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When Arcane University designed their campus, they obviously didn’t think about its true potential. They probably saw their big, stone sign as just a classy way to welcome you to the school. Not the perfect place to vault. The park right across from the science building? Just a great place for people in the city to unwind and take a walk through nature. For Vi, it’s got much more appeal.
The benches, the playground, the maintenance building, they’re all perfect places to get in some stunts. They’re not the best for full runs, but practicing the moves is just as important.
Now the stone stairs set into the hill leading up to campus — that’s perfect for a run.
More for the aesthetic rather than function, the stairs split in the middle, circling a plot of flowers in between, with stone walls surrounding everything. It’s just steep enough to give Vi a challenge but nothing too dangerous to get campus police called. Today’s goal: make her way diagonally from one side of the stairs to the other. She’ll walk the top of the exterior wall for her run up, plyo jump to the interior wall, jump across the middle plot, kong vault the last exterior wall, and roll onto the grass. She’s already tried the run out a couple times before deciding it would be good enough to make a video out of it.
In terms of hobbies, going to the gym and making parkour videos for her decently popular TikTok are about it. College and work take a lot out of her every week, so Vi loves this time to really unwind. Claggor and Mylo typically tag along when she does them, but today only Mylo has some free time. It’s only a little past 9 am, and most students are either in their first class of the day or sleeping.
“Alright, you ready?” she yells down.
Mylo gives her a thumbs up, the other hand already holding up the phone. Shaking out her arms, she rolls her feet in a test. Her shoes have been wearing down between gym and parkour, but they’re still in decent condition. Nothing dangerous. She definitely doesn’t have the budget for new shoes right now.
Easing into a walk down the stone guard, she zeroes in on all the places she’s landing. It’s not like she ever got a formal education on this, but she knows the basics. Lead with your legs. Arms forward. Use the balls of your feet for stability. Those tips have helped her improve her form and really have fun with this hobby.
When she soars over the garden, gets a solid landing to lead into her vault, the rush feels like she’s truly flying. Vi rolls onto the soft grass, stopping herself before the sidewalk a couple feet away, and pops up to face the camera with a wide smile.
“Oh my god!” A panicked voice comes from the top of the stairs, startling them both, where a willowy student stands frozen. “Are you okay?”
Vi and Mylo share an exasperated look. They did this at peak class time to avoid random people making a big deal out of it, but of course they’re never that lucky. “Yeah, all good.” Vi raises her voice. “I’m just doing parkour.”
Now halfway down the stairs, the student’s panting and looking at her with wide, confused eyes. She’s got all the looks of a preppy teacher’s pet: perfect make-up and hair, a pressed skirt, and a stylish leather bag with barely a mark on it.
“Par-what?” she asks, and Vi realizes she’s also got a prim accent to match. “You meant to fall off a wall?”
That rubs Vi the wrong way, like she’s degrading parkour to a failed sport, and she may be a little harsh with her answer. “First of all, yes. Second of all, why do you care?”
“Excuse me?” The student’s voice goes higher, definitely insulted. “You could have hurt yourself.”
Vi snorts. “Not likely.”
The girl continues to look shell-shocked. “Are you seriously fighting with me because I asked if you were alright?”
“Looks like it,” Vi says, staring her down.
“Unbelievable. Try to keep your falling–” She makes air quotations with her fingers “–to less populated areas. You could have run into someone.”
“You’re not the boss of me, princess.”
Vi’s never seen someone sputter so much, failing to find any words in return. It’s almost comical. With a huff and one last dirty look, the girl stalks away.
They watch her go, until Mylo glances back with a chuckle. “You do know you just argued with the daughter of a huge university donor, right?”
“Yeah?” she laughs back. “Which one?”
“Kiramman.”
The name does make her pause. It’s hard not to know Kiramman Hall, the largest building on campus and home of the science department.
Arcane University is known for its STEM program, and Vi’s social work department is about three times smaller than the engineering one. People only care about science and sports here, and if you don’t, then you’re pretty much a nobody.
Vi shrugs it off. “Big deal. She’ll probably complain about me to her snobby friends, they’ll tell her not to care, and we won’t see each other again.”
Caitlyn Kiramman, a legacy and Piltover princess, will forget her completely.
Or maybe she’s completely wrong — coincidence has a funny way of screwing her over.
