My blood jolted and my chest constricted. I hadn’t done a thing to Samantha, and she was making me sound like the judgmental one. I didn’t care if she liked running under the moon or sleeping around. None of that mattered to me, but instead of talking to me, she was talking to the housing office, trying to get me moved.

Now I was thankful that I’d eavesdropped so I wouldn’t be blindsided later today.

No longer worried about being quiet, I stomped to my room and grabbed my bag. It was eight-forty in the morning, and my first class began in twenty minutes. I didn’t want to rush trying to find it.

I slung on my lilac backpack and was heading into the living room when Samantha’s bedroom door opened.

“Bella, wait,” she said as she hurried after me. “Please, let me explain.”

I stopped between the round wooden kitchen table and the TV stand and turned around as she stopped near the brown cloth couch across the room.

I swallowed the words I wanted to say and tried to act like the type of person people didn’t mind hanging around. “No need.” I forced a smile, but from her wince, I could tell I’d missed the mark for looking casual.

Okay, I needed to try harder, so I smiled even wider.

When her entire body cringed, I gave up. I didn’t know how to people.

“Look, I heard you in the hall, and I’m assuming you heard my conversation. I just want to say—”

“Can we not?” I most definitely did not want to have this conversation. My blood was already escalating from a jolt to a fizz. The one thing I could control at the moment was getting out of this room and away from Samantha.

I adjusted my bag, needing to expend the energy before the walls started shaking or the kitchen table rattled. “I don’t know where my class is, and I need to find it.”

Her expression crumpled. “Yeah, okay.” She placed her hands behind her head, her white shirt inching up to reveal a small section of her stomach. “Just… can we talk later?”

“Sure.” I had no plan to follow through. I could sleep in my car and come in here only to shower until Samantha got the room situation worked out. The idea of living in a residence hall surrounded by lowerclassmen worried me due to the lack of privacy, but I’d do whatever I had to. I’d learned that forcing people to be around you accomplished only one thing—becoming the butt of every joke.

With that, I marched out of the apartment.

The charge through me was now fizzing to the point that a hum would happen at any second, so I walked faster than necessary to the elevator and counted the seconds until I was outside.

I didn’t understand why Samantha had such a problem with me. We’d said only a few words to each other, and she hadn’t been in the apartment when I returned from the bookstore last night. I’d gotten ready for bed and eaten some crackers then hung out in my room, hoping that the nice conversation I’d had with the pale clerk at the bookstore was a sign that things would start to go right.

Clearly, I’d been wrong.

Even as I walked into the partially sunny day, I couldn’t keep the pressure from building. I needed to squelch my anxiousness, but between the encounters with Dante yesterday and Samantha’s actions this morning, I felt out of control.

Students were milling around outside, several in groups, heading in the same direction I was.

And, as always, I was alone.

That was when the hum happened.

Shit.

I was going to implode.

I clutched my chest and stopped walking, staring at the ground in hopes of containing whatever was inside me. The intensity was worse than ever, and I wished I’d never come to this university. At home, I’d had a true haven where I could be alone for hours and not worry about someone living next door.

The hum vibrated under my skin, and the ground began trembling underneath me.

Holy shit. Was I causing an earthquake? Surely not.

“Hey, are you okay?” someone asked, startling me.

My emotions flared higher, and the ground moved under my feet, toppling me over.

“Whoa,” the guy said, and a hand grasped my arm.

Instead of hitting the ground, I was tugged into the side of some random guy. That was enough to take my focus away from my internal turmoil. This guy wasn’t nearly as muscular as Dante, and when I looked at his face, my thoughts didn’t scatter.

Bright-emerald eyes stared back at me from under spiky, dark-blond hair. The guy dropped his hand and bit his thin bottom lip. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to manhandle you. It looked like you were going to fall.”

