Strange evening guest

Chris didn't want to return to his room. He couldn't stand the thought of being alone with his thoughts right now. The weight of everything with Sky, the pressure of not knowing where he stood, was suffocating. But he didn't want to burden Rachel with his mood—she'd be studying, and he wasn't about to drag her into his mess.

His footsteps were aimless as he walked through the last hallway leading him out, when he bumped into her—one of the girls from his class. The same one who always greeted him with a bubbly, almost too excited smile whenever their paths crossed, which had raised Rachel's alarm bells. He'd never really paid her much attention, dismissing it as casual friendliness, but today, with his mind swirling with everything he couldn't control, he found himself noticing her more.

"Hey, Chris!"