Chapter 113 - She’s Trouble

Chapter 113: Chapter 113 - She’s Trouble

Inside the lecture hall, the room buzzed with the ambient chatter of dozens of students waiting for the professor to arrive.

Ripley turned off first, offering Vincent a cool nod of thanks for the help earlier. She slunk up the carpeted aisle toward the top back corner of the hall.

Right when Vincent was about to ask Jason where they should grab seats–

"Vinny...?" A familiar, trembling female voice caught his attention.

He slowly turned his eyes toward the middle row. There, standing beside an aisle desk while clutching a notebook tightly against her chest, was a young woman with long, blonde hair tied into a ponytail and wide blue eyes.

’Ah, shit. Here we go. Hannah.’

Beside him, Jason practically shrank into his black hood as looked at the two childhood friends stare at each other. In a panic, he leaned and whispered, "Wait... how the hell do you know her?! That’s the Freshman’s Madonna!"

"The Freshman’s Madonna?"

Hannah walked down the stairs and stopped right in front of him. Once she caught a good look at him, she did a double-take.

Standing before her was no longer the slender, and reserved boy who used to bury his head in textbooks. Vincent stood taller, his shoulders broader, and his posture radiating a cool calmness. His once pale skin seemed to glow with vital warmth and his green eyes were bright, clear, and unburdened.

"V-Vinny...? It really is you... You look... so different."

"Hey, Hannah. Long time no see."

Whispers flared up across the surrounding desks.

"... Is that Hannah talking to a random guy?"

"... Who even is that? Is he a model? He’s pretty damn handsome..."

"... Did you see her face? She looks totally stunned."

Hannah stepped in a bit closer and asked softly, "Are you... are you really okay? I texted you so many times... Why didn’t you answer me?"

"I–"

Before Vincent could form an answer, the front doors opened again. This time, the old History professor marched into the room carrying a thick stack of syllabi, clapping his hands together loudly.

"Alright, settle down everyone! Take your seats so we can begin!"

Hannah glanced back at her desk, then looked eagerly at Vincent. She gestured toward the empty seat beside her. "Come sit with me."

Not wanting to make a scene, he nodded and slid into the desk beside her. Jason – still spooked by the attention – quickly occupied the seat behind him and hid behind his frame.

As the professor began pulling up slides on the projector screen, Hannah leaned over her desk and whispered softly so the rest of the row wouldn’t hear.

"Vinny... There’s something I always wanted to say in person. I’m really sorry," She apologised with eyes filled with genuine remorse.

"If I hurt you back then... or if I made things awkward between us... I never wanted–"

"Hannah, it’s fine," Vincent interrupted gently with a smile. "Seriously. I had a lot of time to think about it. About myself. And I’m over the past. I don’t hold a grain of ill will toward you, and I sincerely wish you and your boyfriend the best."

Hannah froze mid-breath.

She stared at him, taken completely off guard.

This wasn’t what she was expecting from the Vincent she knew. She expected lingering heartbreak, awkward resentment, or painful coldness. Instead, she was looking into the eyes of a man who was genuinely unburdened by the past – as if the rejection that had once crushed him was nothing more than a faint speck of dust behind him.

"Vinny..."

Behind them, Jason was furiously tapping notes onto his digital tablet, sweating profusely under his hood. He could feel the envious glares of half the male students in the room burning holes into the back of his neck, furious that two random guys were sitting beside the most sought-after girl in the freshman year.

Throughout the hour-long lecture, Hannah found her eyes constantly drifting sideways, sneaking glances at Vincent’s profile. Whenever he caught her looking and gave her a polite smile, a faint blush would spread across her cheeks, forcing her to quickly look back at the professor’s slides.

.....

DING-DONG~ DING-DONG~

The campus chime echoed, signaling the end of the period.

As students began packing their laptops and notebooks into their bags, Hannah turned to Vincent with a hopeful tone. "Are you heading to the humanities center next? We can walk together if you want."

"Sure. You coming, Jay?"

"J-Jay?! I mean, yes!"

As the three of them stepped out into the courtyard, student eyes followed them everywhere. The sight of Hannah walking alongside a handsome, unknown guy ignited a wave of campus gossip.

Walking closely beside him, she hesitated for a moment before looking up at his face. "Vinny... Now that you’re... better, do you think we could still hang out like we used to? Like back before high school?"

Feeling his lips tremble and his heart ache slightly, Vincent stopped near a snow-covered bench. Looking at her with absolute clarity, he didn’t speak harshly, but he made his boundary crystal-clear.

"Like back before high school, huh? Hannah, I’m always happy to be on good terms with you. I’ll always be happy to say hi on campus or, like now, walk to class if we’re heading the same way. But hanging out like we used to... out of respect for your relationship with your boyfriend and because of my own busy personal life... that just won’t be possible anymore."

Hannah flinched as if struck.

