Back at the Q4 apartment, the living room felt unusually calm.
Peaceful, even.
Jax and Jeremy were resting on the couch, completely into a heated video game battle, their competitive energy filling the room.
"You cheated!"
"I did not cheat!"
"You definitely cheated!"
"Bro, you just suck," Jeremy said without even looking away from the screen.
"I am literally carrying this team," Jax shot back, gripping the controller tighter.
Foxy sat comfortably on the armchair, casually flipping through the latest Q4 magazine edition, occasionally nodding to himself in approval.
"They really did their best for this cover." He murmured proudly.
Across the room, Vic sat quietly with his notebook open on the table in front of him. His pen hovered above the page unmoving, he had written the same line three times and scratched it out three times. The paper now looked more wounded than inspired.
This was supposed to be a distraction.
Music usually helped him think, helped him breathe. But today…Nothing was working.
His mind kept drifting....Back to her.
Foxy spoke without even lifting his eyes
from the magazine.
"What's wrong with you?"
Vic blinked slightly. "What do you mean?"
Foxy flipped the page lazily.
"You've been staring at that notebook for twenty minutes, unless you're composing a song called 'Ode to Empty Paper', something is clearly off."
"I'm fine," Vic replied calmly.
Jax snorted loudly.
"He's not fine. I can sense disturbance in the air."
Jeremy nodded in agreement. "Yeah… your vibe is off today."
"I am okay," Vic insisted.
Jeremy paused the game for a second and turned to look at him properly.
"You look worried… ever since you helped… what's her name again?"
"Corelia," Jax supplied immediately, still pressing buttons.
"Oh right, Corelia," Jeremy said. "I wonder if she's feeling better already."
"She should be," Jax replied. "I heard they left the infirmary earlier."
Vic leaned back slowly in his chair, his gaze distant. "It's not just about being worried." He admitted quietly.
"There's just something about her…"
That got their attention, even Jax paused the game this time.
"What kind of something?"
Vic hesitated.
"I feel like… I've seen her before."
Jax frowned slightly. "Really? That's new."
Foxy immediately shook his head.
"I doubt it. We've basically been attached at the hip for fifteen years. And you've never exactly been surrounded by women."
Jeremy nodded.
"That's true. The last time you voluntarily spoke to a girl was probably during a group project."
"I speak to women," Vic defended calmly.
"Professionally," Foxy corrected.
Jax smirked. "Maybe you met her when you were younger?"
Vic dropped his pen onto the notebook.
"That's the problem. I can't remember."
Jeremy leaned forward slightly.
"Maybe your brain is just being dramatic. You don't date, so we can't exactly blame an ex-girlfriend… unlike certain individuals."
"What does that mean?" Jax asked immediately.
Jeremy shrugged innocently. "I didn't say your name."
"Then why were you looking at me?"
"I wasn't."
"You were."
"I wasn't."
"You were."
"Wow," Foxy muttered. "Guilty conscience is loud."
Jax pointed at Foxy immediately.
"Excuse me? You've dated more people than I have."
Foxy closed the magazine calmly. "That is called networking."
"Networking??" Jeremy repeated. "You literally dated three actresses from the same movie."
"They approached me," Foxy replied smoothly.
"Of course they did," Jax scoffed.
"And you?" Foxy shot back. "Should we talk about the model incident?"
"That was one time."
Jeremy laughed. "You said that last time too."
"They misunderstood my kindness," Jax insisted.
"Your kindness texts heart emojis," Foxy said.
"They were friendly hearts."
"There is no such thing as a friendly heart," Jeremy said flatly.
"You both are embarrassing," Jeremy added, shaking his head slowly.
Vic just smiled faintly, watching them argue. For a moment, the noise helped.
Almost....But even with all the distraction, gis thoughts still circled back.
Corelia.
There was something about her eyes.
Something familiar.
Something he couldn't quite reach.
And somehow…That bothered him more than he expected
The morning came way too early for everyone except Lydia and that was already a problem. The Dorm was still wrapped in sleep—soft, heavy, and peaceful. Somewhere in the distance, a clock ticked like it was also considering going back to bed.
Then—
BANG BANG BANG!
"Wake Up Wake Up Wake Up—Good Morning, Normal People Who Are Definitely Normal!"
She paused then another knock came in, this time even louder:
"Good Morning New Besties".
From the bed, Mishell slowly opened one eye very slow, like her soul was debating whether I wanted to continue existing in this timeline.
Corelia, who was asleep on her side, barely stirred… until Lydia's voice hit the word normal. Then she blinked awake, calm as ever, like someone had gently turned on a lamp.
Mishell sat up.
"…I'm going to wipe her memory I promise," she muttered.
Corelia yawned. "She's… enthusiastic."
"That's not enthusiasm," Mishell said flatly. "That's a security breach."
Lydia burst into the living room like she owned it. Hair slightly messy, eyes wide, holding her phone like it contained government-level survival information.
"I HAVE A QUESTION," she announced.
Mishell pointed at her without looking. "No."
Lydia ignored her. "If you're a mermaid—hypothetically—do you tell people before they serve you fish? Or is that like… rude?"
Corelia tilted her head. "Good morning to you too."
Lydia froze. Then quickly added a bit louder and more panicked, "not saying you're a mermaid. I'm just doing research, for normal social interactions."
Mishell rubbed her temples. "This what you came here for? She looks like she's been up for more than an hour."
Corelia, meanwhile, looked genuinely entertained. "She's trying very hard."
"I am trying very hard to stay alive socially," Lydia blurted as she paced. "I also googled something," she confessed.
Mishell didn't even want to ask. "Of course you did."
Lydia pulled up her phone like it was evidence in court. "It says here—'how to behave around mermaids'—and I just want to say, why is this not a more common search result?"
Corelia blinked. "That's… surprisingly niche."
Lydia nodded aggressively. "Right?!"
Mishell laid back in her bed staring at the ceiling and whispered. "We are doomed."
At breakfast, Lydia tried again. She placed her plate on the table with exaggerated caution, like it might suddenly grow gills, then she sat down.
Stared at Corelia.
Stared at Mishell.
Then whispered loudly:
"So… do you eat fish or is that offensive?"
The room went quiet.
Corelia pressed her lips together.
Mishell covered her face with her hand.
A beat passed.
"You have been here since morning, don't you have important things to do?". Mishell asked, completely fed up.
"It's Saturday, completely free". Lydia replied.
"She is killing me faster than Araxie". Mishell murmured.
Then Corelia laughed. Not a small laugh either—bright, surprised, genuinely amused. Like Lydia had just become her favorite kind of chaos.
"Oh," Corelia said, still smiling. "This is fun, honestly, I find it funny."
Mishell sighed. "Of course you do."
Lydia straightened instantly. "So was that okay to ask?!"
Corelia nodded. "It was okay I guess."
Mishell stood up. "I'm going back to bed. Permanently."
Lydia sat there, relieved and more confused than ever.
"…So I'm not getting wiped today?"
Corelia sipped her drink. "Not yet."
" I might consider that". Mishell responded with all seriousness.
"Mishell!".Corelia called out laughing.
Lydia exhaled like she had survived a war.
"Okay," she said softly. "Cool" then immediately added:
"Wait but what about seafood at restaurants?."
"Urghhh" Mishell groaned. This was pure torture for her.