It’s not like Vi sees Caitlyn everywhere, but she suddenly starts popping up every few days: chatting with one of the aides across the library, power walking across the mall, or popping into the coffee shop off campus where Vi works. Luckily Vi’s avoided her gaze every time by manning the bar and sliding drinks over to her coworkers to call. It’s a little on the nose for Caitlyn’s regular to be a London Fog, but she bites back her comments.
The last straw happens barely a month into the semester. Because when she opens her door one Tuesday morning, Caitlyn fucking Kiramman stands in front of the door next to hers.
“You’ve got to be joking.”
Well, if anything, exasperation sounds funny in her prim accent. Vi closes the door behind her with a groan. “You again,” she says. “You following me now?”
Caitlyn looks like she just said tea is a less interesting version of coffee. “Of course not. I live here.”
“No, you don’t,” Vi blurts out. “Because I live here.”
There’s no way. Sure, the apartments are close to campus, but it’s your average college town building. At least one thing breaks like clockwork, the walls are thin, and the appliances are at least 15 years old. There’s probably some luxury apartments around here that would match the legacy vibe much better.
“I’d show you my lease, but I don’t want to,” Caitlyn says with a scowl. “Good day, Vi.”
She disappears inside her apartment, and the door slams shut behind her. Vi spends a few good seconds staring at it, her mind racing. Did she ever tell Caitlyn her name? Great, she’s probably gonna get slapped with some warning by a dean to stop harassing their perfect student. Closing her eyes, Vi leans to the side for a moment, letting the door carry her weight. The side of her head makes a dull thunk against the wood.
Laying off of Caitlyn may be best for the safety of her scholarship. Maybe they’ll only run into each other every few months now. Yeah. That’s it.
She eats her words a week later.
No matter how hard she tries to banish Miss Perfect from her mind, she just can’t get rid of her. It’s in the knocks against their shared wall one night, when Vi’s knee-deep in a game, insulting some assholes over voice chat. It’s the stupid pop music that she can hear echoing in the bathroom. It’s the maddenly delicious smells coming from Caitlyn’s door, when there’s no way a spoiled priss like her can cook.
But worst of all, Vi’s horrified to learn that they have a mutual friend.
The library’s pretty quiet on Saturday afternoons, and she can hear whispers coming from a table towards the back of the room where Viktor and Caitlyn are chatting. Viktor’s actually leaning back, relaxed, conversing with a grin. He’s someone who will never pretend to like a person, always civil unless provoked, and it’s clear he actually enjoys Caitlyn’s company. Caitlyn’s standing, probably on her way out, and luckily Vi only has to hide behind a bookcase for another couple minutes before she leaves.
Sending one last glare towards the exit, Vi emerges and collapses in the chair across from Viktor. “How can you stand Kiramman?” She pushes the coffee she brought towards him, but Viktor only glances at it before looking up.
He looks mildly surprised. “You have a problem with her?”
“You could say that.”
“Interesting.” He folds his hands as if beginning an interrogation and gives her a long look. “I know her through Jayce.”
Vi snorts. “Of course she and pretty boy are friends.”
He hums in agreement and reaches for the coffee. “You know, I’ve actually thought you and Caitlyn would make good friends.”
“Me and goody-two-shoes?” Vi scoffs as she rummages through her bag. “Yeah right.”
They stew in that for a moment as Viktor takes a sip of his drink, watching her over the rim. He lifts an eyebrow as if urging her to go on.
She pauses, thinking over it. More than anything, the dislike is not defined by a simple moment as much as an instinct. “We both agree that the other sucks, so I guess there’s that.”
He nods. “How did you two meet?”
She twirls a pen on her fingers, slumping back in the chair. “I was doing a run a couple weeks ago, and she got all huffy about it.”
He leans forward. “She complained? Called campus security?”
“Well…” she hesitates. “Not really?”
“You don’t sound so sure.”
Vi scowls. “Look, we just don’t like each other, okay?”
“Mhm.” Viktor shrugs, but she can see the smirk behind his drink. “Fair enough.”
She didn’t come here to be judged, and it’s making her tense up, gripping the edge of the table for some stability. “Can you help me with this equation or not?”
Gesturing with a go on motion, Viktor starts to push his own work to the side. She sighs in relief and grabs her textbook. Vi’s a good judge of character, and she doesn’t have to give a reason for disliking Caitlyn. The gut feeling is enough.
Fall semester continues on. The trees turn to vivid reds and oranges, and it makes a great backdrop for her TikToks when she gets a chance to film. Luckily, Caitlyn doesn’t interrupt again, but she’s a constant nagging presence in Vi’s mind when she glances at the stone stairs.
