, tripping over each other.

In the doorway stood Tavian. Expression blank and unreadable but there was a flicker of something...maybe amusement in his eyes.

A girl. In his bathroom?

One side of his mouth curved up slightly into a smirk. He narrowed his eyes a little, like he was trying to figure her out.

Then he glanced at the door, clearly running the math on how she got in. His gaze slowly returned to her.

Nyssa swallowed, her throat suddenly dry under that stare.

She noticed the towel hanging low on his waist and that's when it hit her.

Oh God. I'm in his bathroom?! she thought, her mind racing.

Her gaze dropped. She didn't mean to, but she let her eyes roam.

Hard chest, carved abs, strong arms.

The kind of body you see in gym posters. The kind she wanted for her future boyfriend.

She bit her lip without thinking, her fingers twitching like they wanted to trace along his skin.

Her chest tightened at the sight of his bandaged hand.

That damn dog must've done it, she thought.

Tavian finally broke the silence.

"You know where you are?" His voice was low, smooth and too smooth.

Her breath caught.

"I-I'm in a bathroom," she stammered, locking eyes with him, trying to stay cool.

He took one step forward.

Instantly, her heart thudded loud and fast.

"This is not good" she muttered under her breath, gulping.

Run! Nysaa f*çkin Run!

"I think I used the wrong bathroom. Sorry!" she blurted, hurrying forward. 

She brushed past him—her arm grazing his as she rushed out.

Her scent trailed behind her.

Tavian just stood there, his face hard.

_________

Later, Nyssa was walking down the stairs, her thoughts still spinning.

She spotted a group in the living room—guys and girls sitting in a circle on the floor. From the way everyone was watching, the game had clearly started while she was gone.

She rolled her eyes and walked back to where she had been sitting before.

Sun was still there, of course. Zoned out as usual.

Nyssa plopped down beside her.

"Pee mission complete?" Sun asked without looking.

"Mm-hmm"

"You joining the game?"

"Next round" Sun said, yawning.

4:00 AM - ORCHID HOUSE, NYSSA'S ROOM

Nyssa lay in bed under the duvet, tossing and turning.

It had been three f*çkin hours since she got back from that so-called party and she hadn't gotten a wink of sleep.

She came back with Zara. Only Nyomi and Sun stayed at the party.

To her, the party had been boring as hell. Maybe because she was never really a fan of parties in the first place.

But she was certain everyone else found it very lively.

She still didn't join the Dare Roulette game, even when Sun tried to force her

She sighed.

That bathroom moment kept playing on repeat.

Sighing again, she sluggishly pulled her head out from under the blanket.

Her hair was all over her face, covering her features.

She exhaled.

Why is his face in her head?

Why is she thinking about him instead of sleeping?!

The way he looked at her...

The way-

"Ugh, gosh!" she gasped, suddenly sitting up.

She dropped her face into her hands, her heart racing.

It was beating so loud, she was sure someone miles away could hear it.

She slowly pulled her hands down, and her cheeks were already on fire.

"What is he doing to me?" A whisper came from her.

"Why do I want him to look at me like that again?"

She ran her tongue across her lower lip, climbed out of bed, and walked to her desk.

She pulled out the chair, sat down, and slid forward

Her phone was resting on her laptop. She picked it up.

A minute later, she was scrolling through Instagram, watching funny videos and laughing out loud like nothing happened.

She already knew she'd be stuck watching reels all night.

*

Meanwhile in Zara's Bathroom...

Zara stood under the shower, warm water streaming down her skin. Her arms were wrapped around herself, soaking in the heat.

A few seconds later, she turned off the water and stepped out of the shower glass, sliding her feet into the bathroom slippers waiting nearby.

Nakedly, she walked out through the open door and grabbed the towel hanging on it.

Dried herself off quickly, then let the towel drop carelessly to the floor. Walking straight to her bed, she grabbed the oversized hoodie lying there and slipped it on.

Moments later, she was lying down on the bed, eyes locked on her phone screen.

On Instagram, She was reading the comments on a selfie a girl posted from the Unit 9 living room.

She scrolled through them lazily:

💬 So it wasn't a lie? The party really happened in Unit 9? 🥹

Zara rolled her eyes and backed out of the post.

She tapped her own profile...She has 30k followers, and following just 20 people.

She clicked into her following list and scrolled until one name caught her eye *Heath72*

She tapped it.

40 posts, 2.3 million followers, 21 following- displayed 

She opened his latest post - a photo of him on his bed. Nothing special.

It already had 39,999 likes and it had only been up for five minutes.

She tapped the like button and the number jumped to 40,000.

Smiling, she kept scrolling through his posts, watching his videos.

By the time she fell asleep, still holding her phone, she had watched twenty of them.

Ten minutes later, her screen lit up.

🔔 Heath72 followed you back.

*

Hours later, just a few houses away from Orchid House...

Nyssa climbed the stairs inside a quiet gym building, heading up to the main workout room.

She wore a light gray cropped hoodie over a black sports bra. Her leggings were dark green and high-waisted, with a bit of mesh on the sides. They fit her body snugly. She had on white sneakers with a touch of pink and her hair was tied up in a messy ponytail with a pink scrunchie.

It was only 6 AM. Thank goodness it was Saturday.

She was already looking forward to sleeping like a baby once she got back home.

She giggled to herself as she reached the top of the stairs, then turned down the hallway. When she got to the gym room door, it was slightly ajar. She pulled it open and stepped inside.

The first thing her eyes landed on was someone in the middle of the room-doing pull-ups with their back to her.

Sweat dripped down their body, muscles flexing with every pull.

Must be the coach the man downstairs mentioned.

The gym owner had directed her here when she told him she was a beginner.

He had said there was a coach upstairs who could help her out.

"Morning," she said, her voice soft but clear.

No reply.

That's when she noticed the headphones over his ears.

Oh. Makes sense. He probably didn't hear her.

She walked over to the treadmill beside him, stepped on it, and turned slightly to get a look at his face.

The moment her eyes landed on him, she went still.

Her eyes went wide...almost popping out of her head.

Wait...

No way.

Her phone murderer?? He's the coach?!

Her cheeks flushed bright red, lips parting in pure shock.