Through the Cracks - Cairo Sweet X Pip Fitz-Amobi

Chapter 1

POV: Pippa Fitz-Amobi

The first thing Pippa noticed about university life was how detached it felt—disconnected from the world she had grown accustomed to, far removed from the tangled web of lies, crime, and intrigue that once consumed her every thought. It was a relief, but an odd one.

No more dead bodies, no missing people, no mysteries that begged to be solved with every breath she took. The quietness of it all was something she had craved after everything that happened in Little Kilton. She needed this clean slate, a space to breathe.

Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she wove through the sea of students, her steps mechanical, her mind more focused on her thoughts than the people around her. Here, she could blend in, disappear in a way she never could back home.

This new place—unfamiliar, sprawling, with its brick facades and ancient oak trees lining the campus—was a promise of peace. Yet beneath that hope, a part of her remained on edge, unwilling to let her guard down completely. Could she ever? It was hard to believe she'd truly left all the chaos behind.

The lecture hall for her criminology course was nearly empty when she arrived. Pippa took a seat near the middle, trying to shake the remnants of anxiety. She reminded herself why she was here: to learn, to study, to focus on something beyond the past.

She took out her notebook, the blank pages offering a sense of purpose and clarity that steadied her nerves.

But just as she settled, someone slid into the seat next to her. Instinctively, Pippa tensed. She didn’t need company, didn’t want it. The idea of making friends here was daunting. As far as she was concerned, she had plenty of people in her life back in Kilton—people she didn’t even know how to talk to anymore.

She glanced to the side, catching a glimpse of the girl. Cairo Sweet. She recognized her from around campus—Cairo had a way of standing out without trying, as though she occupied a space others couldn’t. Her sharp features were framed by a blunt bob, jet-black hair that seemed as deliberately cut as her smirk. Pippa’s eyes flickered back to her notebook, but the oddness of the girl’s presence made it hard to focus.

Cairo wasn’t the kind of person you ignored. There was something about her—an energy, a silent confidence that seemed to beckon trouble. Pippa hated to admit it, but it intrigued her, and that was a problem. She’d come here to escape trouble, not find it again in a new form.

“You’re Fitz-Amobi, right?” Cairo’s voice was low, a teasing lilt beneath the surface.

Pippa blinked, caught off-guard by the directness. She turned slightly, her brows drawing together. “What of it?”

Cairo’s smirk widened, and she leaned back in her chair, arms crossed as if settling in for a long conversation. “I’ve heard things.”

Pippa rolled her eyes. Of course, people had heard things. Her involvement in the local murder cases back home had somehow made its way here. She thought she could leave her past behind, but rumors were persistent, sticky things.

“I’m not interested in whatever you’ve heard,” Pippa muttered, turning her attention back to her notes.

“That’s a shame,” Cairo said lightly. “I find rumors to be a lot more fun than reality.”

Pippa wasn’t amused. She had enough of being the subject of gossip. She didn’t need someone digging into her life for entertainment. Especially not someone like Cairo, who looked like she thrived on chaos.

The lecture began, but Pippa couldn’t shake the feeling of Cairo’s eyes on her, watching, analyzing. It wasn’t overt, but it was there—just enough to irritate.

She tried to focus on the professor’s voice, but her thoughts kept drifting back to Cairo. Who was she, really? And why was she so interested in Pippa?

As soon as the class ended, Pippa grabbed her bag and bolted for the door, eager to get away. But Cairo wasn’t about to let her leave that easily.

“You’re a bit of a mystery, you know that?” Cairo’s voice followed her as she weaved through the crowd outside the lecture hall.

Pippa stopped abruptly, spinning on her heel to face her. “And you’re a bit of a nuisance.”

Cairo raised an eyebrow, unbothered by the insult. “I’ve been called worse.”

There was a brief pause, the air between them charged with something neither of them could quite place. For a moment, Pippa thought about walking away, about ignoring this strange girl who had inserted herself into her life without invitation. But something stopped her—curiosity, perhaps. Or maybe it was the fact that Cairo didn’t seem afraid of who Pippa was or what she had done. Most people would shy away from someone with her history. Not Cairo.

“Why are you so interested in me?” Pippa asked, her voice sharper than intended.

Cairo shrugged, a playful glint in her eyes. “Maybe I just like puzzles.”

Pippa’s jaw clenched. She was no one’s puzzle to solve. Not anymore.

“Well, I’m not interested in playing your games,” Pippa said firmly, before turning on her heel and disappearing into the crowd.

But even as she walked away, she could feel Cairo’s presence lingering in the back of her mind, like a shadow she couldn’t quite shake.

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POV: Cairo Sweet

Cairo watched as Pippa walked away, the girl’s stiff posture betraying the tension she was so desperately trying to hide.

It was fascinating, really.

Pippa Fitz-Amobi—the girl with the tragic backstory, the sharp mind, and the iron will—was more complex than Cairo had expected.

She’d been drawn to her from the moment she first saw her, a quiet figure slipping through campus like she didn’t want to be noticed. But Cairo had noticed. She always did.

Pippa didn’t realize it yet, but Cairo saw something in her. Not just the remnants of the past she carried with her, but something deeper. She was like a fortress, and Cairo had always been good at scaling walls.

As the crowd thinned, Cairo shoved her hands into her jacket pockets and headed in the opposite direction. She wasn’t one to chase people down, but she knew this wasn’t over. Pippa might try to distance herself, but Cairo wasn’t going anywhere.

She was patient, after all.

And if there was one thing she knew, it was how to get under someone’s skin.

And Pippa? She was going to be fun.