Dorian's eyes snapped open at 4:17.
The ceiling was dark. The room was quiet. Marcus's bed was empty—he hadn't come back. Tyler's snores rumbled from across the room, the only sound in the silence.
He lay there, staring up at nothing, the system timer pulsing in the corner of his vision.
5C paused. 5 hours, 51 minutes remaining.
He reached for his phone. No messages from Sarah. No messages from Priya. Just the unknown texter's last words glowing on the screen.
He couldn't sleep. Couldn't lie there. He got up, pulled on sweats, and left before he could talk himself out of it.
---
The gym at 5:45 was a different world.
The clank of weights, the hum of treadmills, the smell of sweat and determination. A few dedicated souls were already there, lost in their routines. Danielle was on the squat rack, a barbell across her shoulders, her form perfect.
She spotted him in the mirror. "Dorian! You're up early."
"Couldn't sleep."
She finished her set, racked the bar, and grabbed a towel. "Got a lot on your mind?"
"Something like that."
She didn't push. Just handed him a mat. "Stretch. Then we'll do something light. Your head's not in it today."
Mark emerged from the locker room, gym bag in hand. He stopped when he saw Dorian, his eyes narrowing.
"Early start," Mark said. Not a question.
"Yeah."
Mark grunted. He dropped his bag, started setting up at the cable machine. His movements were deliberate, his gaze flicking to Dorian every few seconds.
Danielle rolled her eyes. "Ignore him. He's in a mood."
"He's always in a mood," Dorian muttered.
"Yeah, but today he's got a reason." She lowered her voice. "Someone at the gym posted a video of him trying to bench 225. The bar didn't move. He just lay there for a full five seconds. It's been circulating all morning. He's pretending he doesn't care, but he's been checking his phone every two minutes."
Dorian almost smiled. "That's rough."
"He'll live." She clapped his shoulder. "Now squat. Your legs won't care about your problems."
Mark's stare burned into his back for the rest of the workout.
---
Back at the dorm, Tyler was already awake, pacing, phone in hand.
"DUDE. YOU'RE AHEAD."
Dorian collapsed onto his bed. "What?"
"YOUR POST." Tyler thrust the phone at him. "It's at 750k likes. SEVEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND. We're almost at a MILLION."
Dorian stared at the screen. His picnic photo with Sarah. The one that had started everything. Comments were still flooding in. New followers every minute.
Tyler scrolled, eyes wide. "The comments are wild, man. People are shipping you and Sarah hard. There's a whole thread about your jawline." He kept scrolling. "Someone said you look like you could be in a boy band. A BOY BAND, Dorian."
"I need to shower."
Tyler didn't hear him. "I could be your manager. For real this time. Not just the BLIMP thing. Full time. I'll take ten percent. Fifteen."
"If it hits a million," Tyler announced, still scrolling, "I'm shaving my head."
Kyle, who had been sitting silently on his bed, looked up. "You said the same thing at 500k."
Tyler's face fell. "That's not the POINT."
Kyle went back to his book.
Tyler flopped onto his bed. "You're not excited. Your viral fame is about to hit a million and you're not excited."
Dorian closed his eyes. "Not today, Tyler."
"Okay, okay. But when it hits, we're celebrating. I'm thinking a BLIMP-sponsored event. We could tie it to the art show. Synergy, dude. SYNERGY."
Dorian tuned him out.
---
He needed coffee. And air.
The campus was waking up, the morning light thin and cold. Students shuffled between buildings, coffee cups in hand, already forgetting last night's drama.
He was halfway to the coffee cart when he heard the voice.
"Mi tell you, dis pastry is a CRIME. A CRIME. It's not even croissant texture. It's… sad. Soggy. Depressed."
Kofi stood at the display case, gesturing wildly at a pain au chocolat. Rachel stood beside him, arms crossed, trying to look stern but failing.
"Kofi, it's 7 a.m. No one's pastry is that deep."
"Every pastry is that deep." He turned, spotted Dorian. "AH. The famous one. Come. Tell me I'm wrong about this." He held up the pastry. "Does this look like it has any joy in it?"
Dorian looked at the pastry. It looked like a pastry.
"It looks fine."
