Forbidden Equations: Love In the Dark
Episode 1: The Tutor Assignment
Crestwood University Library | Monday Afternoon
Lila Evans adjusted her glasses, sunlight streaming through arched windows as she organized chemistry textbooks. Her best friend Chloe burst through the glass doors, cheeks flushed.
Chloe
"You won’t believe this! Dean Briggs assigned *you* to tutor Damien Black!"
Lila froze. *Damien Black.* The name alone made students whisper—rumors of expelled students, midnight motorcycle gangs, and a sneer that could freeze lava.
Lila Evans
"Why me? I’m not even on the tutor list!"
Chloe
"Because you aced Advanced Calculus. And because," she lowered her voice, "nobody else volunteered."
Across the room, golden-haired Noah Reed waved from his study table. Football captain. Honor student. Lila’s three-year crush. He approached, smelling like citrus and ambition.
Noah Reed
"Problem, Evans?"
Lila Evans
"Just... tutoring duty."
Noah Reed
"Ah. Black." His smile tightened. "Be careful. My frat brother saw him dismantle a car engine with a pocketknife."
Damien leaned against rusted railings, leather jacket open over a torn band tee. His gaze pinned Lila like a specimen.
Damien Black
"So. You’re the sacrificial tutor."
Lila Evans
"I’m here to help you pass Calculus. Not to be intimidated."
He laughed—a low, gravelly sound.
Damien Black
"You think *you* scare me, Goldilocks?"
Lila Evans
"Start with derivatives. Page fifty-two."
Damien Black
"Why’d you take this job? Reed warn you about me?"
Lila Evans
"Noah’s a friend."
Damien Black
"Noah’s a porcelain prince. One crack, he shatters." He snatched her pen, scribbling equations faster than she could blink. "Done. Now tell Briggs I ‘tried.’"
Lila Evans
"Wait! You solved it perfectly. Why fail on purpose?"
For a heartbeat, his icy mask slipped.
Lila Evans
"Because wasting talent is tragic."
He stared. Wind whipped his ink-black hair
Lila Evans
"Same time tomorrow. Don’t be late."
Campus Café | Next Morning
Noah slid into Lila’s booth, tray clattering.
Noah Reed
"Black didn’t harass you, did he? I warned security."
Lila Evans
"He’s... intense. But not cruel."
Noah Reed
*(gently touching her hand)* "You see good in everyone. It’s why I—" He paused. "Why I value you. But Black’s dangerous. Transfer students vanish around him. Literally."
Lila’s phone buzzed. Unknown number.
**Text:** "Library’s closed. Rooftop. Now. -D"
Noah Reed
*(noticing her frown)* "Him?"
Lila Evans
"Tutor reschedule. I should go."
Noah Reed
"I’ll walk you."
Damien Black
"Private tutoring, Reed. Scram."
Noah Reed
"I stay where Lila’s uncomfortable."
Lila Evans
"Just teach me what you did yesterday. Please."
Damien demonstrated fluid dynamics using rainwater on a table. Noah watched, jaw clenched. When Damien’s finger brushed Lila’s over a diagram, Noah stood.
Lila stepped between them
Lila Evans
"Stop! Damien, show me the Riemann sum again."
Damien Black
"You heard her. Bye-bye, prince."
After Noah left, Damien muttered
Damien Black
"He’s wrong for you."
Damien Black
"You need fire. Not a polished statue." He leaned close. "And you *are* fire. Buried under books and manners."
Lila answered pounding at her door. Damien stood drenched in rain, knuckles bleeding.
Damien Black
"Need first aid."
Damien Black
"Your boyfriend’s buddies ambushed me. Said I ‘touched his girl.’"
She cleaned his wounds silently. His eyes never left her face.
Damien Black
"Why help me?"
Lila Evans
"You helped me today. With the equations."
Damien Black
"I’m not the villain here, Goldilocks. But I’ll be whatever you need."
Outside, thunder roared. Closer than before.
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