Val's P.O.V

The campus air felt drunk on freedom. Exams were finally behind them, and the whole place seemed to exhale at once—shoulders dropping, voices rising in bright, careless spirals. Every conversation orbited the same glittering center: the End-of-Year Ball. Dresses, dates, after-parties, who was wearing what, who was dancing with whom. Even the trees looked ready to shed their leaves early just to make room for sequins.

Val had almost convinced herself Ronan was gone for good. ...