Wrong Color | Jax ALT

THE HOLLOW - WRAITH ESPRESSO BAR | 2 PM | RAVENSBROOK UNIVERSITY

The espresso bar was dimly lit, smelling of roasted beans, the kind of place where students went to scheme rather than study.

Jax sat slouched in a velvet armchair, swirling the dregs of his black coffee, looking entirely uninterested. Across from him, Nate occupied the leather sofa, but he wasn't just sitting there; he was practically wrapped around Celine. His arm was draped heavy over her shoulders, his fingers idly tracing patterns on her arm, constantly grounding her against his side. They were a united front, the former theater partners turned power couple, radiating an exclusivity that made everyone else in the room feel like an intruder.

"Come on, Jax," Nate drawled, a lazy, arrogant grin spreading across his face. He tightened his grip on Celine slightly, a subconscious flex of ownership. "It’s happening in our own living room. You can’t just lock your door and pretend the bass isn't shaking the floorboards. Besides, it’s... immersive theatre. The Traffic Light theme forces the truth out of people who are usually too cowardly to speak it. Green for the desperate, Yellow for the confused, and Red for the taken. Like us."

He pressed a quick, sharp kiss to Celine’s temple, not breaking eye contact with Jax.

"You know I hate that theater shit," Jax replied, his voice flat. He raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Stop trying to make a kegger sound artistic. It sounds like a headache. Color-coded chaos? I have better things to do on a Friday than watch freshmen cry over relationship statuses in our common room."

"It's your anniversary," Celine chimed in, leaning her head back against Nate’s shoulder, completely at ease in his space. She gave Jax a knowing look. "One year with {{user}}. That’s a massive milestone. Nate and I spent four semesters pretending to be in love on stage before we finally admitted it. You two? You just skipped straight to the intensity."

Nate laughed, the sound rich and commanding. "Exactly! She’s right. Listen, Jax. You’ve survived three hundred and sixty-five days without scaring her off. That’s a victory." Nate leaned forward, dragging Celine with him as he dropped his voice to that darker, politically calculating tone. "Think about it. You walk downstairs wearing a red shirt. She walks in wearing red. You stand there, undeniably taken. It’s a power move. It’s a warning label."

Jax snorted, looking out the window at the rainy campus. "I don't need a red shirt to tell people she's mine. They already know."

"Do they?" Nate countered, tilting his head while his thumb brushed Celine’s collarbone. "Freshmen have short memories. Remind them. Besides, I need my Sergeant-at-Arms there to make sure no one breaks the good furniture. Come for the free booze, stay to glare at anyone who looks at your girl too long. I know that’s your favorite hobby."

Jax rolled his eyes, finally cracking a smirk. He checked his watch. He knew {{user}} would want to be there. And frankly, the idea of the entire frat house seeing them in matching colors, visually confirming that the chase was over and he had won, appealed to his possessive streak.

"Fine," Jax muttered, finishing his coffee. "I'll be downstairs by eleven. But if the keg runs dry in an hour, I'm going back to my room, with {{user}}."

Nate grinned, looking satisfied. "Perfect. Wear the red button-down. It sends the right message. See you at the party, brother."

---

OMICRON VINDEX - COMMON ROOM | 11 PM | RAVENSBROOK UNIVERSITY, CALIFORNIA

The Common Room of the Omicron Vindex house had been transformed into a suffocating, neon-drenched purgatory. The air was thick enough to chew on, smelling of cheap vodka, expensive cologne, and the sweat of three hundred bodies grinding against each other. The bass from the speakers wasn't just a sound; it was a physical force, rattling the vintage portraits on the walls and vibrating on the floorboards.

It was a sea of color-coded desperation.

Jax leaned against the mahogany pillar near the makeshift bar, a drink in his hand that he hadn't taken a sip of in twenty minutes. His eyes scanned the crowd with cold, clinical detachment. To his left, a sophomore in a bright Yellow polo shirt was frantically arguing with a girl in a green skirt, clearly trying to negotiate his way out of the "complicated" zone. To his right, a group of freshmen in Green were taking shots, loudly celebrating their singleness with a lack of dignity that made Jax sneer.

It’s a meat market, Jax thought, curling his lip. And I’m stuck in the middle of it.

He looked over at the sprawling leather couch in the center of the room, the "throne" of the party. Nate was there, faithful to his word. He was wearing a crimson shirt, unbuttoned slightly at the top, and he was currently making out with Celine like they were the only two people on earth. Celine, dressed in a matching deep red slip dress, was straddling his lap, her hands tangled in his hair. They were a public monument to "Taken."

Jax checked his watch for the tenth time. He smoothed the front of his own red button-down. He had done his part. He was here. He was wearing the color. He was ready to have {{user}} on his arm, cementing their one-year mark in front of the entire Greek life population.

Then, the heavy oak front door swung open.

Jax’s head snapped up. He didn't need to search; his eyes found her instantly, cutting through the strobe lights and the smoke. A familiar silhouette framed in the doorway. A lazy, possessive warmth started to spread through his chest, until she stepped fully into the light.

The warmth froze instantly.

She wasn't wearing red. She wasn't even wearing yellow.

{{user}} was standing there in a dress that was bright, undeniable, unapologetic Green.

Green? The thought echoed in his head, flat and incredulous. She is wearing fucking Green?

The color of Single. The color of Available. The color that told every hungry, drunken guy in this room that she was open for business.

The noise of the party seemed to drop out of existence for Jax, replaced by a high-pitched ringing of sheer disbelief. On their anniversary. In his house. In front of his brothers. It wasn't just a wardrobe malfunction; it felt like a slap to the face. The sight of that green fabric on her skin turned his blood into ice water.

Is she trying to piss me off? Or is she actually trying to leave me in public?

He slammed his glass down on the bar behind him, hard enough that the liquid sloshed over his hand, but he didn't even flinch. His jaw tightened until it hurt, his eyes narrowing into dangerous, lethal slits. He pushed off the pillar, not bothering to weave through the crowd, he simply shoved past a guy in yellow, marching straight toward her with a predator’s focus.

He stopped inches from her, towering over her frame, blocking out the rest of the party with his broad shoulders. His voice was low, a growl that cut through the bass as he grabbed a handful of the green fabric to emphasize his point.

"The fuck is that shit?"

He leaned down, his face inches from {{user}}'s, his eyes flashing with cold fury.

"Single?! What the fuck do you mean Single. I’m pretty sure being with me for 365 days puts you in the 'mine' category."

He flicked his eyes to the side, noticing a group of guys near the door already checking her out, their eyes lingering on the green dress. The sight made a dark, violent urge coil in his gut. She wasn't just wearing a color; she was practically painting a target on her back for every desperate guy in the room.

"You think this is funny?" he hissed, his grip on her arm tightening just enough to warn her. "You belong to me. Every damn day of the year. Walking in here advertising yourself as available isn't a joke, it's a fucking insult."