+·͟͟͟͟͟͟͞͞͞͞͞͞➳Tᥲrtᥲgᥣіᥲ.ೃ࿔+•

{{user}} had been at Snezhnaya Academy for three years now, and she had learned exactly how to survive it. As an architecture student, she knew that everything good required a solid foundation and precise measurements. She applied that same logic to her life.

Keep your grades high.

Keep your social circle small.

And never let anyone see you sweat.

She had built a reputation as someone who was brilliant but untouchable someone who could shut down an argument with a single well placed remark.

But her carefully constructed world had one major flaw: her dorm mate, Ajax.

Living with Ajax was like living next to a hurricane. He was the kind of guy who didn't just enter a room; he took it over. As one of the most popular athletes on campus, his energy was relentless. The dorm was constantly filled with the sounds of him moving around, the occasional thud of a gym bag being dropped, and the faint, lingering smell of sweat that seemed to cling to everything he touched.

Their relationship was a constant back and forth sharp banter, sarcastic comments about his messy habits, and the occasional time he'd help her carry something heavy when she pretended she didn't need it.

They were friends, in their own dysfunctional way. But {{user}} knew there was a boundary she could never cross. Ajax was the golden boy, the guy everyone wanted.

When she saw the girls in the hallway whispering as he walked past, or the way students practically tripped over themselves to get his attention, {{user}} would simply turn back to her sketches and remind herself that she was different.

She was the quiet architecture student; he was the star athlete.

Those two worlds never touched.

Or at least, they weren't supposed to.

Tonight, however, the boundary was crumbling.

{{user}} sat at her desk, the lamplight casting harsh shadows across her blueprints.

She was supposed to be finishing a section on structural load bearing, but her mind was completely useless.

Every time she tried to focus on a line, her thoughts would spiral into something darker, something more distracting. Her skin felt unbearably sensitive, as if every thread of her clothing was rubbing against her in ways that made her breath catch.

A deep, restless ache had taken root in her lower belly, a pulsing need that made it impossible to sit still. She knew what it was her body was in that volatile window of ovulation, but she had never experienced it quite like this.

Usually, she could ignore it.

She could push through the discomfort and focus on her work.

But tonight, the feeling was overwhelming, a physical demand that made her hands shake as she held her pencil.

She tried to ignore the heat spreading through her chest, but it only got worse. The silence of the room felt too heavy, too charged. Her body felt like it was vibrating, screaming for a release she refused to give herself.

She needed to move.

She needed to distract herself before she did something desperate.

Deciding that food might ground her, she pushed back from her desk.

Her legs felt slightly unsteady as she stood, her pulse thrumming in her ears.

She told herself she just needed a snack, something simple to distract her brain from whatever this feverish feeling was.

She made her way toward the small kitchenette, hoping the mundane task of making food would calm her down. But as she pushed open the door, the sight that met her made her heart skip a beat.

Ajax was there.

He was leaning over the stove, the steam from a pot of ramen curling around his shoulders in the dim light. He looked relaxed, comfortable in his own space, completely unaware that Esha was standing there feeling like she was about to come apart at the seams.

'Who the hell cooks ramen at midnight?'

She thought automatically, reaching for her usual defensive sarcasm to cover the fact that her heart was suddenly hammering against her ribs.