Flecks of gold

"Thank you," Aurora said softly, bowing her head in gratitude.

Before the tall man could utter a word, his lips parted, as if he were about to speak. But before any sound could escape, she turned and walked away, quickly leaving the sphere of his strong presence. As she moved, she couldn't shake the feeling that he was still there, watching. She glanced over her shoulder, and sure enough, the tall figure was following her, keeping a steady distance.

She locked eyes with him, his hazel brown eyes shimmering with flecks of gold, piercing the distance between them. There was something about them, something intense yet unreadable, that made her heart skip a beat.

"Why is he following me now?" she thought, irritation mingling with curiosity. But she quickly dismissed the thought. "Forget it, let's just get to my room."

She picked up the pace, her heels clicking against the floor with urgency. In no time, she found herself standing in front of room 4002. She reached for the keycard, but just as she was about to slide it into the door, the man stopped beside her. Without a word, he pulled out a keycard and effortlessly slid it into the lock of the neighboring room: 4001.

Aurora paused for a moment, surprised. "Ohh, so he stays in 4001," she thought.

They exchanged a brief, understanding smile, with a quiet nod, they both entered their respective rooms. The doors clicked shut almost simultaneously, leaving a quiet silence between them.

Aurora leaned against the door for a moment, taking a deep breath, letting the quiet wash over her as she sought some peace after the chaos.

After unpacking, she ran down to join her friends for lunch. As she walked into the cafeteria, Ronan raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Wow! The latecomer finally made it," he said with an amused, yet disappointed tone. "Which room did you get?"

Hesitant to share the info, Aurora mumbled, "4... 0... 0... 2," and quietly settled into a seat at the table, hoping to change the subject.

"This is why I say, try to be on time," Zane continued, shaking his head. "But no, you just won't. I gave you 10 to 15 calls to wake you up, but you just wouldn't receive any of them. You probably kept it on silent," he complained, his voice laced with frustration.

Aurora considered defending herself, but thought its better to stay silent, as it wasn't worth the hassle. As she remained quiet, she could feel the weight of their glares—those unspoken words that said, You're not getting away with this one.

One by one, they dug into their meals, and the tension slowly began to fade as they shifted to other topics, laughing and chatting about everything else.