A stinging sense of loss pricked at her chest – a sudden realisation that the boy who used to revolve his entire world around her had moved on far beyond her reach. Yet, seeing his honesty, she swallowed her pain and gave a bittersweet nod.

"I understand... Thank you for being honest, Vincent."

As Jason watched the interaction from the sideline, his mind tried to piece together the history between them. Unknown to them, standing near the corner of a building, the three jock buddies watched the exchange with dark scowls.

The lead jock pulled out his smartphone, snapped a quick photo of Vincent walking beside Hannah and texted it straight to Dexter Shaw.

...

By the end of the university day, Vincent and Jason walked side-by-side toward the student parking lot.

BZZZZT! BZZZZT!

Jason’s smartphone suddenly vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out, glanced at the caller ID, and instantly went rigid.

"Ah... V-Vincent! I... I have to leave right now! Emergency!"

"Is everything okay? What happened?"

"Nothing! Just... family stuff!" He quickly hopped onto his bike, slapping his helmet on, and revved the engine. "See you tomorrow!"

With a roar of exhaust, he sped off out of the parking lot.

’That guy is definitely hiding something... But it’s none of my business... Should I make it my business? He is my first friend here after all.’

Walking toward the campus transit loop, Vincent noticed Hannah standing by the curb where a cherry-red sports car pulled. She smiled brightly at the driver and slid into the passenger seat. The sports car then accelerated away, its taillights bleeding into the snowy afternoon street.

Watching the vehicle disappear, Vincent took a long, quiet breath of the cold winter air and offered one final, silent farewell in his heart to the childhood crush of his past.

"Did I catch you yearning, new guy?"

Without flinching, Vincent turned his head to see Ripley standing two feet away with a lit cigarette resting between her dark lips.

"Yearning? Not even close."

He turned and left her standing there with an intrigued smirk playing on her face.

He walked toward the bus shelter near the campus edge and sat under the rusted metal overhang.

About a minute later, a shadow fell across the pavement next to him. Ripley stepped beneath the shelter, leaning her shoulder against the metal.

Vincent raised an eyebrow, looking up at her. "Are you following me now? I thought you told me to stay out of your business."

"Don’t flatter yourself, hero. I take this bus line every day."

Vincent rolled his eyes and turned back to face the street. They waited in silence until the city bus finally pulled up to the curb with a hiss of air brakes. Boarding the vehicle, Vincent found a seat near the back.

Thud.

Without asking, Ripley plopped right down into the seat beside him, crossing her fishnet-clad legs and arms under her chest. She leaned in slightly, locking her grey eyes onto his profile.

"Tell me. Where does that confidence come from? You handled those three apes earlier like you were stepping on ants. Most would have pissed their pants."

"I took a few self-defense classes."

"Right... and I’m the Queen of England. You’re lying through your teeth, Winters."

Vincent just smirked, looking out the fogged window as the bus rumbled down the streets.

Ten minutes later, the bus pulled up to his neighborhood stop near the local convenience store.

"Well, this is me. See ya." He stood up and stepped off onto the pavement – only for Ripley to step off right behind him.

"Seriously?"

"Don’t get the wrong idea, smarty-pants." Ripley smirked, pointing her thumb toward the convenience store just up the road. "I work the afternoon-till-evening shift here."

"... Right. My bad."

As they began walking together–

SCREECH!!!!!!

The violent sound of squealing tires echoed against the road.

Four pitch-black SUVs tore around the corner, mounting the curb and swerving in a synchronised formation to completely block off their path.

All doors slammed open in unison and a dozen intimidating men dressed in sleazy suits surrounded them. Stepping out last from the passenger side of the lead SUV was Dexter Shaw.

His eyes burned with malice and his chest heaved with rage as he glared at Vincent over the humiliation from yesterday, combined with the fresh reports he had received from his people. He swung a metal crowbar over his shoulder and spoke condescendingly.

"Well, well, well... If it isn’t the big brother heroic piece of shit."

Ripley’s eyes narrowed into a fierce scowl as she stepped forward. "Dex! What the fuck are you doing?! What’s with all these people!"

Dexter spat onto the ground and glared at Vincent with lethal intent. "Don’t play fucking stupid with me, Ripley! I know all about what this bastard did today! He’s been cozying up around my territory and he touched my girl?! I don’t like it... not one fucking bit!"

"Touched me?! Why don’t you tell that to the three idiots that cornered me and tried to forcefully take me away!"

Ignoring her, Dexter raised the crowbar and pointed the rusted iron tip straight at Vincent’s chest, shouting to the gangsters surrounding them.

"Ripley, get out of the way! Boys... break his fucking legs! I want him alive!"

Ripley stood squarely beside Vincent and took out a pocket knife from her jacket. "Back the hell away, Dex! I’m warning you!"

With a heavy breath of misty air, Vincent rolled his shoulders as a calm, dangerous smirk touched his lips.

"Well, Ripley. So much for staying out of your business..."