Intentions

For a moment the three of them watched Malik disappear down the path.

The evening air felt different now.

Quieter.

Without Malik there the conversation shifted naturally. The tension from the argument earlier was gone, but something else settled in instead — the unspoken awareness that the three of them were thinking about the same things.

Tom exhaled slowly.

"Kid thinks he did something wrong," he said.

Bronson kept watching the path where Malik had disappeared.

"Yeah," he said quietly.

Chris shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket.

"Because people like Maya make everything about sides," he said. "So he thinks he somehow has to answer for it."

Tom kicked a pebble along the path.

"Which is insane," he said.

Bronson shrugged.

"Kid grew up hearing that stuff," he said. "You're this, you're that, you're supposed to think this way."

He finally looked away from the path and started walking again.

"We'll fix it."

Tom raised an eyebrow.

"Fix it how?"

Bronson smirked.

"Step one," he said. "He stops thinking he's alone."

They started walking again toward the dorm lights glowing through the trees ahead.

Students crossed the lawn in small groups, some still carrying flyers from the club fair.

Tom shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Step two," he said casually, "you try to deflower him."

Chris snorted.

Bronson didn't even bother denying it.

"He's smart," Bronson said. "And loyal."

Tom tilted his head.

"That the real reason?"

Bronson gave him a sideways look.

"One of them."

Tom laughed.

"Man," he said. "That kid has absolutely no idea what's happening."

Bronson shrugged.

"Not yet."

They walked a few more steps before Tom glanced at Chris again.

"Alright," he said.

Chris sighed immediately.

"Don't."

Tom grinned.

"Cora."

Chris groaned.

"You're unbelievable."

"You like her," Tom said.

Chris didn't answer right away.

He stared ahead at the dorm building while thinking about the moment earlier again.

Cora standing there.

Watching.

Trying to figure him out.

"She's interesting," he said finally.

Tom grinned wider.

"That's the intellectual version of yes."

Bronson chuckled quietly.

"He's not wrong," he said.

Chris shook his head.

"She actually listens," he said. "Most people already decided what you are before you open your mouth. She didn't."

Bronson nodded slowly.

"Yeah," he said. "I noticed that too."

Tom sighed dramatically.

"Meanwhile," he said, "I'm over here trying to figure out Asmaa."

Bronson laughed.

"Relax," he said. "Nobody's forcing anything."

Then he added with a confident shrug:

"But if the club really works the way I think it does…"

Tom grinned.

"Opportunities," he finished.

Chris shook his head slightly, though the corner of his mouth twitched.

"You two are unbelievable."

"Good luck."

Tom ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm serious," he said. "It's not just that she's beautiful."

Chris glanced at him.

Tom shrugged slightly.

"She's… different," he said. "Everyone else here is loud, trying to be impressive. She's careful. Thoughtful. You can see her thinking before she speaks."

He kicked another pebble along the path.

"And when she laughs," he added, "it's like she forgot for a second that she's supposed to be careful."

Bronson raised an eyebrow.

"You noticed all that in one afternoon?"

Tom smirked.

"I'm observant."

Chris snorted quietly.

"You're infatuated."

"Maybe," Tom said.

Then he pointed at Chris.

"But don't pretend you're different."

Chris didn't answer immediately.

They walked a few steps in silence.

"It's not just how Cora looks," he said finally.

Tom looked satisfied.

"Go on."

Chris stared ahead at the dorm building.

"Most people see the size first," he said. "Then they decide what I am."

He shrugged.

"She didn't."

Tom nodded slowly.

"Yeah," he said. "I noticed that."

"She watches," Chris continued quietly. "Like she's actually trying to understand what's going on."

He paused for a moment before adding:

"She still has the same assumptions everyone else does," he said. "You can see it. The hesitation. The questions."

Tom glanced at him.

"But?"

Chris shrugged slightly.

"But she wants to challenge them," he said. "She doesn't want the easy version of the story."

He looked ahead again.

"She actually wants to see who I am."

Bronson chuckled softly.

"That usually means trouble," he said. "For her."

"That's dangerous."

Chris allowed a faint smile.

"Exactly."

Bronson looked ahead at the dorm entrance now visible only a few dozen meters away.

"Let's be honest," he said.

"We're all curious."

Tom smirked.

"Curious about the club," he said.

Tom smirked again.

"And let's be honest," he added, "none of us are exactly shy about what we want."

Then he added with a grin:

"And the girls."

Chris didn't deny it this time.

Tom pointed between them.

"You want Cora," he said to Chris.

Chris rolled his eyes but didn't argue.

"You want Asmaa," he continued, tapping his own chest.

Bronson crossed his arms, amused.

"And you," Tom said, looking at him, "are absolutely planning something with Malik."

Bronson didn't bother pretending otherwise.

"If I decide I want something," he said calmly, "I usually get it."

Bronson laughed.

"And if getting closer to them means understanding how that place works…"

Tom finished the sentence for him.

"Then that's just efficient strategy."

They reached the dorm entrance.

The lobby lights glowed warmly through the glass doors.

Inside a few students were already sitting on the couches of the common room.

Tom's phone buzzed.

He pulled it out and glanced at the screen.

"Speak of the devil," he said.

Chris looked over.

"Daniel?"

Tom nodded.

"Yeah. Him and Robert are already at the gym."

He read the message again and smirked.

"Apparently they've been waiting ten minutes and Daniel is already complaining."

Bronson laughed.

"Of course he is."

Chris shook his head.

"Then let's not make them wait longer."

Tom slid the phone back into his pocket.

"We still need to change," he said.

Bronson pushed open the dorm entrance.

"Quick stop at the room," he said. "Then gym."

They stepped into the lobby.

Warm light spilled across the common room where a few students sat on couches studying or scrolling through their phones.

Chris slowed for a second as they crossed toward the stairs.

His thoughts drifted back again to the quad.

To the WSA tent.

And to Cora.

The way she had looked at him earlier.

Not impressed.

Not intimidated.

Trying to figure him out.

Chris wasn't used to that.

Most people decided what he was in the first ten seconds.

Cora hadn't.

That alone made her… dangerous.