"FINE?" Kofi clutched his chest. "Fine is not good enough. Fine is the enemy of GREAT." He set the pastry down, pulled Rachel toward him. "Dis man accepts mediocrity. Can you believe it?"
Rachel laughed despite herself. "He's tired, Kofi. Not everyone's ready to fight a croissant at dawn."
"Then when? When is the time to fight?" Kofi looked at Dorian, eyes bright. "You had a eventful night, I heard."
Dorian's stomach dropped. "It was nothing."
"Nothing." Kofi tilted his head. "Mi see nothing. Mi also see your girl's face when that photo come up. She didn't look like she was seeing nothing." He grinned, but his eyes were sharp. "Don't worry. Secrets are safe with me… for a price."
Rachel rolled her eyes, grabbed his arm. "We're leaving. Before you start another fight."
"I wasn't fighting. I was OBSERVING."
"You were being a menace."
"Same thing."
He let her pull him toward the door, then called over his shoulder: "Hey. Whatever's happening, don't let the little things eat you. Big things? Fine. But little things? They don't matter." He winked. "Croissant, though? That's a big thing."
He disappeared through the door, Rachel's laughter trailing behind him.
---
Dorian pulled out his phone. The timer was still ticking.
5C paused. 2 hours, 47 minutes remaining.
He opened Priya's message from the night before: We need to talk. Tomorrow. Alone.
He typed back.
Dorian: I'm free now. Can we meet in 20 minutes? Same place?
Priya: Fine.
---
The park was empty. The trees were bare, the path dead-ending into silence. Priya was already there, sitting on the bench where they'd kissed, her coat pulled tight around her.
She didn't look up when he sat beside her.
"You said we needed to talk."
He checked the time. 2 hours, 22 minutes.
"I do."
She finally looked at him. "You look like you didn't sleep."
"I didn't."
"Neither did I." She pulled her coat tighter. "What did you tell Sarah?"
He kept his voice even. "The truth. That we ran into each other at the lecture."
"And she bought it?"
"She's processing."
"Processing." Her laugh was short, hollow. "Shippo, that's what people say when they mean 'she doesn't trust you.'" She turned to face him. "I don't trust you either. But I also don't care. You told me she was nothing. I knew you were lying. I knew it the whole time."
"Then why—"
"Because I liked how you made me feel. When you were with me, you were there. Really there." Her voice cracked. "I don't get that a lot."
She looked down at her hands. "I don't know what to tell Marcus. I don't know how to explain this to him. I'm not good at lying, Dorian."
"Then tell him the truth. We talked a few times. Nothing happened."
She stared at him. "Nothing happened?"
"Nothing."
She was quiet for a moment. "What are we, Dorian?"
"We're friends."
"Friends." Her laugh was bitter. "Friends who spend the night together. Friends who tell each other their girlfriends are just flings."
"She is."
"Then why are you still with her?"
He hesitated. Because the system says I have to. Because if I tell the truth, the quest fails.
"It's complicated."
She stood, walked a few steps away, then turned back. Her face was softer now. "I don't want to be anyone's secret, Dorian."
His throat tightened. The timer pulsed in his vision. 2 hours, 4 minutes remaining. He could feel it in his chest, a countdown to something he couldn't control.
"Prove it," she said.
"Prove what?"
"That she means nothing. Break up with her."
His heart stopped. "What? But you're still with Marcus."
"That's different."
"How?"
"Because I'll end it. Today." She stepped closer, her eyes searching his. "Can you?"
His mind raced. 1 hour, 59 minutes. If he said yes, he'd have to actually do it. If he said no, he'd lose her. The timer kept ticking.
"Fine, but give me a few days. I'll let her down easy. She doesn't deserve to be humiliated."
Priya studied him. The seconds stretched.
Then she stepped closer, wrapped her arms around him. Her face pressed into his chest. He felt her breath, warm through his shirt.
Her warmth was real. The timer was real. He was running out of both.
"A few days," she said. "Don't make me wait longer."
She kissed him quick, then stepped back. A smile flickered across her face.
"I'll text you."
She walked away without looking back.
System: 5C paused. 1 hour, 52 minutes remaining.
---
He needed to fix things with Sarah.
He pulled out his phone. Typed.
Dorian: Can we talk? I need to see you.
He waited. Five minutes. Ten. No reply.
