It felt like there was no end in sight.
Stacks of textbooks, notebooks, and printouts surrounded her, nearly swallowing her entire workspace. The sound of her fingers tapping furiously against the keyboard filled the room. Honors classes—Advanced Constitutional Law and Comparative Politics of Civilizations—were dragging every bit of life out of her. These weren't just tough; they were designed to break her down, test every ounce of knowledge, and demand more.
She reminded herself that this was what she had signed up for the hundredth time that week. Still, it was hard to ignore how much time she was devoted to school and how little she had left for anything—or anyone—else.
Daiya had tried multiple times to drag her out of this cave of study, offering distractions ranging from casual outings to far more suggestive options. She'd turned him down every time. Shigeru, too, had asked a couple of times if she wanted to just relax with him, but the answer was always the same: "I'm busy."
Serena, lounging on her bed with a cigarette dangling from her lips, raised an eyebrow as she observed her work. "You know, at some point, you're gonna have to take a break, right? It feels like you've been working nonstop for weeks."
She didn't even look up from the page she was reading. "This is necessary."
Serena scoffed, flicking ash into a tray. "Necessary? Are you allergic to breaks or something?"
"No," she replied, scanning through a particularly dense paragraph. "But if I want to get into the top law firm in the country, this is fine with me."
Serena let out a dramatic sigh, stretching out on the bed as if to emphasize just how not busy she was. "Well, since you're gonna be glued to that desk for the next century, I figured I'd let you know I'm spending the next few nights with Lucia. So, you'll have the room to yourself."
"Mhm," she hummed absentmindedly, scribbling down a note in the margin of her book. "Have fun."
Serena laughed lightly, shaking her head. "You're hopeless."
Yeah, yeah, I know. But she didn't have time to indulge in Serena's teasing. She was already running through the next section of readings, calculating how much more she needed to get done before the weekend. Without another word, Serena grabbed her things and left, the door clicking shut behind her. She barely registered Serena's departure, too focused on summarizing a complicated legal theory. The minutes turned into hours, and time slipped away from her, lost in the shuffle of study materials.
It wasn't until she finally leaned back in her chair, stretching her stiff muscles, that she glanced at the clock. Her eyes widened. She blinked, momentarily disoriented. The room was quiet—too quiet. It took her a second to realize Serena had left hours ago.
How the hell is it already past midnight?
I really need to get a grip. I should probably get some sleep. But then again, she was on a roll with her studying, and there was still so much to cover. The pile of books and notes on her desk grew larger the longer she stared at them.
But as tempting as it was to keep going, her already heavy eyes overtook any motivation she had. Her head dropped to the desk with a soft thud, sending a pen rolling onto the floor.
"Yo, freshman."
The voice barely registered in her mind, muffled and distant, like it was coming from underwater. She stirred, groaning softly, but her body felt too heavy to move. Everything felt warm and hazy, and she was caught in that strange, in-between place where she knew she should wake up, but her brain hadn't entirely caught up with reality yet.
"Don't wake her up," another voice murmured—Shigeru's voice, she realized.
"She's gonna kill her neck if she stays like that. Let me at least put her in bed." Their words barely made sense to her, her mind floating somewhere far away, still clinging to sleep. She felt someone's hand gently brush against her arm, and she stirred again, this time managing to blink her eyes open. But nothing looked real. The room seemed to swim before her eyes, and for a moment, she wasn't entirely sure if she was awake or still dreaming.
The shapes of Daiya and Shigeru loomed over her, blurry and undefined in the dim light. She blinked, trying to focus, but her limbs felt disconnected from her brain, moving sluggishly as she pushed herself up from the desk. She stumbled to her feet, barely aware of Daiya's hand on her back, steadying her. Her legs wobbled like they didn't belong to her, and she staggered toward the bed in a daze, mumbling incoherently. "Lay down with me..." The words slipped out before she could stop them, her voice thick and slurred with sleep. She wasn't even sure if she meant to say them or if they were part of some lingering dream. But she wasn't fully awake enough to care.
"Hear that, Shigeru? She wants us to lay down with her."
"She's not even awake, Daiya. Let her sleep."
But instead of listening, she felt Daiya's arms snake around her waist, gently guiding her the rest of the way to her bed. He didn't seem to mind her half-conscious state as he helped her flop down onto the mattress, her body sinking into the softness with a contented sigh.
Warm. That was the only thought that made sense in her muddled brain. She was warm, comfortable, and, for some reason, safe, like she could drift off again without a care in the world.
Hours later, she noticed a strange pressure against her body, unfamiliar yet not entirely unpleasant. As she gradually came to, the sensation became clearer—two hands, one on each cheek of her ass, gently cupping her.
Her eyes blinked open in the darkness. The first thing she noticed was the low, steady breathing on either side of her. Turning her head slightly, she saw the outline of Shigeru's face, his dark hair splayed out against the pillow. On her other side, Daiya was snuggled up close, his face buried in the crook of her neck.
Panic set in quickly, her heart rate spiking as she realized both of them were pressed up against her, and somehow, she was sandwiched between them. She shifted anxiously, trying to lift herself up without making too much noise. But the moment she moved, both men stirred, their grip tightening instinctively before they slowly opened their eyes.
The three of them were locked in a stare-off, no one saying a word.
Daiya was the first to move, shifting closer as he kissed the side of her neck. A warm shiver shot through her body, and it took everything in her not to melt into the feeling. Shigeru followed suit, trailing his lips along her shoulder, and she couldn't help the way her back arched. With no clue what to do or how she ended up in this position, she tried to wriggle free, but they held fast, keeping her pressed firmly between their bodies as they bombarded her with gentle kisses.
"What are you doing?" she whispered, still drowsy from sleep. A soft sigh of pleasure escaped her lips when their mouths trailed down her neck. Unexpected heat was starting to build between her legs, burning hotter with every passing second.
With her body still heavy with sleep, it was impossible not to give in, letting their kisses and touches drag her back under. A finger slipped past the band of her underwear, and she moaned quietly. She wasn't sure whose hand it belonged to, but she didn't care.
The bed creaked softly as Shigeru shifted behind her, and her breath hitched when she felt the hard bulge of his body brush against her. At the same time, she felt her clothing below the waist being peeled away, and then a warm, wet mouth was kissing its way down the inside of her thigh. Satin-smooth fabric slid down her legs, and she kicked off her panties.
Their mouths and hands roamed all over, and she couldn't tell whose were where. After a few moments, she found herself positioned on top of Shigeru, with Daiya behind her. It was strange, but she swore she could feel both of them pressing close, trying to push themselves inside of her at the same time.
The feeling of being torn from sleep woke her up a little more, and her hands reached out in a panic. One grabbed hold of the sheets, the other reaching back to grasp blindly their shoulders, their faces, anything she could reach.
"Fuck—"
She wasn't sure who said it or if both of them had, but the curse was cut short when they heard a knock on the door.
The three of them froze, barely daring to breathe as the seconds ticked by.
"Shit."
That was definitely Serena. It had to be.