~ELENA~

The whispers multiply until it feels like the entire hallway has turned into a low hum of excitement.

“Who is he? Does anyone know?”

“They say he is doing his masters.”

“I heard he's transferred.”

“Transferred? He looks like he walked straight out of a magazine.”

“Do you think he has a girlfriend?”

“I swear, if he so much as smiles at me, I’ll die right here.”

I should have been focused on Alessandro, on his fingers biting into my skin, on the danger in his eyes….but the pull of the crowd’s awe is impossible to ignore.

Everywhere I look, girls are leaning into each other, their cheeks flush...