Hailee's POV
I was still staring at the necklace in the mirror when the doorbell rang.
I blinked, turning away quickly. I'd half-expected Nathan to show up through my window again like he always did, but the doorbell?
That was new.
I opened the door and found him standing there, his bag slung over one shoulder, his laptop tucked under his arm. His face was neutral, unreadable, but not cold like earlier. Just…blank.
"Hey," I said softly, stepping aside. "Come in."
He gave a small nod and walked in without a word, his eyes scanning the space briefly before he followed me toward my room. There was no unnecessary small talk. No teasing. Just silence and tension.
The moment we stepped into my room, he moved toward the bed, sat down, and opened his laptop like this was just another assignment. Like we were just classmates.
He didn't even look at me when he said, "I already did some research and drafted an outline. I organized the sources and split the main points by subtopics."