Following the trees’ lead, the campus vibe begins to change too as midterms near, and the annual Gotcha game adds even more buzz. A way for students to “bond”, the event is usually announced just before midterms begin. Vi didn’t sign up last year, and that’s the plan again. Participating in one of the school’s student culture moments? Pass. It’s one of the reasons why she got an apartment off campus.
Until she hears Caitlyn Kiramman is the reigning champion. And most likely playing again this year.
“So how’s this game go again?” she asks as she stares at her screen, the blank sign up form staring back at her.
It’s a rare evening where all the roommates are actually home. Claggor and Mylo also keep busy with school, extracurriculars, and odd jobs. They popped four popcorn bags in celebration, have packs of M&Ms on standby, but got distracted catching up. As a member of Student Life, Claggor actually helped plan this year’s game.
“Okay, so,” Claggor says with an excited grin, leaning over the back of the couch, “it’s all about taking out your target. Everyone gets assigned a player that they need to “kill” with whatever they’re given. In this case–”
He holds up a spiky plastic ball, maybe only an inch or two wide. “These. Once you’ve successfully taken out your target, you let us know. We’ll send you back your new assignment, which is whoever your target previously had on their hit list.”
Vi’s brow furrows as she thinks. “Is there any way to guarantee I get Kiramman?”
“We use a random generator to assign everyone, so no.” He leans back to stare up at the ceiling in thought. “I could maybe keep an eye on assignments for you.” He grins. “For a price.”
Vi scoffs. “Name it, man. I’m all in.”
“You’re seriously doing this just to show up some teacher’s pet?” Mylo’s nose wrinkles as he slumps over a bowl of popcorn, idly munching.
“You bet your ass. I’m winning this.”
One of the perks of keeping to herself: she’s not well-known. Sure, the pink hair and tattoos stand out, but she avoids big events. She’s got enough going on with classes and work, and those are both neutral zones. The person hunting her down won’t know where to look and barely get an opportunity. Her grand plan: stay out of sight and wait it out. The game’s going for two weeks, and she’ll crush laying low.
It’s all worth it for the look she’ll see on Kiramman’s face when she wins. Also there’s a pretty decent reward: $500 towards the campus bookstore. A grand prize for the sole winner or to be split up between who survives. All in all, that would cover a good chunk of her texts next semester.
Hitting enter, she leans back with a satisfied sigh. “Done. Two weeks of hiding out in our apartment? Easy.”
Claggor glances back from the couch. “You do know you have to get out a target by certain deadlines right?”
She straightens. “What? No.”
Mylo cackles as she’s suddenly torn between hitting his arm or Claggor’s. The latter only shakes his head at her.
“Read the rules next time, champ.”
“Fuck.” She slumps forward and lets her forehead hit the table.
The game begins on Monday morning at midnight. Vi doesn’t give a shit, of course, and lets the email sit in her inbox as she sleeps. When she wakes up, it’s to a text from Claggor.
Claggor [9:53 am]
105 players, 8 people already out
The more the merrier. She has to get her first target out by Thursday at midnight or she’ll be eliminated, but she can still keep a low profile while doing it. Piece of cake.
The new plan: run like hell if anyone seems suspicious and lead them towards the park where she can use parkour to get away.
Plus, it only took two weeks of free coffee to convince Claggor to be her inside man. He’ll let her know the stats: how many are left in the game and when she’s got the perfect opportunity to take Kiramman down. If she’s just one kill away from Caitlyn as her target, then he’ll let her know to go on offense.
All she has to do is strategically take out her targets, stay out of sight, and wait until the perfect moment.
The paranoia doesn’t feel great on her way to her first class of the day, but the beanie covering up her hair does help. It’s hard not to miss the pink hair if that’s all someone has to go on. If she just knew who has her as a target, aka who to avoid, everything would be peachy. Which is basically the reason why she has an inside man, now that she thinks about it.
“You’re seriously not going to tell me?” she asks, giving Claggor her most stern look. He shrugs and picks up another fry. She misses the days when it would only take one hard glare to get the boys and Powder in line. They’ve gotten too cocky.
She munches on a fry in frustration. They’re holed up in one of the booths towards the back of the dining hall, trying to keep out of sight. A tray piled with fries sits between them, and even her hunger can’t ebb the need to squeeze out more information.
“What if I throw in 2 weeks of free scones?” Even she has to hand it to her work — they’ve got blueberry scones down to an art. They’re consistently out by 10 am, and Claggor knows it. He glances away, tapping his chin in mock contemplation, before his eyes widen at something behind her.
