The timer read ninety minutes. He didn't look at it again.
A girl nearly collided with him on the quad, balancing two coffees and a statistics textbook, her phone wedged between her ear and shoulder. Dorian didn't step aside. She veered around him at the last second, coffee sloshing.
"Sorry." She was already looking back at her phone.
She kept walking. He kept walking.
His phone buzzed.
Elise: hey boo
Elise: that photo of you is still everywhere 😭
Elise: people keep asking who you are
He pocketed the phone.
---
He'd texted Dr. Vance at eight that morning.
Can I stop by before office hours?
She'd replied twenty minutes later.
Twelve-thirty. My office.
Somebody shoved a photocopied study guide into his hand. "Final exam review!"
The student was already moving. Dorian glanced down at the frantic corrections, then up at empty space. He dropped the paper into a recycling bin.
---
The philosophy building was quieter.
He climbed to the third floor. End of hallway. Room 304.
The door was open.
Dr. Vance was at her desk, sorting through papers.
"You're early," she said. Her pen was already on the desk.
He sat in the chair across from her. He didn't close the door.
---
They talked for a few minutes. The exam schedule. A briefing she had to attend later. The weather. He answered in short sentences. She filled the silence.
A knock.
A woman from the registrar's office leaned in, a clipboard in her hand. "Dr. Vance? I need your signature on these guest lecture participation sign-off sheets."
Dr. Vance's posture shifted. Her voice became neutral, efficient. "Of course."
She took the clipboard. As she signed the first form, she didn't pause. The registrar glanced at Dorian.
"Is he your student?" the woman asked lightly.
Dr. Vance continued signing. "He's in the lecture."
The registrar's hand paused before turning the page. Then she turned it.
Dr. Vance finished signing and handed the clipboard back. The woman nodded and turned toward the door.
Dr. Vance exhaled once, steady and controlled.
As the registrar left, her eyes flicked briefly to Dorian.
Dorian waited for the latch.
The door remained open.
---
He watched her.
"You're good at that," he finally said.
She didn't answer immediately. Her hand touched the edge of the desk.
"At what?"
"Switching."
She looked at him. "I'm a professor. I have to be."
"No. You have to perform. There's a difference."
Her jaw tightened. Silence stretched. She looked away, then back.
"What do you want from me, Dorian?"
He walked around her desk. She turned her chair to face him.
"The truth."
She held his gaze. Then:
"I'm attracted to you. I have been since the coffee shop. But I'm also old enough to know that doesn't mean I should act on it."
He leaned in. She didn't move.
Her hand came up to his chest.
"This is a risk," she said. "For both of us."
"I know."
She kissed him.
Her fingers curled into his shirt. The hum of the building faded. His hand found her waist. Her breath caught. The kiss held.
When they pulled apart, a strand of hair had fallen across her face. She left it there.
"You should go before you get me in trouble," she said. "I have office hours in roughly an hour."
He looked at her for a moment longer than necessary.
"Don't make me feel stupid for this," she said.
He nodded.
He left without looking back.
---
The system flickered in the stairwell.
[LEVEL 6 – THE KISS GAUNTLET] SUB-QUEST 3: DR. VANCE – COMPLETE REWARD: SUB-QUEST 4 UNLOCKED
---
As he passed the fountain, somebody stuck a phone in his face.
"What's your number one exam tip?"
Dorian kept walking.
"Don't fail."
The student blinked. "Actually, that's pretty good."
Dorian was already gone.
---
He came to the library to sit and revise. He found a spot near the window and pulled out a textbook. The noise made it hard to settle. Someone asked if he understood macroeconomics.
"No."
She started explaining anyway. He listened for a moment, then stood and moved on.
Across the room, Sarah sat with two girls he didn't recognize. Maya was there too, arms crossed. Sarah was laughing at something.
She looked up. Their eyes met. She looked back down. The laughter stopped, then resumed.
Maya stared until Dorian looked away. Then Maya stood and walked to the water fountain.
His phone buzzed.
Priya: I'm not going to keep chasing you
Priya: I just wanted to say... I don't know what you're becoming
Priya: I hope it's worth it
He read the messages. The screen went dark.
---
The dorm smelled like stale coffee.
Tyler was sitting on his bed, surrounded by index cards. When Dorian entered, he looked up.
"We need to talk."
"No, we don't."
Tyler ignored him. "I've seen the photos. The party girl. The one with the, you know." He gestured at his own backside.
"Elise."
"Whatever her name is. You can't date someone just because they're hot."
"We're not dating."
"That's how it starts."
Tyler leaned forward. "I've never been in a relationship, but I've watched a lot of documentaries. The booty is temporary. The emotional baggage is forever."
Dorian stared at him. Tyler shifted in his seat.
"I'm not saying this because I'm jealous. I'm saying this because I'm also jealous, but I'm trying to be helpful. So just be careful, okay?"
"We're still not dating."
"That's what they all say."
A pause. Tyler's grin faded. "Bro, you've become weird."
Dorian looked up.
"You've got the influencer girl, half the campus knows who you are, and somehow you've become less social."
He let the silence sit.
Then: "Remember when you used to spend three hours arguing with me about nonsense?"
"No," Dorian said.
"Exactly."
Tyler grabbed his highlighter. "Well, when you come back, let me know. I need an audience."
The door creaked open.
Kyle came in like he didn't want the room to notice him. He crossed to his corner, sat on his bed, and pulled out his phone. His thumbs didn't move.
Tyler glanced at Kyle, then at Dorian. He cleared his throat.
"Anyway. I'm gonna go study somewhere else. The chi is off in here."
He grabbed his phone and left.
Neither Dorian nor Kyle spoke.
---
Dorian's phone buzzed.
Andre: Yo Dorian. Winter break get-together. You in?
Andre: Been years, man.
Andre: Remember when you roasted Josh for that fake designer jacket so hard he switched tables? Josh didn't even complain. He just moved.
Andre: Anyway. Let me know.
Dorian stared at the screen.
He set the phone down. The screen went dark.
---
[END OF CHAPTER 50]