His Favorite Student
By Friday morning, Lia officially regretted existing.
At least publicly.
The moment she stepped onto campus, she knew something was wrong.
People stared harder today.
Not subtle glances.
Open staring.
Whispers followed behind her through hallways like smoke.
Lia tightened her grip on her bag strap and kept walking toward the literature building, pretending not to notice.
She almost made it to class peacefully.
Almost.
"Lia!"
Sienna practically sprinted toward her near the courtyard fountain, phone already in hand.
"You're trending again."
Lia closed her eyes briefly.
"Fantastic."
"No, like... actually trending."
"That somehow sounds worse."
"It is worse."
Sienna shoved the phone toward her dramatically.
Blackthorne's anonymous confession page filled the screen again.
But this time—
there were photos.
Blurry photos.
Her sitting across from Adrian in the library yesterday.
Him sliding the paper bag toward her.
Him looking at her.
The caption underneath read:
MONTEVERDE REALLY ONLY LOOKS AT ONE GIRL LIKE THIS ??
Thousands of reactions flooded the comments.
He's obsessed.
That eye contact is insane.
She's literally his type.
Nah this feels psychologically concerning.
I want what they have.
Lia stared at the screen in horror.
"How do people even have time for this?"
"We go to a university full of rich students with no survival instincts," Sienna replied. "This is their entertainment."
Lia handed the phone back immediately.
Her stomach felt tight.
Because somehow—
the photos looked intimate.
Not romantic.
Worse.
Focused.
Like Adrian only saw her even in crowded spaces.
And now everyone else saw it too.
"I hate this school," Lia muttered again.
"You say that every day."
"Because every day this school gives me new reasons."
Sienna looped an arm through hers while they walked toward class.
"Okay but be honest."
"What?"
"The library thing was kind of cute."
"He monitored whether I ate lunch."
"Yeah."
"That's not cute."
"That depends how mentally unstable you like your men."
Lia laughed despite herself.
Then immediately stopped laughing when she noticed several girls near the hallway watching her openly.
One of them whispered something to the others.
Another rolled her eyes.
Wonderful.
Sienna noticed too.
"Oh, they're jealous jealous now."
"I didn't ask for any of this."
"That's probably why he likes you."
Lia frowned immediately.
"What does that mean?"
"Girls here throw themselves at rich men constantly." Sienna shrugged. "You're the only person acting like Adrian Monteverde is a problem instead of a prize."
Because he was a problem.
A terrifyingly observant, emotionally confusing problem.
—
Literature class felt unbearable.
Every time Lia looked up from her notebook, someone was staring.
Even Professor Hale seemed distracted while teaching.
Then halfway through class—
the door opened.
The room instantly went silent.
Adrian Monteverde entered calmly alongside the dean.
Lia's heartbeat betrayed her immediately.
Students straightened in their seats almost automatically.
Professor Hale cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Mr. Monteverde has kindly agreed to observe today's seminar."
Observe.
Sure.
Adrian's eyes moved across the room once.
Then settled directly on Lia.
Like always.
The dean gestured toward an empty seat near the back.
"There's a place over there, sir."
But Adrian ignored it completely.
Instead—
he walked calmly toward the empty seat beside Lia.
The entire classroom visibly reacted.
Sienna looked seconds away from exploding.
Lia stared straight ahead at her notebook while Adrian sat beside her smoothly.
Too close.
Way too close.
She could smell his cologne again immediately.
Warm cedarwood.
Rain.
Something darker underneath she still couldn't identify.
Professor Hale attempted to continue the lecture despite the overwhelming tension in the room.
Nobody listened.
Especially not when Adrian leaned slightly toward Lia and said quietly:
"You skipped breakfast too."
Her grip tightened around her pen.
"You cannot keep doing this."
"Doing what?"
"Monitoring my eating habits."
"You looked dizzy walking upstairs."
"That's not normal observation."
"You repeat yourself often when nervous."
Lia looked at him finally.
"You enjoy this."
His eyes held hers steadily.
"Yes."
The honesty almost made her choke.
God.
How did he say things like that so casually?
"You're unbelievable."
"And yet you keep talking to me."
Again.
Always those answers.
Sharp enough to leave her speechless every time.
Professor Hale suddenly called on Lia from the front of the room.
"Ms. Valencia."
She blinked quickly and looked up.
"Yes?"
"You analyzed the assigned reading exceptionally well last week. Would you mind sharing your interpretation?"
Every eye in the room turned toward her immediately.
Lia hated public speaking.
Adrian noticed instantly.
Of course he did.
"You tap your ring when anxious," he murmured softly beside her.
"I know."
"Then stop thinking about everyone else."
Her pulse stumbled slightly.
Because somehow—
his voice grounded her.
Annoying.
Very annoying.
Lia inhaled quietly before answering Professor Hale's question.
As she explained the symbolism behind the novel's themes of isolation and emotional detachment, the room gradually grew quieter.
Not judgmental this time.
Attentive.
Lia always spoke differently when discussing literature.
More confident.
More alive.
Adrian noticed that too.
He watched her the entire time.
Not pretending not to.
Not hiding it.
Watching openly.
And for some reason—
that affected her more than the staring students did.
When she finally finished, Professor Hale smiled.
"Excellent analysis."
Several students nodded reluctantly.
Even Sienna looked proud.
But beside her—
Adrian remained completely still.
His gaze unreadable.
"What?" Lia whispered quietly.
"You become fearless when discussing things you love."
The words hit unexpectedly deep.
Nobody had ever noticed that before.
Nobody had looked carefully enough to.
Lia looked down at her notebook quickly before he could notice the way her expression softened.
Unfortunately—
he probably already had.
—
After class ended, students crowded the hallway immediately.
And somehow the gossip became worse.
Lia overheard whispers everywhere.
"That's definitely his favorite student."
"He literally sat beside her."
"I heard he's never interested in women."
"Well clearly that changed."
Sienna walked beside Lia carrying both their books dramatically.
"You're basically campus lore now."
"I want to transfer schools."
"No you don't."
"I might."
"You'd miss your obsessive billionaire."
Lia shot her a glare.
Sienna grinned unapologetically.
Before Lia could respond, a familiar voice called her name from farther down the hallway.
"Lia!"
She turned instinctively.
A tall boy waved while jogging toward her through the crowd.
Messy dark hair.
Warm smile.
Comfortable familiarity.
Marco Reyes.
The moment Lia smiled back—
the entire atmosphere around her changed.
Because farther down the hallway—
Adrian Monteverde had just witnessed it.