The second semester came faster than anyone expected.

 Students trickled back to campus with tired smiles and heavy suitcases, the buzz of a new start in the air.

Elena unpacked slowly, setting her books on the shelf, pinning photos of her family and Amara on the wall, one from the lake, both of them laughing, hair wet, faces glowing with sunlight.

It felt like another life.

......

Classes started again.

New professors, new notes, long nights in the library.

Elena threw herself into it. She made new friends in her study group, went for morning walks, and tried to convince herself she was fine. But every time her phone buzzed, she hoped it was Amara.

It rarely was.

When she did see Amara, usually from a distance, it was like looking at someone else.

Amara’s once curly hair was now iron straight and dyed a deep copper. Her smile seemed sharper. She walked with Zoe, Ryan, and Dylan,  the three of them always together, always laughing about something that didn’t sound funny.

Sometimes Elena would catch her eye across the quad.

And for half a second, Amara would almost look like the girl she used to be.

Then she’d look away.

.....

One night, Elena’s dorm mate, Tess, was scrolling through social media and frowned.

“Hey, isn’t this your friend?” she said, turning the screen.

Elena froze.

It was a story from Zoe’s account, flashing lights, music, smoke, laughter.

Amara, in the middle of it all, holding something in her hand. Her movements were sluggish, unsteady.

Dylan was behind her, his hand on her shoulder, whispering something in her ear.

Elena’s stomach turned.

She couldn’t finish watching.

---

The next morning, she waited for Amara outside one of the lecture halls.

When Amara finally appeared, she looked exhausted. Her eyeliner smudged, her voice hoarse.

“Amara,” Elena started, gently. “Can we talk?”

Amara sighed, pulling her jacket tighter. “About what?”

“About you. You’ve been skipping class. Hanging out with those people all the time”

“Those people?” Amara cut in, her tone suddenly sharp. “You mean my friends?”

Elena flinched. “That’s not what I meant, I’m just”

“Just what, Elena?” Amara’s eyes glinted, cold. “Worried? Judging me? You don’t have to fix me. You don’t even know me anymore.”

Her words hit like a slap.

Elena stood frozen as Amara turned and walked away, her laughter echoing down the hall.

---

That night, Elena sat in her dorm room, staring at her phone screen.

Her thumb hovered over Amara’s name.

She wanted to call. She wanted to scream. She wanted to understand.

But instead, she just whispered into the quiet,

“I miss you.”

Outside, the campus lights flickered in the fog.

And for the first time, Ravenswood didn’t feel like home.