"Why didn''t youe home for my birthday? And who''s this guy? Are you dating someone at school now?"


    Scarlette was totally blindsided, the questions hitting her all at once. She just stood there, stunned.


    "How long have you been waiting out here? You''re soaked! What if you get sick? Where''s the driver?"


    Nichs sniffled, wiping his nose. "I ran here by myself. Ah-choo..."


    Scarlette shot an apologetic look at her ssmate. "Sorry, can we talk about this tomorrow? Do you mind if I borrow your umbre? I''m really sorry."


    The boy nced over at Nichs, feeling a little uneasy. There was something way too possessive about the way the kid clung to Scarlette. And honestly, he got this weird, hostile vibe from him. But Nichs was her brother, after all. He liked Scarlette, so naturally he wanted to be nice to her little brother too.


    "Sure. See you tomorrow," he said.


    Scarlette slipped off her jacket and wrapped it around Nichs, then took his hand.


    "How could you just run over here by yourself? Didn''t the drivere with you? Never mind, let''s get you upstairs to change. You''ll have to wear my clothes for now."


    Her ss was the honors ss, so even at this hour, most people were still in the ssroom working through practice tests.


    She brought Nichs into her dorm, grabbed some of her clothes, and started helping him change.


    But Nichs clung tightly to his wet shirt, refusing to let go.


    Scarlette couldn''t help butugh.


    "Okay, fine. Change by yourself, alright?"


    He nodded and quickly swapped his wet clothes for hers.


    Back then, Scarlette was so much taller than him—tall, slim, fair-skinned, and just so pretty. That was all Nichs could think: Scarlette was the most beautiful woman in the world.


    Her clothes smelled faintly sweet, and it made him strangely embarrassed. For the first time, he felt a weird mix of shame and nervousness.


    Scarlette noticed him standing there, head down, the tips of his ears bright red. She gently cupped his face and pressed her forehead to his.


    "Nick, you''re burning up. Are you getting sick?"


    Nichs''s mind went totally nk. In that moment, he didn''t dare think about anything at all.


    Scarlette grabbed his hand, checked in with the dorm matron, and


    popped open the umbre to tone


    whe


    him back to the Greenard family''s ce.


    The walk was long. Rain drummed on the umbre, filling the world with that steady patter. To Nichs it felt like everything around him was turning upside down.


    When they reached the school gate, the Greenard family driver was already


    waiting. He looked so relieved to see them.


    "Thank goodness. Miss, your


    mother''s called you a ton of


    times you didn''t answer. And young master here ran off without telling anyone. We were all worried sick, searching everywhere."


    Scarlette apologized, opened the car door, and got in with Nichs.


    As soon as they sat down, she started scolding him. "What if something


    happened to you on the way, Nick? Don''t ever do that again."


    The driver, overhearing her stern voice, tried to defend Nichs.


    "He''s still a kid, Miss. It''s normal to be impulsive at his age. But honestly, you should really keep your phone with you."


    Scarlette dropped her gaze and quietly grabbed a towel to dry Nichs''s hair.


    Nichs couldn''t stop watching her; she looked beautiful no matter what she was doing.


    "Hey, can we take a picture together? It''s my birthday tonight, and you didn''t even get me a present, did you?"


    Scarlette looked at the camera and smiled.


    And that''s how they ended up with that photo-Nichs still wearing her clothes.


    Snapping back out of the memory, Nichs heard the sound of typing nearby and leaned closer.


    "Still working, sis?"


    He rested his head on her shoulder, feelingpletely content.


    Yeah, being grown up was pretty great.