Page 8 of Cold Front
Asher rolled his eyes. “I’m perfectly capable of behaving.”
“Sure you are,” Gigi said with a laugh, then turned back to me. “So? What do you say? It’s at the Student Union.”
I hesitated. Jumping into a big party with strangers felt like a lot, especially during my first week. I thought about the towering stacks of class notes and the stress of keeping up with everything. Then again, this was a fresh start, right? Wasn’t that why I’d come here—to leave all the bad memories behind and actually live a little?
“Okay, I’m in,” I said finally.
“Good,” Gigi said, flashing me a grin. “We’ll come get you. Where are you staying?”
“On-campus apartment,” I said. “You guys live nearby?”
“Off-campus,” Asher said, gesturing vaguely. “Same apartment.”
“Cool,” I said, feeling oddly relieved. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
CHAPTER4
ELI
Friday night buzzed with energy, the kind that could only come from hundreds of college students crammed into one space, laughing too loudly and pretending they weren’t already behind on assignments after the first week. The Student Union was unrecognizable, its usual polished floors and sterile walls hidden under strings of fairy lights, colorful banners, and the constant blur of movement.
Music thumped through the air—not quite loud enough to drown out conversation, but enough to make everything feel alive. The smell of pizza, popcorn, and soda mingled together, and somewhere near the back, someone was juggling a tray of drinks like it was a circus act.
Gigi nudged me as we stepped through the doors. “Welcome to the madness.” She’d traded her hoodie for a bright crop top and ripped jeans, looking effortlessly cool.
“I didn’t expect it to be this crowded,” I admitted, scanning the room.
“You get used to it,” Asher said, his tone amused. He adjusted his denim jacket and waved to someone across the room. “It’s like this every year. First-years come for the free food, upperclassmen come for the chaos.”
We grabbed drinks from a refreshment table, where a harried-looking guy in a campus staff T-shirt was trying to keep up with the demand for soda. “Anything I should know about these parties?” I asked, half-joking as I took a sip.
“Don’t lose your drink, don’t challenge anyone to a dance-off unless you’re ready to be humiliated, and don’t trust anyone who says they can ‘handle’ the karaoke mic,” Gigi said.
“Got it.”
We drifted through the room, occasionally stopping to say hi to people Gigi and Asher knew. I was introduced a few times—“This is Eli, he’s new”—and every time, I gave a polite smile and hoped I looked like I belonged.
The conversation flowed easily between Gigi and Asher, their banter keeping me entertained as we found a spot near the edge of the room. But even as I laughed at Gigi’s sharp-witted comments, my thoughts kept drifting to Niall.
I’d tried all week to make some sort of progress with him—small comments, casual questions, the kind of effort that wouldn’t come off as pushy. Nothing worked. His responses were always clipped, his expressions unreadable. And for reasons I didn’t want to dwell on too much, it bothered me more than I cared to admit.
“Earth to Eli.” Gigi waved a hand in front of my face, snapping me back to the present. “Where’d you go just now?”
“Nowhere,” I said quickly. “Just people-watching.”
“Uh-huh.” She didn’t look convinced, but thankfully, she let it go.
We were in the middle of laughing about the professor from one of my classes—who had an uncanny ability to make business law sound like a bedtime story—when the door opened, letting in a gust of cooler air. I glanced over instinctively, and it felt like the whole room shifted.
It washim.
Niall didn’t even have to try. Just standing there, scanning the room with those piercing eyes, he commanded attention. His broad shoulders filled out a dark Henley, his jaw set like he wasn’t entirely sure why he’d come.
I expected him to move, to join someone, but he lingered near the entrance, hands shoved into his pockets. A few people glanced his way, but no one approached him. He wasn’t exactly giving offcome talk to mevibes.
He must’ve felt my gaze because his head turned slightly in my direction. For a second—barely a heartbeat—our eyes met.
I looked away so fast, nearly spilling my Pepsi. My pulse raced, and I told myself it was from the caffeine. Definitely the caffeine.
