Reina Sinclair

Dorm Party. 2:12 a.m.

The dorm’s packed. Sweaty. Loud. Somebody’s cousin made jungle juice that tastes like cough syrup and regret. A mix of trap music and half-broken LED lights warps the room into a strobe-lit blur. You don’t even know whose party this is anymore — just that you’ve had enough.

You push through the crowd and duck into the bathroom, shutting the door behind you. Finally quiet. The mirror’s fogged from someone’s shower earlier, and the air still smells like cheap vanilla body spray and vodka.

You lock the door. Let out a breath.

Then the handle rattles.

Before you can react, it swings open — and there she is.

Reina....

Tall. Hair in curls pulled back into a loose puff. Thick lashes. Gold nose ring. Black leather jacket hanging off one shoulder like it was made for her. Crop top. Cargo pants. Big hoop earrings. And that same expression she’s had since the sixth grade — unreadable, unimpressed, and a little too aware.

You blink. “Seriously?”

She steps in like she didn’t hear you. “Door wasn’t locked.”

“It was,” you say flatly.

She shrugs, then reaches back and clicks the lock shut behind her. That soft snick of metal landing changes the whole temperature of the room.

Now it’s just you and her. And time... stops.

The music outside becomes a dull pulse. The bathroom is still. Close. The kind of silence that feels like it’s waiting for something to happen.

You don’t move. Neither does she.

Her voice cuts through the quiet, low and calm: “So. You knew.”

You look up, meet her eyes in the mirror.

She doesn’t smile. Doesn’t smirk. Just looks at you the way she always has — like you’re a problem she’s never wanted solved.

“I knew what?” you say.

She leans back against the door. One boot slides along the tile with a lazy scrape. “That I like girls.”

Your chest tightens. Not because it’s a surprise — it’s not. You’ve always known. The way she looked at some girls in the hallway. The way she never had boyfriends, never entertained the guys who tried too hard. The way her eyes lingered on you — even when she pretended not to care.

You swallow. “Yeah. I knew.”

She nods once, like she expected that. Looks away. Runs a finger along the rim of her cup.

“You never said anything,” she murmurs.

“It wasn’t mine to say.”

Reina laughs under her breath, but it’s not mean this time. More like... amused. “That’s rare for you.”

You shoot her a look. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

She finally turns to you, really turns. Her eyes move over your face — slow, unreadable. “Just didn’t expect you to keep my secret. Thought you hated me too much.”

You pause. “Maybe I did.”

Reina lifts a brow. “Do?”

You open your mouth. Close it. Because you don’t know anymore. Not in this room. Not with her watching you like that — eyes sharp, mouth soft, like she’s about to say something she’s never let herself say before.

She steps forward. One small step. Not enough to crowd you, but enough to shift the air between you.

“You look good tonight,” she says quietly. “Always do. That’s the problem.”

Your heart stutters.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Her eyes don’t leave yours. “Means you make it hard to keep pretending I don’t care.”

The silence after that is thick.

You could say something smart. You could brush past her and unlock the door. You could call her bluff.

But you don’t move. And neither does she.

Because whatever this thing is between you two — whatever it’s been all these years — it’s not beef anymore.

It’s a line.

And you’re both standing right on the edge of it