Chapter 8 - The Campus Princess is Spiraling

Orm had a new resolution.

It was simple, really.

Avoid Lingling at all costs.

If she didn't see her, she wouldn't think about her. If she didn't think about her, she wouldn't have to deal with the massive, horrifying, all-consuming realization that had been sitting heavy in her chest for days.

She wasn't in love with Lingling. No, absolutely not. This was just a phase, an unfortunate mix of proximity and her brain playing tricks on her. If she could just go back to normal—if she could just stop seeing Lingling everywhere—this whole thing would go away.

It was a foolproof plan.

Too bad the Universe was not on her side.

Orm made it exactly one hour before the first incident.

She had left her dorm early, took a new route to class, and made sure to avoid any of the places Lingling typically haunted. She had even picked up coffee from an entirely different café.

She was safe.

Or so she thought.

The moment she stepped onto campus, the first thing she saw was Lingling walking straight toward her.

Orm panicked.

She did the first thing her brain could think of—she ducked behind the nearest vending machine.

Which, in hindsight, was stupid because Lingling had already seen her.

"Orm?"

She froze.

No. No, no, no. Maybe if she stayed completely still, Lingling would just... walk away.

"Are you... hiding?"

Okay. Abort mission.

Orm quickly straightened, clearing her throat like she hadn't just thrown herself behind a vending machine like an action movie extra.

"Haha, no! Why would I be hiding? What a weird question!"

Lingling blinked, clearly unimpressed.

"You were crouched behind a vending machine."

"Stretching," Orm blurted. "You know, gotta keep the muscles loose!"

She did a very forced, very awkward stretch. Lingling continued to stare at her, visibly not buying a single word.

"Right," Lingling finally said, and just like that, she walked away.

Orm exhaled like she had just escaped death.

One near-disaster down. She just had to get through the rest of the day.

Spoiler: she didn't.

The second encounter happened right after class.

Orm, still reeling from her morning failure, had rushed out of the lecture hall, determined to get to her next destination without incident.

Instead, she turned a corner and slammed straight into Lingling.

A full-body collision.

Orm stumbled back, flailing, and would have fallen on her ass if Lingling hadn't grabbed her wrist.

For a brief, horrifying moment, Orm found herself staring right into Lingling's face.

Close. Way too close.

Lingling, as always, looked perfectly unbothered. Meanwhile, Orm was dying inside.

"You're in a rush," Lingling commented, her grip firm but light.

"I—uh, yeah! Busy day!"

Lingling didn't let go immediately. She seemed to consider something, her gaze unreadable. Then, as if deciding it wasn't worth the effort, she released Orm's wrist and stepped back.

"Be careful," she said before walking away.

Orm stood frozen in place.

She looked down at her wrist where Lingling had touched her.

She could still feel the warmth.

This was a nightmare.

Orm was running on fumes.

After the morning's absolute disasters, she had convinced herself that a coffee break was exactly what she needed. A reset. A moment to breathe. A space where she wouldn't have to worry about running into Lingling again.

And logically, Lingling wouldn't be at the café at this hour.

Right?

Wrong.

Because the first thing she saw when she stepped inside was Lingling sitting at her usual table.

Not just sitting—casually drinking her coffee, perfectly at ease, like she belonged there.

Like this wasn't Orm's sacred space.

And the worst part?

Becky and May, traitors, were sitting right there with her.

They weren't just talking. They were laughing. Chatting way too casually, like this wasn't the single worst thing that had ever happened to Orm's mental well-being.

Orm stood paralyzed in the doorway.

Becky spotted her first. And the instant their eyes met, Becky's entire face lit up with pure, unfiltered evil.

"Oh, look who it is," Becky said, grinning like she had just won the gossip lottery.

"We were just talking about you," she added far too casually.

Orm's fight-or-flight instincts kicked in.

"Cool," she said, immediately turning around to leave.

Nope. Absolutely not. She could not do this today.

But then—

"Orm."

Lingling's voice.

Not loud. Not forceful. Just calm. Steady. Neutral.

And yet—it stopped Orm dead in her tracks.

She felt every muscle in her body tense.

Slowly, painfully, she turned back around.

Lingling was watching her.

Expression unreadable, gaze calm, head tilted slightly—like she was assessing something.

"You have something on your face," Lingling said.

Orm blinked. "What?"

Lingling gestured vaguely at her cheek. "Right there."

Before Orm could react, before her brain even had time to process what was happening—

Lingling leaned forward.

And then—

She touched her.

Her thumb, warm and steady, brushed across Orm's cheek.

Time slowed.

The café, the background noise, the entire functioning world—everything faded.

Becky and May were gaping.

Orm's entire existence shattered.

