No one’s POV
The air was different today.
Maybe it was because the sky was a little too blue. Or maybe because the school speakers, for once, weren’t screeching with broken announcements. Or maybe it was because Mia Calista actually… brushed her hair?
Okay, wait. Rewind.
Let’s not get dramatic. She didn’t go full beauty queen. She just… didn’t look like she crawled out of a sarcastic tornado. For once.
Still, something was off. And Skylar noticed it immediately as she watched Mia lean her chin on her palm, eyes unusually fixed on the hallway.
"You good?" Skylar nudged her. "You’ve been staring at nothing for ten minutes. That’s usually my thing."
"Nothing," Mia said too fast, brushing her hair behind her ear.
And then… he appeared.
Lucas.
Effortlessly cool, with his black hoodie half-zipped and his hair still damp like he either just showered or wrestled the wind on his way to school. Either way, it was unfair how the guy looked like an Instagram filter in real life.
He stopped right beside them. “Yo.”
Mia nearly choked on her water.
Skylar had to slap her back twice.
Lucas arched an amused brow. “You okay?”
Mia cleared her throat like her life depended on it. “Yep. All good. Just inhaled air too aggressively.”
Lucas smirked, and Skylar quietly sipped her iced coffee, doing her best not to laugh.
"So, what's up?" Lucas asked, casually leaning against the wall like he owned the place.
Skylar looked at Mia. Mia looked at Skylar. Then looked at Lucas. Then her water bottle. Then back to Lucas.
Girl was malfunctioning.
“I was actually wondering if either of you joined the Mystery Hunt Club?” Lucas asked, as if it was the most casual thing ever.
Skylar blinked. “Uh, what now?”
Lucas pulled out a neon-orange flyer and handed it to them.
Mystery Hunt Club: Solve riddles. Find secrets. Win stuff.
“...This sounds shady,” Mia said.
Lucas grinned. “Exactly.”
And with that, the next hour became a blur.
---
The Library — Later That Day
“So we just look for clues hidden around campus?” Mia asked, squinting at the map the club president gave them.
Lucas nodded. “Exactly. And whoever solves the entire map first gets two things: immunity from any school club duties for a week…”
“…and 5,000 credits to spend at the cafeteria?” Mia gasped.
Skylar laughed. “You’re in, aren’t you?”
“Are you kidding? Do you know how many bubble teas I can get with that?”
Lucas watched Mia with a fond smirk. “Thought you’d be fun to do this with.”
She froze. “Wait. Are you saying we’re partners?”
Lucas tossed her a badge that said Team 5: Mia & Lucas.
“You should’ve seen my face when I got assigned randomly. I was gonna switch… but then I saw your name and decided to keep it.”
Mia stared at him, heart skipping a suspicious beat. “Flirting is not part of the hunt.”
“Too bad. I multitask.”
---
Clue 1: “I hide beneath the ticking past, where silence falls and echoes last.”
Skylar watched from the distance as Mia and Lucas disappeared toward the old bell tower wing.
Meanwhile, Jace stood beside her.
“You don’t think Lucas is trying too hard, do you?” he asked casually.
Skylar turned to him, amused. “Are you jealous… for Mia?”
He rolled his eyes. “No. I'm just concerned. For your friend. Of course.”
Skylar smiled. “Sure.”
---
Inside the Bell Tower
Mia tiptoed over ancient floorboards, flashlight in hand.
“This place gives me horror movie vibes,” she whispered.
Lucas walked behind her, calm and collected. “You scared?”
“I’m not scared,” she scoffed. “I’m cautious. There’s a difference.”
Lucas chuckled. “Noted.”
They found the first clue taped under the old grandfather clock: a folded parchment with numbers that led them to the Chemistry lab.
They high-fived. Too long. Awkward.
But neither pulled away fast enough.
---
Clue 2: “Mix me wrong and I go boom. Find me fast, in the chemical room.”
It took them another 30 minutes, a ruined lab coat, and an accidental spill of some mystery powder before Mia found the clue inside a fake test tube.
She celebrated like she won the Olympics.
Lucas just laughed. “You’re so dramatic.”
“You like it,” she said without thinking.
He looked at her.
She froze. “I mean. I—”
“I do,” he replied.
Mia wanted the floor to swallow her whole.
Instead, Lucas gently touched her pink-streaked cheek.
“Guess the hunt wasn’t the only mystery I wanted to solve today.”
She blinked. “Are you—”
Before she could finish, he pulled back, smirking. “Let’s get the next clue, partner.”
Mia stood there, mind spinning like a broken compass.
Oh, she was so screwed.
---
Later That Night
Back in her room, Skylar flopped on her bed and texted Mia.
Skylar: Tell me everything.
Mia: I THINK I LIKE HIM?!??
Skylar: Girl, I knew it.
Mia: Shut up. I hate you. But like in a loving way.
Skylar: So what now?
Mia: I don’t know. I’m not ready to fall.
Skylar: That’s the best time to fall. When you don’t expect it.
Mia: Wow. Since when did you become a quote generator?
Skylar: Shut up. Good night.
Mia: Night. Also… I may have accidentally flirted. Like a lot.
Skylar: On accident?
Mia: Don’t expose me.
---
But the real twist came the next morning.
When a new list went up outside the Student Council room.
And under the list of Aurora Academy’s Heirs & Sponsors was a name no one saw coming:
Lucas Ashton Evermond — Son of the Evermond Corp President.
Mia read it. Froze. Choked on her donut.
Skylar read it too. “No. Freaking. Way.”
Mia blinked. “I flirted with a billionaire’s son while covered in powder and bubble tea stains.”
Lucas, from down the hallway, winked at her.
Skylar just stared. “Girl, your craziness arc just unlocked a new trope.”
And Mia?
She screamed into her locker.