He called. The phone rang four times, then voicemail.
He called again. Rang once. Twice. Three times. Just before the fourth, she picked up.
"What?" Her voice was flat.
"Can we meet? Please."
A long pause. "I'm in class, Dorian. I don't have time for this right now."
"Please. It'll be quick. I just—I need to see you."
Another pause, longer this time. He could hear voices in the background, the shuffle of papers.
"Fine. My dorm. In forty minutes. I have to finish this first."
"Okay. I'll be there."
She hung up.
System: 5C paused. 1 hour, 34 minutes remaining.
---
He arrived at her dorm exactly forty minutes later. He stood outside, checking his phone, waiting.
The minutes crawled. Five. Ten. Eleven.
He checked his phone. No reply. The timer said 41 minutes. 40. 39. He shoved it back in his pocket.
When she finally appeared, she didn't apologize. Just stood there, arms crossed, waiting.
She looked at him like she was deciding something. The timer said 38 minutes.
"You're late."
"I needed to finish my assignment." Her voice was flat. "What do you want?"
He stepped closer. "I wanted to see you. I missed you."
She didn't move. "You saw me last night. You watched her walk away."
"That's what this is about." He sighed, ran a hand through his hair. "Sarah, I told you. She's Marcus's friend. They were at the lecture. We sat together. That's it."
"She hugged you."
"She's friendly. She hugs everyone."
"She touched your arm. She asked about my dress like she was measuring herself against me."
He tilted his head, let a small smile cross his face. "Are you… jealous?"
Her eyes flashed. "Don't do that."
"Do what?"
"Make this about me. You're the one who—you were the one sitting next to her, laughing with her. And you didn't tell me."
"I didn't think it was worth mentioning." He shrugged. "It was a lecture. We talked. It's not like I planned to see her. She was there, we sat together, we left. End of story."
She stared at him. "You don't see how that looks?"
He saw exactly how it looked. But he couldn't afford to see it.
"I see how you're making it look. I see you turning a random conversation into something it wasn't." His voice was calm, reasonable. "I'm here with you. I planned a whole picnic for you. I wrote you a letter. You think I'd do all that if I was messing around with someone else?"
She was quiet. Her arms loosened.
"I'm not doing anything wrong, Sarah. I'm just trying to get through my classes, pass my exams, and spend time with you. That's all." He held out his hand. "Come here."
She looked at his hand. Didn't take it. But she didn't walk away either.
System: 5C paused. 18 minutes remaining.
"I don't want to fight about something that doesn't exist," he said. "Do you?"
She was quiet. The seconds stretched.
15 minutes. 12 minutes. 9 minutes. His heart slammed against his ribs. If she walks away now, I lose her. The timer runs out. Everything falls apart. He forced his hand to stay steady, forced himself not to reach for her, not to grab her arm and pull her back. She had to come to him.
His palm was starting to sweat. He didn't move.
Then she exhaled. "I don't want to fight."
He held his hand out. "Then come here."
Please.
She took it.
System restored. 5C resumed. 4 days remaining.
Relief flooded through him, so strong it almost made him dizzy. He pulled her close, felt her resistance soften. She rested her head against his chest.
"I'm not doing anything wrong," he said again, quieter. "I just want to be with you."
She didn't answer. But she didn't pull away.
"I need some time," she said finally. "Just… today."
"Okay."
"I'll text you later."
She stepped back and disappeared inside.
---
The dorm was empty when he got back. Tyler was out. Kyle was out. Marcus's bed was still empty.
Dorian sat on his bed. The silence pressed down.
He pulled out his phone. Elise's DM thread was still open. He typed:
Dorian: Saturday works. How about 2pm at Grounds Coffee?
Elise: Perfect. See you there 😊
He set the phone down.
System: 5D pending. Target acquired.
---
The door opened.
Marcus walked in. He didn't have his jacket. He'd been somewhere, but not far. He stood in the doorway, looking at Dorian.
"Marcus, hey—" Dorian started.
Marcus pulled a photo from his back pocket. Dorian and Priya, kissing, her hands under his jacket, his back against the bench in the off‑campus park.
Marcus held it up. "You want to tell me what this is?"
The room was very still.
[END OF CHAPTER 24]
---