Chapter 2

"Got it!" Jake's voice suddenly boomed as his phone flashlight cut through the dark. "Everyone still alive?"

Other phones started lighting up, creating a constellation of small blue lights. The room slowly became visible again, ghostly and strange in the artificial glow.

"I think the main breaker tripped," Ethan said, already moving toward the door. "I'll go check."

"Be careful," I managed to say, though my voice sounded weird to my own ears.

My heart was still racing, my lips still tingling from that unexpected touch.

Two minutes later, the lights blazed back to life, so bright after the darkness that we all blinked and squinted.

"Fixed!" Ethan announced, looking pleased with himself. "Just needed to reset the main breaker."

I looked around the room, trying to read faces. Ethan stood by the light switch, looking satisfied with his technical skills. Dylan had emerged from the kitchen with a dish towel in his hands, concern written across his features. Cameron was adjusting his camera strap, his hair slightly messed up. Jake was putting his phone away, that same easy grin on his face.

But something had changed. Someone in this room had just stolen my first real kiss, and they were all acting like nothing had happened.

"Riley, you okay?" Ethan asked, noticing my expression. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I'm fine," I lied, unconsciously touching my lips. "Just startled by the sudden darkness."

But I wasn't fine. Not even close.

Someone in this room - one of these guys I'd known for years, trusted, considered practically family - had just crossed a line I didn't even know existed.

And the worst part?

Part of me didn't mind at all.

Actually, if I was being completely honest with myself, part of me wanted to know who it was so I could ask him to do it again.

But first, I needed to figure out which one of them was brave enough - or crazy enough - to steal a kiss in the dark.

"Okay, crisis over," Emma announced, picking up her eyeliner again. "Back to making ourselves beautiful."

Everyone went back to their activities, but I couldn't shake the feeling that everything had just fundamentally changed. In those two seconds of darkness, someone had shifted the entire dynamic of our group.

I settled back onto the floor, pretending to organize my makeup while really studying their faces.

One of them was hiding a secret.

And before graduation, I was going to find out who.

---

I barely slept last night. Every time I closed my eyes, I was back in that dark common room, feeling those gentle fingers on my chin and that whisper-soft kiss that turned my world upside down.

Now I was lying in bed at ten AM, staring at the ceiling and replaying every single detail I could remember. The mint on his breath. The slight tremor in his touch. The way he disappeared so quickly, like he'd never been there at all.

"Riley, did you even sleep?" Emma asked, walking out of our shared bathroom while brushing her teeth. "Your dark circles are seriously competing with a panda right now."

What was I supposed to say? That someone had stolen a kiss from me in the dark and now I was conducting a full-scale FBI investigation in my head?

"Just graduation anxiety," I mumbled, pulling my pillow over my face.

"Well, you better caffeinate before you pass out," she said through a mouthful of toothpaste. "Sarah and I are grabbing lunch later if you want to join."

"Maybe," I said, but my brain was already switching into full detective mode.

I needed to approach this logically. Like a case study for my Media Studies class, except way more personal and infinitely more complicated.

The evidence I had was pretty pathetic. Mint on his breath - but literally every college student had mint something. His height - he was taller than me, but at five-six, everyone was taller than me. The roughness of his fingers - but that could've been anyone, or maybe I just imagined it because I was nervous.

I needed more intel.

After Emma left for her morning jog, I got dressed and headed out on my reconnaissance mission. First stop: the art building, where Cameron usually spent his mornings in the darkroom or editing photos.

I found his backpack on a table in the main studio, unzipped and messy like always. And right there, in the front pocket, was a pack of Altoids. Mint flavored.

Suspicious? Maybe. Conclusive? Not even close.

My next stop was the campus gym. Jake practically lived there when he wasn't in class or playing basketball. I spotted him at the protein shake bar, mixing something green and probably disgusting.

"Hey Riley!" he called out when he saw me. "You working out today?"

"Just grabbing water," I lied, walking over to the cooler.

That's when I saw it - his water bottle, sitting on the counter. The label read "Mint-Lemon Electrolyte Enhanced."

Strike two.

"You okay?" Jake asked, following my gaze to his drink. "You're staring at my water bottle like it personally offended you."

"No, it's fine. Just wondering if it tastes any good."

"Want to try it?" He held it out toward me.

"That's okay," I said quickly, probably too quickly. "I'm not really into mint flavors."

Something flickered across his face - was that disappointment? Guilt? Or was I reading way too much into everything?

The food court was my third stop. Dylan was usually there around lunchtime, either eating or helping in the kitchen. I grabbed a sandwich and found a table where I could watch him without being obvious.

Sure enough, after he finished his meal, he pulled out a pack of gum. Mint gum. He popped a piece in his mouth and offered some to the girl sitting next to him.

Three for three. This was getting ridiculous.

I was walking back to my dorm when I remembered Ethan's toothpaste. I'd borrowed it last month when I ran out of mine, and it was definitely mint flavored. Some fancy organic brand that he'd ordered online.

So basically, every single guy in my life used mint products. This clue was absolutely useless.

But their behavior since last night? That was more interesting.

Ethan had been extra protective this morning, texting me twice to make sure I was okay and reminding me to lock my door. But Ethan was always protective - it wasn't really different from normal.

Dylan seemed to be avoiding eye contact though. Yesterday he would've looked right at me when we talked, but today he kept glancing away. That felt... suspicious.

Cameron had gone completely quiet. Usually he'd at least nod hello when we passed each other on campus, but today he'd walked right past me like I was invisible.

And Jake was being weirdly chatty. Like, more talkative than usual, which for Jake was saying something. Overcompensation maybe?

I was so lost in thought that I almost walked into Sarah outside the library.