Lingling, completely unfazed, leaned back and went back to her drink.

"Coffee foam," she explained, tone casual.

Silence.

Pure, deafening silence.

Becky was shaking with silent laughter.

May had buried her face in her hands.

Orm, on the other hand, was actively self-destructing.

She didn't speak. Didn't move. Just stood there, face burning, brain stuck in an endless error loop.

She had lost.

There was no coming back from this.

So, without another word—without even daring to look at anyone—

She grabbed her drink.

And walked straight out of the café.

Becky and May watched her go, still half in shock.

Then—

Becky let out a low whistle.

"Well," she said, sipping her drink.

"She's never recovering from that."

May nodded solemnly.

"Nope."

The night air was cool, the campus pathways mostly deserted, the distant hum of the city blending with the occasional rustling of leaves.

Orm needed to go home.

After the worst day of her life, after too many near-death experiences involving Lingling, after suffering humiliation at the café and losing all sense of personal dignity, she just wanted to crawl into bed and pretend today never happened.

She was so close.

Her dorm was just a few minutes away.

If she could just make it inside, lock the door, and throw herself into the safety of her blankets, she could finally escape this waking nightmare.

She took a deep breath and picked up her pace.

Then—

Disaster struck.

Orm turned a corner, walking too fast, too distracted, too lost in her own suffering—

And collided straight into someone.

A solid, warm, unmistakably familiar someone.

Before she could even process what was happening, she stumbled forward.

The other person also moved at the exact wrong moment.

And then—

Contact.

Lips.

Orm's brain completely shut down.

For a fraction of a second, time ceased to exist.

There was no campus, no buildings, no night air, no existence beyond the fact that her lips were currently pressed against Lingling's.

Soft. Warm.

Lingling's breath hitched just slightly.

Then—

They both jerked back instantly.

Orm staggered, nearly tripping over her own feet.

Lingling froze, wide-eyed, her expression so visibly shocked that it almost—almost—made Orm feel better.

At least she wasn't the only one completely malfunctioning.

Silence.

Horrible, unbearable, deafening silence.

Orm's entire soul left her body.

She couldn't think. Couldn't breathe.

Lingling blinked.

She looked... stunned.

Her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something—but then she closed them again, clearly just as lost as Orm was.

Orm's heartbeat was a full-on drum solo.

This wasn't happening.

This couldn't be happening.

She needed to say something.

Anything.

"I—" Orm started, voice barely above a whisper.

Lingling opened her mouth, then shut it again.

They just stared at each other, eyes wide, neither one knowing what the hell to do next.

Orm felt every nerve in her body screaming at her to move.

To do something, to undo this moment, to get far, far away.

So, in a move that was completely on-brand for her disaster of a life—

She did the only thing her panicked brain could think of.

She turned on her heel and ran.

At full speed.

Away from Lingling. Away from this entire catastrophic moment. Away from her feelings, her spiraling thoughts, and whatever the hell just happened.

She didn't look back.

She couldn't.

Because if she did—

She might actually collapse and die on the spot.

Lingling stood there, still too shocked to move.

She watched as Orm fled like her life depended on it, disappearing around the corner in a complete panic.

She...

She hadn't expected that.

Her fingers twitched slightly.

Her lips still tingled, the ghost of the accidental kiss lingering just enough to be noticeable.

Lingling's mind raced.

That... had been an accident.

A pure accident.

And yet—

She raised a hand, touching her lips lightly.

She could still feel it.

Orm had run away like the world was ending.

And Lingling?

She just stood there, staring at the empty path where Orm had vanished, trying to understand why her heart was beating just a little faster than normal.

That night, Orm lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, absolutely losing it.

She had accidentally kissed Lingling.

She couldn't function.

She wasn't okay.

She was never going to be okay again.

Every time she closed her eyes, the moment replayed in horrifying, high-definition detail.

The warmth.

The shock in Lingling's expression.

The way her own heart had nearly exploded on the spot.

This wasn't something she could just ignore or pretend never happened.

This was a catastrophe.

What was she supposed to do now?!

Text Lingling? No. She didn't even have her number.

Act like it didn't happen? Impossible. The campus would literally set itself on fire before letting this go unnoticed.

Move to another country and start a new life? Honestly, not a bad option.

Orm groaned into her pillow.

The universe had betrayed her.

And worst of all?

She didn't even know what Lingling thought about it.

Had she been disgusted?

Annoyed?

Completely unbothered, like usual?!

That last one was the scariest possibility.

Because if Lingling wasn't affected, then what the hell did that mean for Orm, who was currently having a full-on emotional crisis?!

She screamed into her pillow again.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow she would deal with it.

For now, she would simply exist in denial.

It was the only thing keeping her alive.