Chapter 4 Four

There are moments when everything feels louder than it should - footsteps, laughter, even the silence between words. That's how it feels walking through the halls of Westbrook the next morning. People aren't whispering anymore. They're talking. Openly. Boldly.

And it's about her.

I hear fragments as I pass.

"Did you see them in the library?"

"He's already moved on."

"She's not even that pretty."

"She must think she's special."

They never say her name - because no one knows it yet. Just "the new girl." The mystery makes it worse.

Ryan finds me near the gym, his expression tight. "You need to get ahead of this, man. Mason's been running his mouth again."

I shove my hands into my pockets. "Let him."

"He's saying you're obsessed. That you're pretending to be interested just to mess with her."

"That's not true."

Ryan studies me carefully. "Then why do you look guilty?"

I don't have an answer. Maybe because, for once, I don't know what I'm doing. I'm used to control - to being the one who decides when and how things end. But with her, there's no script.

Ryan sighs. "You know how Westbrook works. Once a rumor starts, it doesn't die. It just changes shape."

He's right. By lunchtime, it's already spreading faster.

When I walk into the cafeteria, conversations stutter to silence for a few seconds before resuming in quick bursts. She's sitting in her usual spot, head down, trying to read, but I can tell she feels it.

A group of girls at the next table start laughing too loudly. Mason sits with his friends across the room, watching with that smug grin that makes my hands curl into fists.

I drop my tray next to her seat. "Hey."

She doesn't look up. "You really shouldn't sit here."

"Why not?"

"Because apparently that's the only thing people at this school need to lose their minds."

I lean back in my chair. "They'll get bored."

"Not soon enough." She sighs and finally meets my eyes. "This isn't funny anymore, Aiden."

"I never said it was."

"Then maybe you should stop acting like it is."

Her tone isn't sharp, but it cuts anyway. She closes her book, picks up her tray, and stands.

I grab her wrist gently before she walks away. "Wait."

Her eyes flick to my hand, then back to my face. "What are you doing?"

"I just-" I stop. I don't even know what I was going to say. Sorry, maybe. Or don't go. But neither sounds right.

She pulls her hand free. "You don't have to save me, Aiden. I've dealt with worse than spoiled rumors."

Before I can reply, she walks away, leaving behind only the echo of her voice and the faint trace of something that feels suspiciously like disappointment.

Ryan joins me a minute later, throwing himself into the seat she left. "That went well."

I glare at him. "Not now."

He shrugs. "You're not used to being the bad guy. That's all this is."

"She doesn't think I'm the bad guy."

"Maybe not yet."

The rest of the day feels like one long test. Teachers talk, bells ring, people stare. Every time I catch sight of her, she's alone - unreadable, untouchable. The space between us feels wider than it did yesterday.

By practice, I'm restless. The field usually clears my head, but not today. My passes are sloppy, my focus gone. Coach yells, Ryan frowns. I don't care.

Afterward, I find myself walking toward the courtyard instead of the locker room. The sky is bruised purple, the air cool against my skin. She's there, sitting on the low stone wall near the fountain, sketchbook in her lap.

I didn't know she could draw.

For a second, I just watch her - the way her hair catches the last bit of light, how calm she looks even when the world isn't. Then I move closer.

"You always find the quiet corners," I say.

She doesn't flinch this time. "And you always find me in them."

I sit beside her, leaving just enough space between us. "Maybe I'm the quiet corner type too."

"You?" she says, smiling faintly. "You're the noise."

"I can be both."

"Doubtful."

She keeps drawing, lines flowing smooth and sure. I glance at the page. It's the fountain - except she's drawn people around it, blurry outlines of students. All except one, sitting alone. Me.

"That's flattering," I say.

She rolls her eyes. "Don't get excited. It's not done."

"It's good."

"Thanks."

Silence stretches, but it's comfortable this time. The sound of water fills it, soft and rhythmic.

Finally, I say, "You were right earlier. About me acting like it's funny. I don't mean to."

She lowers her pencil slightly. "Then why do you?"

"Because that's what people expect. If I start taking things seriously, they'll notice."

"Notice what?"

"That maybe I don't like the person they think I am."

Her eyes soften just a little. "Then stop being him."

I laugh quietly. "It's not that simple."

"It could be."

She looks away then, back at her sketch, and I can tell she's done talking. I don't push it. Some things aren't meant to be forced.

After a minute, she closes her book and stands. "I should go."

"Will you be okay?"

She smiles, faint but real. "I've been okay for a long time, Aiden."

She turns to leave, and for some reason, I don't want the moment to end. "Wait-"

She pauses, looking back at me under the dimming light.

"I don't even know your name," I say.

For a second, she hesitates. Then her lips curve into a smile that's equal parts challenge and promise.

"Lena," she says softly. "My name is Lena."

And just like that, she walks away again - leaving her name behind like a secret I was never supposed to hear.

I whisper it once, just to taste it. "Lena."

It fits her. Quiet, strong, unexpected.

By the time I make it back to the dorms, the sky is black and the whispers are louder than ever. But I don't care. For the first time in a long time, the noise doesn't matter.

Because now, it isn't just the new girl.

It's Lena.

And I have a feeling that name is going to change everything.