Though Adrien hates her.

But they seemed to know each other well right?

He'll just wait till day breaks then do something about this

**

Angelo woke up late so he just did his morning routine like flash

He met Lyra at his doorstep

"Good morning Lyra?"He asked clearly shocked

"You were taking forever. Wait what's this on your head?" She asked pointing with a squint

Angelo frowned, reached up slowly… and paused. His fingers brushed against soft cotton. Elastic waistband. Slightly damp.

Oh no.

He yanked it off his head and stared at it in horror.

It was his boxer.

His neat navy blue, emergency-hair-drying boxer.

"Angelo." Lyra folded her arms, voice already shaking with laughter. "Tell me you didn’t just greet the morning sun with underwear on your head."

"It was next to my towel, okay?!" he hissed, looking around like the walls might be judging him too.

Lyra's laugh exploded out like a grenade. She bent over, checking out his DIY headband.

He glared. "You wanna die?"

"Too late," she giggled, still breathless. "I already passed away the moment I saw Calvin Klein on your forehead. You should remove it real quick"

"Of course I will" He said with an eye roll throwing it on a drawer

"Where's your roomie, he left for class already"

"Nah he went on a trip" Lyra faces him with a confused look

"Trip?"

"We're late, what subject are you having?" He asked dragging her along

Lyra was still staring at him like he just told her dragons were real.

"Hold up what kind of trip? Field trip? Family trip? FBI trip?"

"I don’t know! The note just said 'Gone for a trip. Will be back soon.'" Angelo replied, mimicking Adrien’s handwriting with his fingers in the air.

"That's the most suspicious line I’ve ever heard, Told you Adrien is a bitch"

"So do you have his number?" He asked "What? Why will I've it when I'm not Scar, he even blocked her. And why do you need his number?"

“Nothing, I’m having Government. See you later!” Angelo said, jogging toward the other block.

He slipped into the classroom just as Professor Kane arranged his papers on the desk.

The guy next to Angelo leaned over and whispered, “Heads up, man. Professor Kane’s words are cane, but he doesn’t mean it personally.”

Angelo nodded, sliding into his seat as the professor looked up. His mind flashing back to the scene with Adrien

“Good morning, everyone,” Kane said, voice steady. “Let’s be clear this class isn’t for people who want easy answers. Government is complicated, messy, and you’ll have to think.”

He scanned the room, eyes sharp.

“If you’re here just to pass, don’t expect me to hold your hand. Pay attention or fall behind.”

Angelo pulled out his notebook and pen, ready to keep up.

Professor Kane flipped open a thick textbook and pointed to the page.

“Today, we’re covering the basics of constitutional law, what it means, why it matters. Open your books to page 42.”

Angelo flipped through his textbook, scanning the dense paragraphs.

“Let’s start simple,” Kane said. “What’s a constitution? Someone tell me.”

A quiet girl at the front raised her hand. “It’s the set of rules a country follows.”

“Exactly,” Kane nodded. “But more than that it’s the foundation of government power and citizens’ rights.”

He wrote a few key terms on the board: Sovereignty, Separation of Powers, Rule of Law.

“Copy these down,” he instructed. “We’ll discuss each one in detail.”

For the next thirty minutes, Kane led them through explanations, occasionally throwing in sarcastic remarks.

“Anyone here think government is easy? Raise your hand so I can mark you for extra homework"

—-

It was lunchtime, and some students especially those who lived close to school were probably off-campus since they didn’t have hostels.

Angelo sat alone, lazily picking at his food, when he heard footsteps. Heavy ones. Muscles approaching.

Noah, Jayden, and Rico.

“Sup, man. Heard anything from King Cruz?” Noah asked.

“There’s a basketball tournament coming up with another school, and he just vanished.”

Angelo shook his head and held up the tiny origami paper. “He just left this note.”

The three boys exchanged glances, while reading the text, their expressions unreadable.

“Alright, thanks dude,” Rico said, turning to leave.

