Y/N pov

  I was planning to move out at the end of the month even though my mom insisted it was not necessary. The mansion my family living in was even good enough for my grandchildren's life. But I had various reasons to live alone, a major one was that I had gone to college, projects from classes and appointments sometimes made me come home very late, which was something overprotecting parents like mine were not pleased with. They still let me go home late though, but in exchange for hours of nagging the next day, glad they never called.

  I mentioned my issue to Tiffany while we were chatting about random things. We got to Meldeys half an hour ago then Mike and Daniel came fifteen minutes later.

      "You can move in with me, you know my apartment is comfy enough for both of us." Tiffany took a sip from her red wine glass, blinked a few times and then continued. "Of course, your parents will also approve it knowing that you live with me."

  I nodded at my friend's suggestion, I wanted to move out as soon as possible, I did not want people to continue gossiping that I am relying on my parents' possessions, I wanted to start an independent life.

  Mike put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer to him, then gave me a devilish smile that just fitted his nature.

      "Or you can move in with me."

  I looked up at Mike and then slightly smacked his chest, pretending to be annoyed.

      "Or my dad will kill you first!"

  Mike was grinning while shaking his head, he always appeared as perky as ever, that was what attracted me the first time we met, even though he had been acting a bit weird lately. That's probably because of the upcoming baseball match he had to participate in.

  We chatted for a couple of hours then Mike invited us to the party his team was hosting at the weekend, which obviously everyone happily agreed to. Daniel glanced at me a few times as if he was about to say something but was interrupted by Mike. I had only known him for the last few months, I don't know what kind of person he actually was, yet whenever Mike hung out with us, he always appeared.

      "We should leave soon, I have a rehearsal this afternoon."

  Mike picked up the phone and checked something on the screen then put it back in his pocket. I nodded in agreement, even though it was still early. Mike had been so busy those days, It would be selfish to keep him around me all the time.

  We left the pub.

  On the way to the parking lot, Tiffany kept teasing me and both of us were laughing hysterically without noticing someone coming up ahead. Tiffany quickly backed away but I was not able to. Before I could react, my whole body collided with the stranger. When I was expecting to fall down, a hand wrapped around my waist to support me, time seemed to stand still, we all froze.

      "You should look around." His deep cerulean eyes stared at me like some kind of magical attraction I could not let go of, he grinned. "It's dangerous, girl."

  Enchanting smile, jet-black hair, was he that mysterious guy I had seen at the library? Before I could thank him, Mike had rushed over and pulled my hand away from the man. At that distance, he was even taller than Mike, must be over 6 feet tall.

      "You're the one who should be careful." Mike said in a spiteful voice, pulling me past the stranger.

  Tiffany awkwardly followed us, she also shyly peeked at the stranger. That was understandable, there was a certain invisible charm radiating from him, not only because of his gorgeous face but also something very different...

  We got to the car, a shiny mercedes parked near the main gate, I looked back at the man once more before getting in the car, he was still standing there like a consistent statue, staring at me, I bowed my head and moved my lips slightly as if to say "thank you", he smiled again then turned away.

   I did not think I would ever see him again, and I probably did not think I would see him again in the future, Tiffany sneaking a peek at a man for the first time, as expected his charm was undeniable. Mike was clearly displeased, Daniel just l shook his head and drove away from Meldeys.

      "That douchebag did it on purpose." Mike leaned back, crossed his arms in exasperation.

      "Oh come on babe, that was because I and Tiff weren't paying attention." I ran my hand over Mike's chin and pulled him to me, chuckling. "Plus, why do you even care? It's not like that we'll see him again."

      "Hey, you two know that me and Danny are here right?" Tiffany pretended to complain in dismay, her curvy blond hair swaying with each movement.

  The atmosphere in the car also calmed down when we finally reached my house. I said goodbye to my friends, hoping my parents wouldn't have any dates today because I needed to talk to my mom about moving out.

***

  Y/N Howards had everything she wanted in life, others would wonder why I insisted on moving out and living on my own when the mansion I was born to was like 'a dream come true' for them. My mother sipped a cup of opaque tea on the sofa in the living room, the crackling sound of the fireplace, the smell of burning wood mixed with her fragrant tea scent. They always suited her, elegant and rigid, she loved perfection more than anything.

      "Have you suggested this to your father?" Mom put down her tea cup, her eyes were now staring straight into mine.

      "You know it's harder to persuade dad than you right?" My relationship with my father was mutual, there was nothing wrong between us, but I hate discussing serious topics with him.

  My parents were both conservative.

      "My Y/N, it was tough to even have you in our life... now you want to leave, I don't know..." Mom kept shaking her head, rubbing both sides of her forehead.

  They being overprotective was reasonable.

  They used to have Henry, who would have still been my elder brother if it was not because of that accident.