“Oh shit.”
Vi glances back and locks eyes with some jock staring right back at her. The self-satisfied smirk tells her all she needs to know. Grabbing her backpack in one hand, she flips Claggor off with the other. “If I die, I blame you.”
Luckily it only takes vaulting over a few tables and a bad throw for her to get away. She doesn’t stop to let the guy reload and bursts out of the doors to head towards the park. The leaves crunch under her shoes, and the cool air feels wonderful against her skin as adrenaline keeps her blood warm. Not wanting to lead anyone to her apartment, she crouches behind a maintenance shed and waits.
No one comes running by, and the loitering students don’t have the same cliche letterman jacket the guy did, so she eventually abandons her hiding spot. Tugging the beanie a little lower, she heads back home.
As much as she hates it, she’ll have to do some investigating. The guy must not be in a sport that requires aiming, but that’s about all she has to go on except for his ugly mug. Maybe playing solely defense won’t be the best strategy for the game.
She grabs her phone and finally opens up her email. Giddy at her luck, Vi realizes her target is someone she actually knows: a loud girl in her World History class. Forget that guy — she can outrun him any day. Tomorrow, she goes on the hunt.
It’s surprisingly exciting to think about, and the next morning arrives with a beautiful clear sky. She could flip over fifteen benches with all this energy. Not even a run-in with Caitlyn can ruin it.
They must have a Tuesday/Thursday class that start and end around the same time, because it’s the day she’s most likely to run into her in the hallway. The poor sucker probably chose an 8 am class, and Vi’s smart enough to never go earlier than 9:30 am.
“Kiramman.” She grins while shouldering her backpack.
Caitlyn barely spares her a glance, focusing on unlocking her door. “Lane.”
“Heard you’re the reigning champ of Gotcha. Think you’ll be able to pull it off this year?”
Caitlyn sighs. “If you think some mind games will work, you’re sorely mistaken.”
“How do you even know I’m playing?” Vi leans against the wall between their doors, getting up in her space. It has been almost a full week since she's gotten a chance to bother her, so why not go all in.
“Viktor told me.”
“Aw, you talked to Viktor about me?” She holds a hand to her chest. “I’m flattered.”
That finally gets Caitlyn to look up with a frown. “No, it just came up.”
“Sure, cupcake.”
Caitlyn blinks a few times, before seeming to regather her wits. “That’s a new one.”
Well now, here’s a new theory to test. Vi rests her forearm along the wall, nonchalantly leaning in closer. “What can I say? You’re just so sweet.”
If there’s one thing Vi knows, it’s how to get under someone’s skin. Call it a hidden talent. She grins as Caitlyn scowls down at her, shoulders hunched like she's been cornered by a professor demanding an overdue paper. Who’d have thought a little teasing was Caitlyn Kiramman’s fatal flaw?
“And you’re insufferable,” Caitlyn says, the tip of her ears a cute red, even as she glares. “A piece of advice?”
Vi hums, still pleased at her upper hand.
“Hope you’re never my target.” A delicate finger reaches out to push Vi back and out of her space. “I don’t miss.”
With one last cold look, Caitlyn disappears into her apartment. Vi lets out a low whistle, pleasantly surprised — it turns out Kiramman may have a spine after all.
Renewed with a vengeance after their interaction, Vi heads to her class with a laser focus. Her streak begins with World History girl. Relaxing outside the lecture, she simply reaches out with the spiky ball, taps the girl as she passes, and smirks. “Gotcha.”
The next target takes a little more reconnaissance. It’s a name she doesn’t recognize and would have to guess theater nerd by the looks of their student ID photo. It takes some digging, but she discovers they’re actually a biology student heavily involved in department activities. She texts Viktor for any dirt as a TA in a couple biology labs, and he simply replies back:
Viktor [2:47pm]
They’re at the library across from me right now.
Now, let it be known that she never wanted to be one of those people sprinting across campus just to get the jump on a target. It’s a Friday afternoon, and she’d rather be anywhere but the library. But she’s got something to prove, and Vi Lane is not quitter.
It takes waiting around an hour, and annoying Viktor with her insistent foot tapping, to follow through on her mission. After that, she really gets the hang of it. Research, ask around, and plan an attack. The next two targets go quickly, and then Vi gets the text she’s been waiting for.
