The sharp sound of her phone buzzes through the air, like ice water splashing across my face. She jerks back, her body springing to full alert. I exhale, the moment broken.
“Oh my God,” Alex gasps, her eyes wide with excitement as she reads the notification. “Freddie, look at this!”
Before I can even process what’s happening, she’s shoving her phone in my face with the enthusiasm of an overeager puppy. I blink, trying to focus on the screen and not how close she still is. It’s a call for a protest against a new building project nearby for a processing plant. Because, of course, it is.
“I’ve been working on posters for this,” Alex continues, her earlier embarrassment forgotten as she swipes through images on her phone. “A bunch of us are protesting next month.”
The designs flash on the screen—bold, chaotic, and drenched in urgency, like they were made by a furious, very talented graffiti artist.
But as I look closer, a familiar name catches my eye. Dr. Reeves. Oh boy.
“Wait,” I frown, squinting at the screen. “Isn’t this the project Dr. Reeves is heading?”
Alex nods vigorously. “Exactly! That’s why we need to stop it. If Dr. Reeves is involved, you can bet it’s going to turn into an environmental disaster.”
A heaviness settles in my stomach as I hear her words, like I’m suddenly standing at the edge of a cliff.
I can’t help but respect Dr. Reeves. His lectures are always engaging, his approach pragmatic and logical. He's a respected researcher with solid industry ties in mining and energy, and he’s dedicated to helping students break into the industry. Having him in your corner after graduation would be invaluable.
“Alex, come on. The EIA reports show minimal impact on the wetland area. They’ve got mitigation strategies in place.”
She whirls on me, eyes blazing with a fire that sends a jolt through me. “Minimal impact? Have you even read the full assessment, or just the cherry-picked summary Dr. Reeves keeps waving around?”
I bite back a sigh. “He’s one of the most respected?—”
“He’s a sellout,” she cuts me off, her voice sharp and biting. “Three years ago, he said that same site was ‘ecologically crucial.’ But now that there’s corporate money involved, suddenly it’s expendable?”
I rake a hand through my hair, frustrated. “Things change. Science evolves. You can’t just?—”
“Science evolves?” She laughs, but it’s bitter, the sound almost hollow. “The only thing that’s evolved is the size of the check they’re writing him. Come on, Freddie, you’ve got to see where I’m coming from. I even thought you might want to help with the protest.”
The accusation stings, but what’s worse is how fucking gorgeous she looks when she’s fired up like this. Her cheeks are flushed, her eyes alight with passion. I have to physically stop myself from remembering how she looked underneath me last month, all soft and vulnerable. But I can’t help it. Everything about her is magnetic.
But I also know we’re different we are. How differently we see the world. And how much I want to kiss her anyway.
“Not everything is a conspiracy, Alex,” I say, trying to keep my voice calm, controlled. “Sometimes progress means compromise. Finding solutions that work for everyone. Look, I’ll look into it more. If you’re right, I’ll help out. I need to see the full picture.”
She swallows, her throat working as she nods. “Right. I’ll take another look at everything too, just to double-check.”
Before I can say anything else, Troy’s voice shouts up the stairs, breaking the tension.
“Hey, Freds, where are you? Emergency house meeting! Ethan tried to microwave a fork again!”
I groan, half-relieved for the interruption. “Duty calls. Gotta prevent my housemate from burning down the kitchen. Again.”
Alex purses her lips, then stands up, offering me a hand. “Never a dull moment with you guys, huh?”
“What can I say?” I take her hand, pulling myself up. “We live life on the edge. The edge of complete idiocy, but still.”
ALEX
THEN – FRESHMAN YEAR – APRIL
Itrudge along the dimly lit campus path, each step feeling like lead in my shoes. Failure hangs over me, a suffocating cloud I can’t shake. The campus security officer’s voice rings in my ears, cold and unyielding. “Disperse immediately or face disciplinary action.”
God, what a joke. All those sleepless nights, the frantic poster-making sessions, the speeches I’d practiced until my throat was raw—for what? We didn’t even make a dent. The project will plow ahead, bulldozing the fragile ecosystem we fought to protect. And for what? A processing plant? Surely there was a better site for this to be built, if they just spent a little more time?—
I’m so lost in my spiral of self-pity that I nearly slam into someone. I look up, an apology on my lips, when my stomach drops.Freddie. Because, of course, it’s Freddie. The world clearly thinks I haven’t suffered enough today.