Fall? He hadn’t felt the ground shake or move? Thank fuck. My anxiety lessened, reducing the energy in my blood to a fizzle. “No, it’s fine. I was dizzy. Thanks for helping me.”

He was the second handsome guy to offer me assistance in less than twenty-four hours. What was it with all the men here resembling models? This guy had the whole Ken doll vibe going on but with a mysterious edge that made him damn alluring.

He continued to examine me, which made me feel as if I were under a microscope. My skin crawled, and my heart skipped a beat.

I needed to be on my way to class. Unsure what else to say, I took a step forward, but the guy stepped in front of me, blocking my path.

Something weird washed over me, like curiosity and determination—emotions that were definitely not mine, which meant they were his, and my blood was dangerously close to humming again. Though I never understood how, I could sometimes read other people’s emotions. “I’m going to be late.” I tried to pivot around him, but he blocked me again.

He went for my hand then paused. “I’m not trying to make you late, but I want to make sure you’re okay. You looked upset before you stumbled.”

I blew out a breath, and the tension in my shoulders eased. “My roommate isn’t thrilled about rooming with me.” I shrugged, playing it off like it was no big deal.

“Ah.” He frowned. “Well, it hasn’t been long. I’m sure she’ll change her mind.”

Mom had told me similar things over the years, but the more time a person spent around me, the less they wanted to do with me.

“Not likely. She was on the phone with the housing administrator.” Why was I spilling my guts to him? I rubbed the spot in my chest that felt like a gaping void.

“That’s her loss, then.”

I snorted and tilted my head, expecting to see a condescending expression, but Nice Guy’s face was lined with concern.

His eyebrows rose. “What? You don’t agree?”

“No.” Wait. I wasn’t sure how to answer that. “Yes?”

“You’re not sure?” He smiled, and a dimple appeared in his right cheek, adding to his good looks. “Well, I do. I can already tell you’re good people.” He tapped his head.

Could he be strange like me? My stomach fluttered. “Like a buzzing or something?”

He laughed. “Or something. But someone selfish or who didn’t care wouldn’t be upset about their roommate not liking them.”

Oh. Right. That made more sense, but my body sagged. “Maybe I’m upset for purely selfish reasons. You don’t know.” People assuming things about others caused a lot of problems in this world. “Anyway, thanks for the assist, but I need to head to class.”

This time, when I turned and marched away, Nice Guy didn’t stop me. For some reason, a knot of disappointment twisted hard within me—which was ridiculous. I would’ve been annoyed if he’d delayed me again.

I took my phone from my jeans pocket and pulled up the campus map. Science classes were held in the Howling Building, across the road from the apartments.

I strode in that direction, noticing a ton of students loitering around. Back at my old school, the classes got fuller as the day went on, but this was a totally different sort of place.

When I opened the thick wooden back door to the building, someone behind me bumped into me. My sneakers squeaked on the shiny vinyl floor as I caught my balance. The person didn’t bother apologizing as he hurried to the second set of doors ten feet in front of us.

Jerk.

I took the staircase on the right to the third floor. My classroom was the first one on the right.

I entered the room, relieved to find that it looked like a normal college classroom. I wasn’t sure what I’d expected. Something similar to Hogwarts, old and fancy, like I’d seen on television? The lackluster tan walls and desk seats seemed typical and not intimidating.

There were open seats in the front and the middle of the classroom. The early risers had gotten their choice of the back-row seating, but that was fine with me. I picked a front-row seat to ensure I maintained focus. I needed to be engaged, take notes, and ace this class if I wanted a chance of getting accepted into vet school the first time I applied.

A few students nodded at me, but I kept my mouth shut, not wanting to scare them away with my pointless rambling.

As I slid into the seat, I heard a familiar chuckle and glanced up.

Nice Guy.

He grinned as he strolled toward me, and I blinked as he sat in the seat next to mine. I hadn’t expected to see him again so soon.

“If this doesn’t prove we’re meant to get to know each other, I don’t know what would.”