*Lyric's POV*
Valentine's Day at Crestfield University was predictably chaotic. The dorm halls were decked with paper hearts, strings of streamers hung over the stairwells, and students were running around with cards and chocolates, shouting greetings or bumping into one another in excitement. Lyric, balancing her textbooks and her water bottle, laughed as her roommate nearly tripped over a stray streamer.
That was when he appeared.
Dax Calder. He had come to visit her roommate, leaning casually against the doorframe with that infuriating grin that made it impossible not to notice him. Lyric froze for a moment, taken aback by his relaxed confidence and the way he carried himself.
"Hello," he said smoothly, eyes glinting with amusement. "You must be Lyric."
Lyric raised an eyebrow, trying to act unimpressed. "I am," she said carefully. "And you must be… the infamous Dax?"
He chuckled lightly. "Guilty. But don't worry, I'm harmless."
Lyric folded her arms and gave him a skeptical look. "We'll see about that," she said, her tone teasing, though she was quietly curious about what kind of person he really was.
Before the conversation could go further, a small commotion at the end of the hall drew their attention. An elderly woman had somehow made her way into the dorm lobby, carrying a basket of delicate pearl wrist chains. She waved energetically at the students, her voice high and sing-song.
"Lovely day for love!" she called. "Pearl chains, delicate and sweet! Perfect for your special someone!"
Lyric groaned under her breath. "Of course, someone chose Valentine's Day to sell jewelry inside the dorm," she muttered. She stepped forward, ready to usher the woman out politely.
But Dax's eyes were already on the basket. He tilted his head and smiled faintly. "Those are… nice," he said, nodding at the pearls.
The elderly woman's eyes widened, and she bounced toward them. "Oh, you two must be sweethearts!, buy one for your woman!"
Lyric froze, staring at him in disbelief. "Wait, what?" she whispered.
Dax glanced at her, then back at the woman, and shrugged with a half-amused grin. "Well… sure," he said, handing over a few bills.
Lyric's jaw dropped. "You…..just like that? You don't even know me!" she exclaimed, laughing despite herself.
The woman handed each of them a pearl chain. "See?" she said, delighted. "A perfect match!"
Lyric shook her head, laughing. "You're impossible, you know that? Sweetheart," she said teasingly, the word sticking instantly as a joke between them.
Dax raised an eyebrow, smirk widening. "Sweetheart, huh? I like it," he said smoothly, clearly amused by the nickname she had thrown at him.
For the rest of the day, they stayed within the hostel halls, joking back and forth whenever they crossed paths. Lyric couldn't help but notice how playful he was, how effortlessly he teased everyone around him without being mean, how he had this odd way of making people laugh without trying too hard.
By the time the sun began to dip behind the dorm buildings, she realized the day had passed faster than it should have. Nothing serious had happened.
The pearl chains remained in their hands for the rest of the day, a silly Valentine's Day memory of a stranger who had somehow made her laugh in a way she hadn't in months.
And with a small grin, she said it again quietly, almost to herself, "Sweetheart."
Dax caught the word out of the corner of his eye and smirked. "I'll take it," he said, as if agreeing to a playful challenge neither of them fully understood yet.