Mal started his SUV, letting the music wash over him as he sat in the parking garage. He still had some time before picking up Momo, but he needed a moment to collect his thoughts.

“I don’t know how the hell I’m gonna do this,” Mal said under his breath, gripping the steering wheel as if it were the only thing tethering him to the moment. The weight of everything pressed down on him like a tsunami. His mind was flooding with fragmented thoughts: the tower, the nightmares, the poster, his sisters, Harper, and Nezami. It was all piling up, swirling around until it felt like his chest was ready to burst.

How am I supposed to handle this? There’s no way I’m ready for this. Not now.

He knew if he focused on these thoughts too long, they would consume him. Anxiety was like that—it pulled him into a spiral that was hard to break free from. He forced himself to shift gears mentally, to focus on something less overwhelming.

Something smaller.

The banner.

Before leaving the parking garage, he pulled out his phone and texted Momo, letting him know he was on his way. At least there was only a short trip of him being solo, he had been thankful his sisters were in the house so his mind stayed a little more occupied with that and gaming.

The music blared as he drove, and he found himself belting out the lyrics, no matter how horribly off-key he was. “Sometimes, these bands just get me,” he said, half-laughing at himself.

Pulling into the convenience store Momo opened the door and tossed his backpack in the back seat.

“What’s going on, man? We missed you, bro!”

“Thanks, man. I’ve just been hella sick. Probably inhaled too many paint fumes,” he replied with a sheepish grin.

Momo eyed suspiciously, but let it slide. “Well, I’ll tell you one thing: that work you put in was a real hit.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, man! People love it! Half the art class was shocked at your skills.”

“I’m shocked I have those skills,” Mal chuckled.

“You do, bro. You just get in your head too much…you have got some serious childhood trauma floating around in there. Just because some of the fundamentals are tricky for you doesn’t mean you don’t have mad talent,”

“Thanks, man, I feel like you have to spend time each day getting me back on track” Mal replied, feeling a little better.

“Man, it is what it is. You know how we do it.” Momo encouraged, giving him a supportive clap on the back.

“Look who decided to grace us with his presence!” Mika joked.

“Seriously what a mic drop, just kill an art project and disappear for a couple of days hahaha,” Jay said.

Roxy sauntered over with a teasing smile. “Wow, I heard you’re like Nezami’s personal savior!”

Mal blinked, caught off guard. “Why do you say that?”

Roxy nodded enthusiastically. “She told me with her very own lips! I’m so thankful you could help her out, Mal. I told her how great you are. You know, Nezami doesn’t talk to many people, she’s somewhat of a recluse, to be honest. Thanks for working so hard for my girl.”

“Mal always works extra hard when it’s about impressing the ladies.” Mika offered.

Mal raised an eyebrow, surprised. “Whatever. It’s funny because when we chatted, just the two of us, she seemed so easygoing."

Roxy grinned. "Well, that’s even better news. She gets so awkward around boys."

"With you as her friend, that seems nuts,” Evan added.

“She’s had a bit of a rough road,” Robbie said in a serious tone. "She wasn’t like that before. Something happened in junior high, and she kind of shut down after that."

"What incident?" Mal asked.

Roxy glanced at Robbie before replying.

”It’s a long story. But I’m glad you were there… She needs support sometimes, always trying to handle things on her own."

”I’m glad I could help too. She..." He trailed off, catching himself before he openly admitted how much he liked her, his face flushing slightly.

Roxy caught the hesitation but didn’t press.

"She’s lucky to have you around, Mal."

Jay laughed,, “Oh damn you sweet on her bro?”

“I would love to see Mal with a girlfriend” Mika smiled.

Robbie grinned. “Like he would be able to keep a girlfriend!”

“You’re one to talk,” Roxy said looking at Robbie with a sly grin.

Everyone erupted into laughter, the friendly banter filling the diner as they settled in for breakfast, easing the weight on Mal’s shoulders, if only for a moment.

PG.13A

Nezami stood beside a boy with tousled brownish-blonde hair, his athletic frame evident beneath a casual jacket. He had a laid-back confidence about him, the kind that drew attention without trying. Mal paused a few steps away, squinting as he tried to remember where he’d seen the guy before. There was something familiar about him—his face, his posture—but Mal couldn’t quite place it.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

What got to him, though, was how comfortable Nezami looked next to him, laughing at something he said. The ease between them sent a dull ache tightening in Mal’s chest. He hadn’t seen Nezami that relaxed around anyone else, and it left him feeling unsettled, the uniqueness of his earlier conversations with her suddenly slipping through his fingers.

Mal was so focused on the exchange between Nezami and the brown-haired boy that he didn’t even notice Enrique tugging on his sleeve.

"Mal, look!" Enrique tried to point out an angelic-looking woman across the atrium, a striking figure that everyone at the college had been talking about.

But Mal's gaze remained locked on Nezami, the easy laughter she shared with the other guy gnawing at him more than he cared to admit.

His concentration was only broken when he heard his name shouted, loud and clear, by a woman’s voice.

“Mal! Oh my gosh, I was hoping I’d see you!”

Startled, Mal turned just in time to see the woman Cascadia bounding towards him from the far side of the atrium.

"Cascadia!" he exclaimed, caught between embarrassment and excitement as she closed the distance. It had been a while since he'd seen her, and despite everything, he couldn't help the grin that spread across his face.

Before he could react further, Cascadia flung her arms around him, pulling him into a tight, almost theatrical hug, pressing his face firmly into her chest. The embrace was so sudden and exaggerated that Mal felt both flustered and amused as he tried to gently wiggle free from her enthusiastic grip. His heart raced—partly from surprise, partly from the sheer energy Cascadia brought with her.