Claggor [11:14 pm]
One away from open season
Down to 10 students btw
She practically screams in victory as she reads. The poor girl who has Kiramman doesn’t know what’s coming for her. It surges her on, and Vi finds her target in record time. She could practically kiss her phone when the email arrives with her next assignment: Caitlyn Kiramman.
There’s no time to waste. They’re in the last legs of the game with only three days left, so she decides on a stakeout. She can be patient — sometimes. Lounging outside her apartment door, Vi feigns the old “locked out with a key” excuse. She’s got her phone out, as if waiting for texts from her roommates, while keeping an eye on the hallway.
The adrenaline’s got her tensed up so tight she can feel it in her shoulders, and she tries to reel it in. Especially when she spots that familiar blue head of hair down the hall, weighed under a backpack and a couple of bags. If she was feeling especially evil, Vi could have cackled at the perfect set up.
Her body stills as Caitlyn nears out of the corner of her eye, about three doors down, and then she looks up. They make eye contact almost instantly. Those perfect eyebrows furrow in what looks like confusion for maybe a second. Then Caitlyn’s dropping her bags, tipping her head back with a groan, and sprinting in the other direction.
Vi curses and takes off after her. Running through their ancient apartment complex means everyone can probably hear them, but she doesn’t care.
Caitlyn’s wise to take the stairs, cause the elevator would have doomed her, but forgets one little detail: stairs are a parkour athlete’s dream. Vi flips over the railing, bypassing a whole level, and hears a shriek below.
“No parkouring that’s cheating!”
“Not a rule,” she shouts back.
It’s a race between Caitlyn’s long legs and her stunts, and she has to admit it’s harder than expected to keep up. Caitlyn bursts out of the door to the ground floor and veers right, straight for the exit. Vi’s a couple seconds behind, and she reaches into her pocket to palm her ammo. The exit leads into an alley, which will be a much easier place to take aim.
Bursting through the door, Vi plants her feet and readies herself to shift into a sprint. Her head whips both ways, gauging her target’s path, and discovers the unthinkable — Caitlyn’s almost to the mouth of the alley.
“What the hell?” She loses precious time by gaping at where Caitlyn’s curtain of hair disappears around a corner. Is this how she won last year’s game? By being a goddamn Olympian sprinter?
“Shit, shit, shit,” Vi chants under her breath as she starts running. Her only hope now is her endurance winning out or Caitlyn accidentally leading herself into a dead end.
Skidding around the corner, she spots the back of Caitlyn’s blue jacket heading to the park across the street. A little slower now, she’s probably hoping to blend in with the crowd. Power walking across, Vi heads to the grass to stalk her prey off the path. It works for a bit, Caitlyn continuing to check right behind her, until Vi gets close enough to get a good throw in.
Of course it’s then that Caitlyn spots her, and she panics in a spectacular fashion — by diving behind a picnic table. The ball flies past where Caitlyn had just been standing and sinks right into a huge pile of leaves. Not wanting to let this opportunity go to waste, Vi corners her as a last resort.
They circle each other across the table, and Vi’s gaze flickers down over Caitlyn’s outfit.
“Do you have your ball on you?”
A brief lift of Caitlyn’s right hand, halting just before the jacket pocket, gives her away. Vi grins in victory. “Hand it over.”
Caitlyn’s chin tips up, stubborn to a fault. “No.”
Vi presses her lips together, trying not to laugh at Caitlyn’s childish tone.
“C’mon, cupcake.” She lowers her voice, going for soothing. “Do you really want to suffer through 3 more days of this? I know your schedule. Live right next to you. We can end this right here.”
Caitlyn’s eyes are flickering all around, obviously still trying to find an escape. But she’s also settled a little, breathing more evenly as she grips the table.
Those blue eyes lift, and a fire relights when their gazes meet. “In your dreams.”
“You asked for it.” Vi braces her hands and vaults over the table. Caitlyn yelps and tries to twist out of her reach, but it’s too late — Vi grabs the back of her jacket.
With an impressive maneuver, Caitlyn slips out of it and starts running. No matter, Vi just needs the ball to end this. She slips her hands into the pocket and grasps at nothing. A quick search of the other pocket reveals the same.
She got played.
T-minus 13 hours. The Gotcha game officially ends at midnight, and she hasn’t managed to corner Kiramman even once since Thursday. If ghosting were a specialty, the woman’s got it down. Condolences to any exes she’s had before because they were dealing with a stone cold ditcher.
