Untouchable

0.29

Adrian’s POV

I wasn’t looking for them.

Hell, I wasn’t even thinking about them.

I just needed to get out of my own head.

Away from the mess that was Ivy.

Away from the damn feelings that I swore I didn’t have.

But apparently, the universe had other plans.

Because the second I pushed open Sebastian’s dorm door, fully expecting him to be alone, I walked straight into something I would pay good money to forget.

Lily.

In his lap.

His hands gripping her waist.

Their mouths—

I turned around so fast I nearly dislocated my damn neck.

“What the hell,” I muttered, staring at the door like I could un-see what I just saw.

Behind me, I heard the unmistakable sound of someone scrambling.

Then—

“Adrian?” Lily’s voice was a mix of shock and mortification.

I huffed out a laugh, rubbing a hand down my face. “Don’t stop on my account.”

Sebastian’s sigh was unbothered. “You could’ve knocked.”

“How about locking your damn door?”

Silence.

Then—

Lily groaned. “I told you we should lock it.”

Sebastian didn’t answer, but I could practically hear his smirk.

I shook my head, still facing the door. “So… you two are a thing now?”

More silence.

Then, in unison—

“Yes.”

Well, damn.

I turned back, crossing my arms as I stared at them.

Lily was now sitting next to Sebastian on the bed, cheeks slightly pink. Sebastian, on the other hand, looked like he couldn’t care less that they’d just been caught.

Typical.

“How long?” I asked.

Sebastian shrugged. “A few weeks.”

Lily shot him a look. “Two months.”

He just hummed like that information was irrelevant.

I exhaled, still wrapping my head around it. Sebastian and Lily.

Didn’t see that one coming.

Still, something about it worked.

They were the same in a lot of ways. Quiet. Reserved. But when they spoke, it meant something.

Like now, for example.

When Sebastian looked at me like he knew.

Like he could see the thing I wasn’t saying.

“So,” he said, leaning back against the headboard. “Why are you here?”

I opened my mouth, then shut it.

Because truthfully?

I didn’t even know.

I had come here because I needed to think.

Because Ivy was in my head again, and I couldn’t shut her out, and I sure as hell couldn’t talk to Alistair about it.

But now, standing here, looking at Sebastian and Lily—

It felt like maybe I was looking for something else.

An answer.

A distraction.

Anything to make sense of the mess in my head.

“Ivy,” Sebastian said flatly.

I tensed. “What about her?”

Lily sighed, giving me a knowing look. “You tell us.”

I clenched my jaw, debating how much to say.

Finally, I exhaled. “It’s just… complicated.”

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “It’s not.”

I scowled. “It is.”

He hummed. “Then uncomplicate it.”

I scoffed, raking a hand through my hair. “That’s real easy to say when you’re not the one dealing with it.”

Lily tilted her head. “So, what exactly are you dealing with?”

I hesitated.

Because I didn’t know how to explain it.

How to explain her.

How to explain why every time I tried to stay away, I ended up right back where I started.

Why every time I thought I was done with Ivy, something—someone—pulled me back in.

And now, Nathaniel was in the picture.

And I hated it.

Even though I had no right to.

Sebastian’s voice pulled me out of my head. “You like her.”

I huffed a laugh. “No, I don’t.”

Lily and Sebastian exchanged a look.

I scowled. “I don’t.”

Lily just sighed. “You do, Adrian. You just don’t want to admit it.”

I clenched my jaw.

I couldn’t like Ivy.

I refused to.

She was stubborn and frustrating and too much.

And yet—

She was also impossible to ignore.

Sebastian studied me for a moment, then spoke, his voice quieter this time.

“If you don’t want her,” he said, “then why does it bother you that someone else does?”

I didn’t answer.

Because I didn’t have one.

Not one I was willing to say out loud.

Lily gave me a small, almost sympathetic smile. “Figure it out before it’s too late.”

The weight of her words settled over me, heavy and suffocating.

And for the first time in a long time—

I wasn’t sure if I could.

I turned to leave, but just as I reached the door, Lily called after me.

“Adrian, wait.”

I glanced back. “What?”

Her expression turned serious. “No one knows about me and Sebastian yet. And we’d like to keep it that way.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You want me to lie?”

Sebastian finally spoke up, smirking. “You do it all the time. Shouldn’t be too hard.”

I shot him a glare before looking back at Lily.

She was watching me carefully, waiting.

I sighed. “Fine.”

Lily smiled. “Thanks.”

I didn’t respond, just pushed open the door and walked out.

Because suddenly, I had a lot to think about.