Castillian #1: Sinner's Formula

The library was quiet.

Too quiet.

Scarlet shifted in her seat, feeling every second of the awkward silence press down on her. Across from her sat Mico Cein Esguerra—campus heartthrob. Cold Prince. Streetball King. And now? Her Math tutor. Seriously, was fate always this unhinged?

"Solve that again," Mico said, voice low and firm. "No shortcuts."

"But—"

"No buts." His eyes didn't even flinch. "You know it's wrong. Do it again."

Scarlet sighed and erased her solution, doing her best not to look at his face.

Mico crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. The corner of his lip twitched—almost a smirk, almost nothing. He noticed how she bit her lip when thinking. How a crease formed on her forehead when she didn't know the answer. How she'd shake her head and mumble, "Stupid, Scarlet, come on..." every time she got it wrong.

Fuck.

She was... cute.

But not just cute.

She was dangerously cute—the kind that made you want to drag her into bed but also wrap her in a blanket. The kind of girl who had no idea how dangerous she looked when she casually tucked her hair behind her ear. The kind you never meant to think about that way… But still did—lying awake at 2 a.m., staring at the ceiling, thinking about her.

He blinked and his eyes dropped—her uniform was slightly wrinkled, neckline a little too loose from the summer heat. Not indecent. But enough for him to notice she wasn't wearing an undershirt. Clearly not intentional. But damn, it was messing with his head.

He gulped.

Focus, he ordered himself—but all he could hear was Scarlet's soft breathing. The kind that sounded unsure—nervous? shy?

Then she leaned forward to ask something, and her fingers accidentally brushed his— Her hand was soft. And cold.

"Oh! Sorry!" She pulled back. "I didn't mean to—"

He didn't say anything.

What she didn't know was… While his brain was screaming: "Don't look. Don't look. God, don't look..." His hand was already moving.

Slow. Instinctive.

At first, he just adjusted the paper between them. But his index finger slipped—right onto her wrist. He didn't pull away immediately. The warmth caught him off guard.

Mico froze.

Scarlet looked up—clearly surprised, but she didn't pull away. She blinked at him, then at his hand.

"Uhm... Mico?"

He snapped back, like ice water had been poured over him. He pulled his hand away.

"Sorry," he said quickly, coldly. "Didn't mean that."

But he did.

In his head, he already had her pinned to a wall—those wide, clueless eyes staring at him like he was the only one that mattered.

Fuck, Mico. Get a grip.

Scarlet looked at him, cheeks red but still brave enough to ask, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he muttered. "Just tired."

Lie. He wasn't tired.

He was frustrated.

And when she looked away again, biting her lip while scribbling her solution on paper— That only made it worse.

Keep biting that lip, Scarlet. Do that in front of me at night, and we'll see if you get any sleep at all.

He shook his head and stood abruptly. "Let's take a break."

"Huh?"

"Five minutes." He walked away before she could say anything else.

He headed straight to the end of the aisle.

Leaning against a shelf, he closed his eyes tight.

Get a grip.

---

Elsewhere in the library, three pairs of eyes followed in different directions.

Uno, Jairo, and Felix exchanged looks.

And Lynx, iced coffee in hand, looked like he'd just discovered the juiciest gossip of the week.

"Isn't that Scarlet?" Felix asked, peeking through the bookshelf.

"And isn't her tutor supposed to be a college student from Engineering?" Jairo added, winking at Uno. "Engineering, huh?"

---

Later that day…

"Dude," Uno said as he dropped ice into a glass of cold water. "Tell us the truth. What's going on?"

"Nothing," Mico replied instantly. He was sitting on the couch, reading his notes like he didn't just almost hold a girl's wrist for ten full seconds.

"Nothing?" Lynx raised a brow. "So by 'nothing,' you mean… you took her paper, your eyes locked in slow-mo, and suddenly the library felt hot despite the AC? That kind of 'nothing'?"

"Damn, Lynx," Jairo laughed.

"Guys," Mico said flatly, "I was just tutoring. Is that a crime?"

"No. But the way you were staring at her like you wanted to devour her whole? Yeah, that's suspicious."

Felix burst out laughing. "Seriously, bro. You've never been like this. Like, ever. Not even with that model from Sci-Tech who confessed to you last year."

"Because I wasn't interested in her," Mico replied—then froze.

They all turned to him.

Lynx grinned. "Oh?"

Uno leaned in. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing."

But it was too late.

They'd heard it. And seen it—that one-second jaw twitch. That tiny microexpression. That blush he tried to hide by chugging water.

"Oh no. No way. You like her," Felix squealed.

"Holy shit, you like her," they all chorused.

"I do not like her," Mico groaned. "Stop saying that."

"But you think she's cute?"

Silence.

Then…

"...She's cute," he admitted, finally. "But not in a typical way."

Uno smirked. "Cute in the 'wanna pin her down' kind of way?"

Lynx choked on his drink. "Jesus, Uno!"

Mico rolled his eyes. "You guys are so immature."

"Fine. So you admit it," Jairo said. "Next step? Tell Scarlet. Or at least stop staring at her like you're undressing her while she's eating siomai at the booth."

"I wasn't—"

"You were."

"Fuck you all," Mico muttered.