She weaves through the desks with Jace trailing behind her until they reach my desk, both of them grinning like they have been waiting all day for this exact reunion.
"First day!" Sage exclaims, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me slightly. "How was it? Did anyone give you trouble? Do I need to fight someone? I am prepared to fight someone. I stretched during gym specifically in case I needed to throw hands after school."
"No one needs to fight anyone," I say, laughing despite myself.
Cal leans forward in his chair, his amber eyes shifting between Sage and Jace with open curiosity.
"You know them?"
"This is Sage and Jace," I say, gesturing between them. "My friends. We met during orientation."
Cal leans over toward Jace, giving him a once-over that would be intimidating if Jace seemed even remotely capable of being intimidated, which he does not.
"And why are you in the dynamic?" Cal asks, his voice carrying the territorial edge of an Alpha assessing potential competition.
Jace laughs, the sound easy and unbothered.
"Aww. Not even a full day and you are fawning over our best friend already? Wild." He shakes his head, still grinning. "She is not that easy, Graham Knox. Trust me. We have been trying."
Cal huffs, his posture stiffening.
"Did I show interest? No. She is our roommate. Or whatever. I am just being protective of the living arrangement."
"Protective," Sage repeats, drawing the word out like taffy. "Sure. We will go with that."
Before Cal can fire back a response, Etienne turns to me with an expression so casual it could only be deliberate.
"So," he says, his storm-blue eyes meeting mine with a warmth that makes my pulse flutter. "What should we do for our first date?"
I shrug, trying to match his nonchalance despite the blush creeping up my neck.
"I have no idea. What is cool around here? I have not exactly had time to explore the local entertainment options between the crying over coffee and the kicking people in the groin."
The reaction is instantaneous.
"WAIT A DAMN MINUTE!"
Cal, Sage, and Jace all say it at the exact same time, with the exact same volume, with the exact same expression of wide-eyed, jaw-dropped horror.
They stare at Etienne and me like we have just announced we are eloping to Vegas and need witnesses.
"Repeat that," Sage demands, pointing between us. "Repeat what I just heard. Right now. Because I SWORE I just heard Etienne Laurent ask Mabeline Mae Rose on a date."
"A date," Cal echoes, his voice climbing an octave. "He asked you on a DATE? When? How? WHY?"
"This morning," Jace supplies helpfully, having apparently pieced together the timeline with remarkable speed. "In the parking lot. I saw them walking in together holding hands."
"YOU WERE HOLDING HANDS?" Sage shrieks.
A voice cuts through the chaos from two rows over.
"He did ask her out, you deaf fools. And us smart people need to study after class, so if you could take this circus elsewhere, that would be appreciated."
I turn to find a guy with wire-rimmed glasses and sandy blond hair pushed back from a sharp, angular face. He is sitting with perfect posture amidst a fortress of textbooks and color-coded notes, his expression radiating the specific irritation of someone whose study time has been invaded by people with social lives.
Sage groans.
"Archie, do not piss me off. I am having a moment here."
