I quietly followed Duke and Aiden around the corner of the school to walk down a short set of steps that led into a basement. The floor inside was concrete, with a large vented drain in the middle of the room. Six washing machines and an industrial looking sink lined the left wall, and on the right were six dryers.

Having closed up his umbrella, Aiden walked past me to sit on one of the dryers as Duke sauntered over to the sink, his clothes making a wet sound with each step he took. Keeping his back to us, Duke kicked off his white loafers and bent down to move them beneath the sink. Then, he sat on a stool next to the sink.

"So, Miss Ridley," Aiden began slyly, stealing my attention. "Class has yet to start, and you've already skipped out on your scholarly obligations. Why is that?"

My scholarly obligations? I snorted, ignoring the apprehension that his question elicited.

Apart from bringing it up, I had no way of knowing if he and Duke knew about the Nero incident. If they were aware of what happened, they were doing a great job of keeping it to themselves. Especially Aiden. I didn't know him at all, but I had a feeling that if he knew what had transpired, he'd never let me live it down.

"Aiden, don't start." Duke chided, peeling off his soaked socks. "Our only concern is giving Miss Ridley a quick tour of campus. Nothing more."

Aiden opened his mouth, but snapped it shut when the door creaked open. Our heads turned toward the sound, and my heart lurched violently into my breastbone.

His white button-down shirt was soggy, hanging open to reveal damp, pale flesh. His ashy lavender hair was dripping wet, clinging to his forehead and ears, perfectly framing his pensive face. He seemed to be lost in thought, his eyes focused on his feet as he made his way to the sink.

I wanted to run, hide, before he knew I was there. But I couldn't move-- his presence held me in place. Instead, I turned away, hoping it would be enough to avoid his noticing me.

It wasn't.

"Miss Ridley," Nero's voice was much colder than it had been before. It felt hollow, almost pained, and it made me rigid. "What are you doing here?"

"Dean Lachlan had an emergency," Duke explained, his tone light. "He asked us to conduct the tour for her."

"I see," Nero mumbled.

Stupidly, I dared to take a look over my shoulder at him. His amethyst eyes met mine with ferocity, staying on me long enough to turn my cheeks a heated crimson. Then, he turned his attention to the sink, and I turned away to hang my head in shame.

He was pissed, and rightly so. Not only did I violate his privacy, but I also got him in trouble with the Dean. I thought about apologizing, this time for his being reprimanded by Dean Lachlan, but immediately dismissed it, thinking it would be pointless.

Things fell silent after that, uncomfortably silent. After a beat, Aiden stood and held his hand out for me.

"The rain has finally let up," he smiled. "We should wait outside, give them some privacy."

I took his hand, grateful that he wasn't trying to be cute or mischievous, and got to my feet. Before we could go, Nero pulled off his shirt to wring it out above the sink, speaking without looking up.

"Miss Ridley give me privacy? Ha! Good one."

I froze, my eyes shooting up to him in disbelief. He didn't look away from the sink, however, but instead kicked off his shoes to nudge them back next to Duke's.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Aiden asked beside me. He and Duke wore matching expressions of confusion, glancing from me to Nero.

"Hmm, good question." Nero began, finally turning to face us. "Miss Ridley, you want to elaborate, or shall I?"

Anxiety prickled at my scalp, my finger tips. I gazed at him, quietly pleading for him to let it go.

He didn't.

"Guess it's left to me, then." Nero sighed, folding his arms across his chest. He shifted to lean back against one of the washers, staring me down. "Did she tell you, either of you, why she skipped out on the freshmen tour?"

"Nero, please." I begged, my face hotter than fire.

It was bad enough that Dean Lachlan found out about me seeing Nero in the buff, but Duke and Aiden, too? Why? Why was Nero doing this?

"How do you know his name, Miss Ridley?" Duke asked, straightening up. "Did something happen between you two?"

Panic struck me like lightning. What could I say? How could I tell him what happened without making myself sound like some kind of freak?

Nero's gaze narrowed. "Oh, she knows a lot more about me than just my name. In fact, she's come to know me quite intimately in the brief time we've spent together. Isn't that right, Miss Ridley?"

He chuckled darkly, shooting me a wink.

What. The. Fuck.