“Wait please. You guys have Senior Adrien’s number, right?” Angelo called after them.

Jayden paused. “Yeah. But unfortunately, we can’t give it out.”

Then they walked away for real.

Angelo sat back down slowly, eyes still fixed on the stylish writing in his hand, looking like a lost puppy.

—

The Airport*

Scarlett parked the car and stepped out, She leaned on the car door, ignoring the stares from two guys nearby who were clearly trying too hard

And there she was

Ashley.

Hair dyed red again, a hoodie tied around her waist, dragging a silver suitcase behind her like she owned the pavement.

Scarlett’s heart flipped once Ashley spotted her, and her lips curled into a small, familiar smirk.

“Took you long enough,” she said, walking up and tossing her carry-on into the back seat without waiting for help.

“You said 4:30. It’s 4:25.” Scarlett arched a brow. “Congrats on still being dramatic.”

Ashley slid into the passenger seat and sighed, like she hadn’t just flown hours to get here.

“I’m allowed to be. I almost died sitting next to a guy who thought he's too cute to be my seat partner ”

Scarlett snorted, starting the engine. “Didn’t miss your chaos at all.”

Ashley turned to her, eyes sharp but warm. “Liar.”

Scarlett didn’t reply. Just shifted into drive and pulled out of the lot, eyes locked on the road.

After a few minutes of silence., Ashley spoke up popping gum loudly like a bitch

“Lyra doesn’t know I’m here yet, right?”

"Yeah she doesn't and you'll be lodging in the hotel since she doesn't support our relationship"

"I know that. And your boyfriend?" She said with a taunting smirk and Scarlett gripped the wheels tightly

"We broke up and yunno that right?"

Ashley popped another bubble, loud enough to be annoying on purpose. “Oh, I know. Just wanted to hear you say it.”

Scarlett side-eyed her. “You’re still the worst.”

Ashley smirked. “And you’re still pretending you don’t like how we rocked, Ashlett so hot.”

Scarlett didn’t reply

The car turned onto the expressway, the city stretching out in front of them, golden with the fading sun.

Scarlett’s grip on the wheel had relaxed a little, but her brain wasn’t calm. Not even close.

Ashley shifted, legs crossed, one foot tapping gently against the dashboard like she owned the car too.

“I didn’t come here to cause drama,” she said, voice quieter this time. “Well… not much.”

Scarlett exhaled through her nose. “Then what did you come for?”

Ashley’s eyes didn’t leave hers. “You.”

"I feel like you're lying."

"Alright I am. I came for a mission but you're also part of the reasons"

Scarlett blinked slowly, looking back to the road. “You’re too much.”

“And you’re too scared.”

Scarlett flicked on the turn signal. “We’re almost at the hotel.”

“Great,” Ashley said, suddenly chipper again. “Hope they’ve got wine and enough pillows. I’m feeling soft tonight.”

Scarlett laughed. Just once. But Ashley caught it.

“I missed that sound,” Ashley whispered leaning closer and Scarlett pushed her back gently

**

Angelo couldn't find Lyra in the cafe so he just left for his next class

Few minutes later he was done so he headed to the empty dorm and fell flat on his bed

He went back to the window side but to his surprise, there was another note lying on the floor

This one was longer?

He unfolded it quickly with anticipation it read:

> Stop looking for me Angelo, you won't find me. Take care of yourself till 2 weeks time. And if you're able to find me before then, you can dare me to do anything

Seriously? They're now playing a game of hide and seek right now?

"Two weeks?" Then what will happen to the basketball challenge? Angelo felt his heart sank

He wouldn't be this sad if only he had Adrien's number

He kept the new message and the one with him, carefully keeping it with him

Then he grabbed a paper and pen and wrote

> I promise you I'll find you before that time and when I do..Your dare will be more tougher

He wrote, folded the paper gently and he left it lying on the floor.

"Senior Adrien, where're you?"