Jay's POV
Sleep didn't come easy.
Oxford nights were too quiet—like the world had been muted without asking permission. No tricycles. No late-night karaoke. No Tito yelling at a basketball game through thin walls. Just the wind scraping against ancient stone and the occasional echo of footsteps in the courtyard below.
I stared at the ceiling, medallion warm in my palm, phone lighting up my face.
Keifer: You awake?
Of course I was.
Me: Jet lag says hi
Keifer: Same. Georgii tried to make us drink gin like it's water
Me: Did u die
Keifer: Almost. David thriving. C-In judging us spiritually
I bit back a laugh, rolling onto my side.
Across the room, Mia's violin whispered—soft, careful notes like she didn't want to wake the ghosts in the walls. Freya had fallen asleep mid-sketch, pencil still tucked between her fingers, Vogue spread across her chest like a blanket.
Rakki? Fully starfished. Snoring like she owned the building.
Me: I miss u
Keifer: I'm literally one quad away and suffering
Me: dramatic
Keifer: come outside
I blinked.
Me: now???
Keifer: courtyard. 2 mins. bring hoodie
My heart did that stupid, traitorous thing.
I slipped out of bed, careful not to wake the others, grabbing my hoodie and easing the ancient door open with a quiet creak.
The courtyard hit me like ice.
Stone underfoot, air sharp, the sky stretched wide and unfamiliar. And there—
Keifer.
Leaning against the wall like he'd been carved there, hands tucked into his hoodie, breath fogging in the cold. He looked up the second I stepped out.
And smiled.
"Hi," he said softly.
"Hi."
For a second, neither of us moved. Then I crossed the space between us, and he pulled me in like it was instinct.
Warm. Solid. Real.
"I hate this place," I muttered into his chest.
He huffed a laugh. "Yeah. Same."
"You don't."
"I don't," he admitted. "But I hate it without you in the same room."
I pulled back just enough to look at him. "We're literally thirty seconds apart."
"Unacceptable distance."
I snorted. "You're impossible."
"And you love me."
"Unfortunately."
He grinned, dimples cutting deep. "Good. Stay unfortunate."
We stood there longer than we should've, wrapped up in each other while the cold tried—and failed—to matter.
Somewhere above, a window creaked open.
"OI!" a voice shouted.
We both froze.
Georgii leaned out, hair a mess, rugby ball tucked under one arm like he'd fallen asleep holding it. "ROMEO? THAT YOU?"
Keifer groaned. "Go back inside, Cavendish."
"IS THAT YOUR GIRL?" Georgii squinted down at me. "BLOODY HELL, YOU WINNING ALREADY—"
"GO TO SLEEP!"
A second head popped out—David, half-laughing. "Man's really doing courtyard romance first night. Elite behaviour."
C-In's voice drifted out calmly from somewhere behind them. "Statistically unsustainable."
I buried my face in Keifer's shoulder, laughing.
"Your friends are insane."
"Our friends," he corrected.
Upstairs, Mia's violin drifted out through our window now—clearer, stronger, like she'd given up on being quiet. Freya's muffled voice followed, probably arguing about fabric cuts at 2AM like a menace.
Georgii leaned further out. "YO—IS THAT A VIOLIN? WE GOT LIVE MUSIC?"
"GO INSIDE!" Keifer shouted again, but he was laughing now.
And somehow, in that ridiculous, loud, chaotic moment—
Oxford didn't feel so cold anymore.
Keifer squeezed my hand.
"See?" he said. "Not so bad."
I glanced up at the lit windows. At the noise. At the people already becoming something like ours.
"Yeah," I admitted.
"Not so bad."
Phone buzzed again.
Section E:
Rory: WHY ARE U TWO OUTSIDE??
Grace: I SEE U 😭 (Freya sent vid)
Freya: ROMANCE IN 4K
Rakki: (voice note) why is everyone SCREAMING
Mia: your love story has audience now sorry
I groaned. "We're never escaping them."
Keifer smirked. "Would you want to?"
I looked at him. At the chaos. At the start of something bigger than just us.
"…no."
And for the first time that night—
I meant it.