Chapter 5 Five

By Monday morning, Westbrook feels like it's holding its breath. The weekend rumors hadn't died; they'd multiplied. Every corner of the school buzzes with my name and Lena's, whispered like we're a scandal instead of two people who just happen to talk.

Ryan leans against my locker, waiting. His expression says he's been hearing things I haven't. "You know Mason threw a party Saturday night?"

I shove my books in my bag. "When doesn't he?"

"Yeah, but this one was different. He spent half of it telling anyone who'd listen that you're pretending to care about Lena to piss him off."

I shut my locker harder than I mean to. "Why would it piss him off?"

Ryan gives me that look - the one that means he's about to say something I don't want to hear. "Because he tried to hit on her first. Remember the first week? She shut him down. You showing up after that? It makes him look bad."

"She did all that on her own," I mutter.

"Doesn't matter. Mason's ego doesn't do logic."

I exhale through my nose, fighting the urge to go find him. "Let him talk. People will get bored."

Ryan hesitates. "Will you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're not acting like yourself, man. You're distracted, edgy. You keep saying she doesn't matter, but everything you do says otherwise."

He's right, and I hate that he's right. I pull my bag over my shoulder. "Maybe I'm just tired of the same conversations."

Ryan sighs. "You're playing with fire."

"Maybe I like the heat."

He doesn't push it, but his silence follows me down the hallway.

In class, Lena sits near the back again, same calm posture, same loose hair falling over one shoulder. She doesn't look at me when I come in, but I notice the faint dark circles under her eyes. She's been hearing the whispers too.

Halfway through the lesson, a crumpled note lands on her desk. I see it happen - Mason's friend smirking as he tosses it from across the aisle. She unfolds it, reads, then folds it again and sets it aside without reacting.

But I see the tension in her shoulders.

When the bell rings, she walks out fast. I catch up before she hits the courtyard. "What did it say?"

"Nothing worth repeating."

"Lena-"

"I said it's fine."

"It's not fine if they're harassing you."

She stops so suddenly I almost bump into her. "Do you think this is new, Aiden? People talk. They always talk. The only difference is now they have your name to add to it."

Her voice is calm, but her eyes aren't. They're tired.

"I can talk to Mason," I say.

"That'll just make it worse."

"Then let me help somehow."

She studies me for a second, then shakes her head. "You can't fix this. Not everything needs saving."

She turns and walks away, leaving me with the same useless frustration I've been carrying since this started.

That afternoon, Coach cancels practice early because of rain, so I wander back through the empty halls. I hear laughter echoing from the gym corridor - loud, cruel laughter that makes my stomach twist.

When I round the corner, I see them. Mason and two of his friends. Lena's sketchbook is open on the floor, pages scattered, some wet from the leak dripping through the ceiling. Mason's holding one page up - a drawing of the fountain, the same one I saw her working on - with his thumb smudging the pencil lines.

"Didn't know you were an artist," he says, voice mocking. "Guess we found your secret hobby."

She stands there, jaw clenched, not answering. Her calm is cracking; I can see it in the way her fingers tremble slightly at her sides.

I don't think. I just move.

"Put it down, Mason."

He turns, smirk already forming. "Cole. You collecting strays now?"

"Put it down."

He holds up the drawing. "Relax. Just appreciating her talent. You didn't tell me she had such a thing for you. Look-" He flips it toward me. On the page, she'd drawn two figures near the fountain, blurry but unmistakably us.

Lena freezes. My chest tightens. Mason grins wider.

"That's enough," I say, stepping closer.

Mason shrugs, still holding the paper just out of reach. "You really think she's into you? You're just her project, same way you treat every girl you touch."

Before I can stop myself, my fist connects with his jaw.

The sound echoes down the hall, sharp and final. Mason stumbles back, clutching his face, eyes wild. His friends swear and grab him before he can swing back.

Lena's voice cuts through the noise, quiet but fierce. "Stop."

I turn to her, breath coming hard. She's shaking, not from fear but from anger - at me.

"What the hell was that, Aiden?" she says.

"He was-"

"I can fight my own battles."

"He was humiliating you."

"I've been humiliated before."

Her voice breaks slightly on the last word, and that hurts worse than any punch.

Mason spits blood on the floor, laughing bitterly. "Perfect. The hero act. Classic Cole move."

"Shut up," I snap.

He smirks. "Enjoy it while it lasts. You just made everything worse for her."

I want to hit him again, but Lena's hand lands on my arm - not gently, but firmly enough to stop me.

"Come on," she says quietly. "Before this gets worse."

I let her pull me away, though every muscle in my body screams to turn back.

We end up outside under the covered walkway, rain coming down in cold sheets. For a long time, neither of us speaks.

Finally, she says, "You shouldn't have done that."

"I couldn't just stand there."

"You could have walked away. You could have let me handle it."

"I didn't want to."

"That's not an excuse."

She steps out from under the roof, rain soaking her hair instantly, but she doesn't move back. "You keep trying to fix things by breaking them harder. That's not helping anyone."

Her voice is calm again, but it's the kind of calm that comes after a storm, not before it.

"I'm sorry," I say quietly.

"I know." She looks at me, water running down her face like tears she'll never let me see. "But sorry doesn't change how people see us now. It just proves them right."

She turns away, walking out into the rain. I want to call after her, but the words stick.

Ryan finds me a few minutes later, breathless from running. "Coach heard about the fight. Mason's milking it for all it's worth."

"Of course he is."

"He's saying she started it. That you're just covering for her because you're hooked."

I drag a hand through my hair. "Let him talk."

"Talk is one thing. He's telling the Dean he got jumped."

"Then I'll take the blame."

Ryan frowns. "You're serious?"

"She doesn't need more attention."

He studies me for a moment. "You really like her."

"I don't even know what that means anymore."

He sighs. "You're making enemies fast, Aiden."

"Maybe I had the wrong friends."

He doesn't argue.

By the time I get back to my dorm, I'm soaked. The fight is already all over social media - grainy photos, exaggerated captions. Aiden Cole loses it over mystery girl.

I drop my phone on the desk and sink into the chair, staring out the window. The rain has stopped, but everything still feels like it's falling apart.

A knock at the door breaks the silence. When I open it, she's standing there - hair damp, clothes slightly wrinkled, eyes unreadable.

"I shouldn't be here," she says.

"Probably not."

"But I needed to say something."

I step aside, and she walks in, her movements careful, deliberate. She doesn't sit.

"I'm not mad you hit him," she says. "I'm mad that you made it about you."

I nod slowly. "You're right."

She crosses her arms. "You don't have to fight for me, Aiden. I don't need saving. I need people to stop treating me like I'm about to break."

"I know."

She exhales, shoulders relaxing slightly. "But... thank you. For caring, even if you did it the wrong way."

That's all it takes to undo me - four words spoken softly in a room that suddenly feels too small.

I take a step closer. "Lena, I-"

She looks up, eyes catching the light. "Don't say it yet."

"What if I need to?"

"Then wait until you're sure it's not about guilt or pride."

Her voice is steady, but her hands tremble slightly. I want to reach for her, to hold those hands still, but I don't.

She turns to leave, then pauses at the door. "For what it's worth, you hit him harder than I thought you would."

I laugh softly. "You were watching?"

"Maybe."

And then she's gone again, leaving behind the faint scent of rain and something else I can't name.

I stand there for a long time, listening to the quiet, the weight of her words pressing into me like gravity.

Lena.

Her name still feels like a secret every time I think it. But now, it's a promise too - one I don't know how to keep yet, but one I already want to.