Vi’s so exhausted from trying to track her down, while still watching her own back, that it takes her a few seconds to recognize the person just tables away. The coffee shop’s decently quiet for a Sunday afternoon, which allows her a good couple minutes to space out. Until the looming deadline and the feeling of someone’s gaze brings her back.
Caitlyn Kiramman sits at a table near the back, the picture of focus typing away, if it weren’t for the glances she keeps sending Vi. With a sigh, she grabs her mug to head over.
“Alright, cupcake.” Vi drops into the chair across from her. “Let’s hash this out.”
“Excuse me?” Caitlyn has a hand on the top of her laptop, looking ready to run.
“We’re at an impasse.” Vi says, hating her own words. “Plus, campus is much smaller than I’d like. We’ve gotta coexist somehow.”
Caitlyn cocks her head. “You want to compromise?”
Vi doesn’t blame her for the suspicion. It’s not like they’ve ever gone easy on each other, but they’ve also never beaten around the bush. She means her words — life would be much easier if Caitlyn just didn’t bother her so much.
“We can find common ground. Probably,” Vi adds as an afterthought. For all she knows, maybe they can’t. It doesn’t hurt to try for her sanity.
Closing her laptop just to fold her arms over it, Caitlyn glances away in thought before relenting. “Fine.” She uncaps a pen and grabs a napkin.
Vi huffs out a laugh. “Of course you’re writing it down.”
“Pre-law,” she chides, as if Vi should care. “Rule #1: record everything.”
“Yeah?” Compromise doesn’t mean she can’t annoy her a little. “Our first rule should be only 2 nerdy remarks per day.”
Caitlyn lifts a perfectly sculpted brow. “Then how would you ever learn anything? I assume they’re your only source of knowledge.”
Vi almost spits out her drink. Thumping her chest after a few short laughs, she leans back with a well-earned grin. “Touche, cupcake.”
“So,” Caitlyn looks pleased as she holds the pen just above the paper, “name your terms.”
“First, let’s call a truce.” Getting straight to the point, Vi braces herself for whatever comes next. “We’ve only got today to wait it out and those bookstore coupons are ours.”
Caitlyn simply shrugs. “Alright.”
The argument she’d been silently hyping herself up for quickly deflates.
“Seriously?” Vi asks incredulously. “No complaints from the reigning champ?”
“I signed up last year to stay involved in campus events. Evidently, a competition does not make for friends.” Caitlyn glances up almost shyly. “Viktor mentioned you were playing this year, so I thought I’d give you some decent competition.”
Vi barks out a laugh. “You joined because of me? That’s good I guess, since I joined because of you.”
They trade dual grins, and Vi can’t help but chuckle at the situation. Caitlyn’s been basically haunting her since the start of school, but maybe she’s been doing the same – essentially just circling each other, caught in an orbit that they can’t escape. They might as well make the most of it.
“Great minds think alike, I suppose,” Caitlyn says. She stuffs her laptop in her bag before grabbing her drink.
Vi cups her own mug. “Says the one who just insulted my mind.”
“Well,” The corner of Caitlyn's mouth tips up before taking a sip, “you did kind of deserve it.”
“Maybe a little.”
A short silence follows as they both seem to size the other up. This is about as amicable as they’ve ever been. The history isn’t completely gone, Vi doesn’t think she’ll ever be able to resist teasing her, but the air’s almost lighter now.
Caitlyn huffs out a soft laugh, maybe thinking the same. “Mark the day and hour. We may still get along yet.”
“Hey now, don’t jinx us,” Vi scolds lightly.
Caitlyn rolls her eyes and picks up the pen again. “So what else were you thinking for the agreement?”
“Honestly?” Vi slumps over her coffee with a sigh. The aroma barely wakes her up anymore, a classic cliche of a college student hooked on caffeine. “I’m too tired to think of that right now. The truce was the big ticket.”
“Fine by me.” Caitlyn sits back. “Now what?”
The truce relieves a good amount of the stress off her back, but there’s still one little detail holding her down.
“Wanna hear a secret?” Vi says. “There’s only three players left.”
Caitlyn squints in clear disbelief. “And how do you know that?”
“I have my sources.”
“Which means…”
“You take out your target, the person who also has me, and we’re both home free.”
Vi holds out her hand, a clear invitation to shake on it. “Partners?”
Caitlyn reaches across the table, meeting her halfway. Her grin’s mischievous, matching the glint in her eye, and it simply spurs on Vi’s own competitiveness. As far as rivals go they’re begrudgingly matched, but as a team? Now this will be interesting.
Their hands clasp. “Partners.”