“I like you, Julia Watson.”

Olivia and I wandered through the campus, finally finding a quiet spot by a tall oak tree near the edge of the courtyard. A few students were lounging around, but there was enough space for us to sit comfortably. We spread out our lunches, the cool breeze rustling the leaves above us.

I pulled out my phone, quickly typing a message to Abigail.

Hey, I’m sitting by the big oak tree near the courtyard for lunch. Where are you?

I hit send and looked up, noticing Olivia already digging into her sandwich with an exaggerated sigh of satisfaction.

“This place is pretty nice,” I commented, trying to distract myself from the fluttering feeling Jamie’s smile had left behind.

Olivia looked up at me, her eyes twinkling mischievously. “Yeah, not too bad for our first day. So, tell me, are you planning to spend the rest of the day thinking about Mr. ‘Playboy’?” she teased, barely hiding her grin.

I rolled my eyes, biting into my own sandwich. “I’m not thinking about him,” I muttered, though I could feel the heat in my cheeks.

“Sure, sure,” Olivia said, smirking. “Keep telling yourself that.”

Before I could respond, my phone buzzed, and I quickly glanced at the screen. It was a message from Abigail.

Hey, Julia, I won’t be able to have lunch with you today. I have another class right now. I’ll catch up with you later!

I frowned, feeling a little disappointed. I had been looking forward to spending some time with her, especially since it was only the first day, but I quickly reminded myself that this was college—things were going to be different, and I needed to get used to it.

“That’s a bummer,” I said, staring at my phone before putting it back in my bag.

Olivia looked up from her sandwich. “Everything okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, just my friend. She has another class, so she can’t join me for lunch,” I explained, shrugging it off. “It’s fine. I’ll just hang out with you.”

“Oh, that’s too bad,” Olivia said, offering me a sympathetic smile. “But hey, more time for us to get to know each other, right?”

I smiled back, grateful for her positivity. “Yeah, definitely.”

We spent the next few minutes talking about our classes, the campus, and what we were most excited for this semester. Olivia seemed to have an endless supply of energy and was always laughing, which made it easy to enjoy the time together.

As we finished up, I stood to toss my trash away, my thoughts drifting back to Abigail, then quickly back to Jamie. For a moment, I glanced over at the group of students by the benches. Jamie was still there, talking with his friends. And once again, as though on cue, his eyes met mine.

I quickly turned away, reminding myself that I had more important things to focus on than some playboy.

“You ready to head to the library?” Olivia asked, finishing her lunch and standing up.

“Yeah, let’s go,” I replied, eager to distract myself from the distractions on campus.

As we walked to the library, I couldn’t help but feel thankful for Olivia’s company. At least for today, it made the campus feel a little less overwhelming.

After leaving the library, Olivia and I made our way to our last two lectures for the day. The afternoon classes felt longer than they should have, the exhaustion of the first day settling in. Even though I was doing my best to focus, my mind kept drifting—partially to Abigail, who I still hadn’t seen since this morning, and annoyingly, back to Jamie.

The last class of the day was in a large lecture hall, packed with students trying to find seats. Olivia and I managed to squeeze into a row near the middle, just as the professor started the lesson. I tried to pay attention, scribbling down notes, but my brain was already drained from everything we’d done today.

“Tell me I’m not the only one struggling to stay awake right now,” Olivia whispered, nudging my arm.

I stifled a yawn. “No, it’s not just you.”

She let out a dramatic sigh. “Good. Because I don’t think I can survive this last hour.”

The class finally ended, and as we gathered our things, Olivia stretched her arms over her head. “Well, that’s it for the day. Thank God.”

I smiled. “Yeah, I think my brain is officially fried.”

As we stepped out of the lecture hall, the campus was bathed in the soft glow of the setting sun. Students were scattered around, some heading to dorms, others lingering in small groups, chatting and laughing.

I felt my face heat up with a mix of shock and anger. Did he seriously just say that?

Olivia, standing beside me, sucked in a sharp breath, clearly enjoying the drama unfolding. I, on the other hand, was fuming.

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to keep my cool. “Wow. You really think highly of yourself, don’t you?” I scoffed, narrowing my eyes at him.

Jamie chuckled, tilting his head slightly. “I mean, I can’t help it if girls throw themselves at me.” He gestured to the two girls still clinging to him, their glares burning into me as if I had personally offended them.

I rolled my eyes. “Well, congratulations. You’re officially the most insufferable person I’ve met today.”

He smirked, clearly unfazed. “Oh, sweetheart, I think you’ll find that I’m much more than that.” His voice was dripping with amusement, like he was enjoying every second of this.

I huffed, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing me flustered. “Whatever, Jamie. Unlike your little fan club here, I actually have better things to do.”

I turned on my heel, ready to walk away, but before I could take another step, his voice stopped me.

“I like you, Julia Watson.”

I froze.

Slowly, I turned back to him, confusion laced in my expression. “Excuse me?”

Jamie just grinned, the confidence radiating off of him. “You’re different. Feisty. Most girls would have already melted in front of me by now, but you—” he pointed at me, “—you’re playing hard to get.”

I scoffed. “I’m not playing anything. I genuinely don’t care about whatever game you’re trying to pull.”

He took a step closer, and I instinctively took one back.

“We’ll see about that,” he murmured, flashing me one last smirk before turning around and walking off, his group of girls trailing after him like lost puppies.

I stood there for a second, my heart pounding in my chest, my brain struggling to process what had just happened.

Olivia nudged me, her eyes wide with excitement. “Oh. My. God. What was that?”

I groaned, rubbing my temples. “I don’t know, but I already hate it.”

She burst out laughing. “Oh, you’re so doomed.”

I shot her a glare. “I am not doomed.”

But deep down, I wasn’t so sure.