      "I will be fine mom, my roommate is Tiffany, isn't that reliable enough?" I grabbed her hands, looking up at her with sparkling eyes.

      "Alright, but you have to call us at least twice a week and come back after graduating for inheritance." Mom sighed then declared frankly.

  She agreed with my proposal, meaning I did not have to talk to dad, who was not an easy man to start a conversation with. I should start packing my stuff, even though I had to move back after four years, still personal belongings are necessary.

***

Wednesday January 5

  As usual, Tiffany would drive to my house and we went to school together. Although I have my own car, it was too ostentatious. My parents bought it as a gift for my 18th birthday and also for passing the college entrance exam. A shiny silver Porsche,which I did not feel like I was fitted in, even though I grew up in the Howards, I hardly feel like I could blend in with anything luxurious here. It always felt like those things belong to someone else.

  As soon as I got into the car, Tiffany spread a wide smile on her face. She was blissful that Jake, the intern she constantly admired, would accompany her to the weekend party at Mike's house. I also informed Tiffany in excitement that I could move in with her with my mom's permission.This time, her smile was even brighter, she promised to help me with packing so that I could move in on Saturday, before the party at Mike's.

  This morning class would have gone smoothly like usual if our lecturer, professor Dowan, had not assigned our class a group project and that someone else would be in charge while he was going on a business trip to Oslo.

     "This young man will be our class's observer for the next 3 month when I'm away." Mr.Dowan informed the whole class while giving a sign for a man outside the door to come in.

  My body froze completely when I realized who that man walking in was. It was him! His appearance not only caught my attention but also the other students. For some reason, I felt the same chill in my spine when I first met him at the town library, yet, I was excited.

      "I'm Jed Olsen, please just call me Jed." His handsome face absolutely went well with his glamor grin and raspy voice, as well as his neat black suit."I will watch out for you guys until Mr.Dowan comes back."

  Jed Olsen, the man I had just known the name, introduced himself as an experienced journalist and also a researcher indicating in crimes and murders, who was currently working with police in solving cases. Some of these cases were related to Ghostface, an infamous serial killer wandering around the town after making a ruckus in Newyork.

      "I hope you all will cooperate well with Jed, I will leave the project details for Jed to explain, please ask him if you guys have any questions."

  Mr. Dowan then excused to leave to prepare for his flight in the afternoon. Tiffany seemed amused by this new change, she nudged my side with her elbow and whispered.

      "Compared to Mr. Dowan, I like this hot journalist better!"

  I chuckled, Jake would be so helpless. But it was impossible not to admit that this guy was special, everything about him was suspiciously captivating, plus he looked like he was in his late twenties, maybe twenty-nine.

  I watched intently as the journalist named Jed moved toward the podium, shaking Mr. Dowan's hand before the lecturer picked up his laptop and left. The class was suddenly in an uproar, blatantly commenting about Jed, some of the bold students even questioning him.

      "Are you really Jed Olsen, the head editor of the Rosaville newsroom?"

  Jed turned his gaze to the student who asked the question, Lucas Alvie, then nodded slowly, with a satisfied expression on his face.

      "It's true, but it's not a big deal." He replied in a calming tone, not even tried

  Tiffany suddenly spoke up, I could not stop her in time. I could only hope she did not utter embarrassing questions as well as praying that Jed would not recognize us. it would be awkward when we had stumbled upon each other and caused a bit of a collision earlier before and now he was our temporary supervisor.

      "Do you remember me? My friend here wanted to thank you for the other day."

  That was great Tiff, now he definitely had to recognize me, or it would be a terrible shame. I raised my head, my eyes meeting the pensive look he was giving me.

  Maybe he forgot.

      "Oh, clumsy girl, what's your name?"

  His stare made me feel suffocated.

      "My name is Y/N..."

  I hesitated for a moment before answering, the whole class turned their eyes on me and Tiff, they must be wondering what had happened. Jed then nodded, the students continued to talk again, everything returned to the way it was. When I noticed that there was no more attention directed at us, I turned to whispering shouted Tiff.

      "Why did you ask him that?"

      "Of course to get his attention, or else someone will get in the way."

  As she spoke, Tiffany glanced over at a girl with bright auburn hair, sitting two rows away from us, it was Amy Brooke. Tiff hated her, for absolutely no reason. I shook my head silently in disgust.

      "I'm going to tell Jake you're flirting with the new instructor?"

      "Please, Jake won't have any reason to be upset, he and I aren't official yet."

  I rolled my eyes, sometimes I couldn't understand how we could become friends when our personalities were completely opposite, we all shared different interests. The class ended after thirty-five minutes, Jed had explained in detail the project we would be working on within two weeks, each group would consist of four people, and that we could contact him whenever we had any questions, only during the day, of course.

      "Be careful."

  The warning I received as I passed Jed, he did not look at me, even so I could feel the tension enveloping around me.

  What did he mean?