As he awkwardly disentangled himself, still grinning, something made him glance back toward where Nezami had been standing. But when he looked, she was gone. He hadn’t noticed that, just before Cascadia's arrival, Nezami had cast a quick glance in his direction and then vanished into the crowd.

“What are you doing here?" he asked, smoothing out his shirt, trying to recover his composure.

She beamed at him, her thick, white-blonde hair with golden streaks shimmering under the soft light of the atrium. Cascadia had a striking presence—tall, full-figured, with curves that commanded attention. Her radiant smile made her already stunning features seem even more vibrant.

"Oh, didn’t you know? I’m teaching now! 3D rendering and game theory," she said with a playful glint in her eyes.

Mal blinked, wide-eyed. "Wait... you're a professor here?" He couldn’t hide the shock in his voice. "I had no idea! That’s insane!"

Cascadia laughed, the sound full of warmth.

"Yup! Figured it was time to pass on my wisdom to the next generation of creators." She winked. "It’s been fun. But I’m glad to see your face, I was trying to find you last week!”

Before Mal could respond, Enrique and Kevin—who had been quietly standing nearby, trying not to gawk—finally let their awe show. Enrique nudged Kevin, whispering loudly, “Dude, intro…”

“I’m sorry… Enrique, Kevin this is my friend Cascadia.”

Cascadia nodded and smiled at each of them. “Nice to meet you all,” she said warmly.

Enrique turned to Mal with wide eyes. “Wait, are you the Cascadia… like, the game developer?”

Cascadia turned back and smiled. “Yes, that’s me.”

As Mal stood there, listening to Enrique and Kevin practically fangirling over Cascadia, a creeping suspicion tugged at the back of his mind. He tried to brush it off, but the more he thought about it, the more things didn't add up.

Cascadia’s here… teaching?

Sure, she’d been in the game dev world for a long time, but Mal had known her long enough to understand that Cascadia didn’t do anything by accident. She was strategic, always had been, always two steps ahead. There had to be another reason she was here at the college—especially so close to him. His thoughts drifted to Nova’s earlier warning.

So that’s it, he thought, his stomach sinking.

She’s not just here for some game theory class. She’s positioning herself close to me because of that orb. Because something’s coming.

He glanced at her again, watching how casually she fielded questions from Enrique and Kevin. Her calm demeanor was impressive, but Mal could see through it. Cascadia was always good at hiding her true intentions behind that friendly, approachable facade. But deep down, he knew she wasn’t here just to chat about game design. She was here for a reason, and that reason was him.

Cascadia never shows up without a plan.

As she turned her attention back to him, her strikingly pale blue eyes locked on his for a brief moment, and Mal felt a shiver.

If Nova’s right about the shadow orb, then things are about to get a lot more complicated. And if Cascadia’s here because of that... Mal sighed inwardly. Great. Just what I need—another layer of chaos to deal with.

He tried to focus on the conversation, but his thoughts kept spinning, connecting dots he hadn’t even fully realized were there. Maybe it wasn’t just a coincidence that Cascadia had shown up now, so close to the start of the tower trials.

Kevin stared at Mal in disbelief. "Wait, hold up—you’ve been this close to the developer of our favorite game all this time, and you didn’t think to mention it?”

He was, of course, talking about Sl33py Hello’s, the game they were all obsessed with. Cascadia, Mal’s sister, had been one of the key creative minds behind its development.

Mal gave a casual shrug, trying to act like it wasn’t a big deal. “I’m pretty sure I told you guys… at some point.”

“Yeah, no chance,” Enrique chimed in, shaking his head with a grin. "Even if you had, we probably wouldn't have believed you.”

Cascadia, with her usual flair for dramatics, hugged Mal tight again, pressing his face into her shoulder and chest. “You probably didn’t tell them that I was your guardian angel, did you?”

Cascadia pulled back, feigning sadness.

“I’m so sad that you were embarrassed of me.”

“Oh come on give it a rest, you know that’s not true.”

Cascadia leaned back against the counter, arms crossed, a small smile playing on her lips as she looked at Enrique and Kevin.

"You guys probably don’t know this, but Mal used to get bullied in elementary school."

"Bullied? Mal?"

"Yeah, I could just tell he was a gamer, you know?"

"Oh, so you could tell he was a nerd?" Kevin snickered.

Cascadia laughed. "Yes, it was pretty obvious."

“Tch, whatever,” Mal said.

"But seriously," Cascadia continued, her voice taking on a more serious tone, "I remember this one day. One of the bigger kids, a junior high punk, decided to push him down. Mal didn’t even have a chance to react. He just hit the ground."

Kevin’s eyes widened. "Damn, that’s messed up."

"Yeah, it pissed me off. So, without thinking, I leaped in and—bam—punched the kid right in the face."

Enrique and Kevin stared at her, their jaws falling open. They were all standing in awe, their eyes darting between a now-reasonably embarrassed Mal and his angel

"No way," Enrique muttered, half-laughing, half-impressed.

"Seriously?" Kevin asked disbelief on his face.

Cascadia grinned. "Dead serious. Knocked him flat. Didn’t even look back after. I grabbed Mal, told him to get up, and we walked away like nothing happened."

Mal, who had been trying to disappear into the background, finally let out an exasperated sigh. "Why do you always gotta bring that up?"

Kevin nudged him with his elbow, still chuckling. "Dude, she’s a beast. I didn’t know you had a bodyguard growing up."

"Yeah, yeah," Mal muttered, rubbing the back of his neck, clearly embarrassed.

"Hey, I wasn’t gonna let some punk mess with a fellow gamer,” Cascadia added, shrugging. “Plus he was so squishy and cute back then”

The boys all laughed and said “Squishy” together.

The awkward tension broke as they kept giving Mal a hard time. Even though he tried to brush it off, there was a noted moment of joy.