Duke suddenly jumped up, knocking his stool over, to snatch Nero by the throat. "What did you do to her?"

Whoa, what the hell?

That definitely wasn't the reaction I was expecting. And judging by how wide his eyes got, neither was Nero. But he managed to compose himself almost instantly, and responded with a loud and empty laugh.

"Speak!" Duke barked, his knuckles turning alabaster as he tightened his hold on Nero.

I glanced up at Aiden, wondering why he wasn't trying to stop Duke, when I noticed he had let go of my hand. Gazing down, I saw his arms were down by his sides, stiff and shaking. His hands were balled into tight fists, blood trickling down one of his knuckles.

Why were Aiden and Duke acting this way? Angry--no, murderous. And over me? They didn't know me. I was nobody.

It was insane! It had to stop.

"He didn't do anything!" I shrieked, finally swallowing down the panic that had me trembling. "It was me. It was my fault. I saw him..." I closed my eyes, unable to look at them as I whispered, "I saw him by the dock...naked."

I flinched at my admission, and waited for someone to speak, still keeping my eyes closed. When no one said anything, I eased an eye open to see Aiden and Duke gawking at me.

"You saw him naked?" Duke nodded at Nero, his hold loosening. "That's it?"

I shrugged sheepishly. "Well, no. He was toweling off, and--" I stopped to cover my face. "--and I hid behind a tree and watched him like a filthy pervert."

It was deafeningly quiet after that. My whole body felt ablaze, the heat of my embarrassment nipping at every inch of me. Finally, when I thought I couldn't take it anymore, someone spoke. Or rather, laughed.

"That's what this is about?"

Duke cackled, having released Nero.

"You think this is funny?" I looked up, shocked. Just seconds ago Duke was throttling Nero. Now he's acting like he'd heard the world's greatest joke. Talk about pulling a one-eighty.

"Not at all." Duke settled down to smile broadly. "I just find your innocence utterly delightful."

My jaw dropped. "My innocence? How could you think I'm innocent after what I confessed to?" I was flabbergasted.

And apparently, so was Aiden.

"How does this not piss you off?"

Duke stepped away from Nero, who was bent over with his hands on his knees, gasping for air. Coming over to stand next to me, Duke shot Nero a hard look while placing a hand on my shoulder.

"It does," he said, answering Aiden's question. "To be honest, I've never experienced rage quite like that. But by Miss Ridley's own admission, Nero is not at fault for what she saw. So being angry with him would be senseless."

"I'm okay with being senseless." Aiden was pouting, crossing his arms and giving Nero a deadly glare. "Thanks to Long Dong Silver and that thing in his pants, none of us stand a chance with her now."

"Ugh, please," Duke rolled his eyes. "As if any of us had a shot with her beforehand."

"Um, you guys do realize I'm standing right here, right?" I asked, almost floored by their flippant conversation. "I can hear everything you're saying."

Duke and Aiden flushed, and offered sincere, yet mumbled, apologies.

"Please, wait outside with Aiden." Duke added softly. "I'll be with you both shortly."

I gave him a nod and followed Aiden out.

~~~~

The air outside was heavy with moisture and muggy from the rain. I'd completely forgotten about wearing Connor's jacket until I started feeling too warm. I slipped it off and draped it over my arm, hugging it to my chest for solace.

"Nice jacket,"

Aiden nodded at the blue fabric.

I glanced down, shrugging. "It's not mine, but thanks."

The laundry room door opened behind us, then closed harshly. I didn't have to look back to know it was Nero coming out, but I did it anyway.

I felt awful for perving on him earlier, and for getting him in trouble with the Dean, but seeing him now made me feel a million times worse. His neck was bright red, Duke's chokehold from before still painfully evident. And his head was bent down, watching his feet as he quickly sauntered past me. Before I knew it, I was chasing after him, damning myself for being so careless.

"Nero, wait!"

"Leave me alone."

I should have listened to him, but I couldn't let things go without at least trying to apologize. "You probably don't want to hear this, and I know you probably hate me for the trouble I've caused you, but I'm so sorry. I had no idea things would get that bad."

He stopped, but kept his back to me.

"Just stay away from me." He whispered pitifully. "It would be better that way... for all of us."