Chapter 3 Three

There are some mornings that feel heavier than others. The kind where the air carries something invisible, a weight that presses against your chest before the day even begins. This was one of those mornings.

Westbrook looked the same as always - neat uniforms, polished smiles, the hum of too many conversations happening all at once. But something in me had shifted, and pretending otherwise felt like a lie I did not know how to tell anymore.

Ryan was waiting by my locker, spinning a soccer ball between his palms. "You look like you didn't sleep."

"I didn't," I say.

"Too much thinking or too much texting?"

"Neither."

He studies me for a moment, grinning. "So it's the new girl."

I grab my books and shut the locker a little harder than necessary. "You really think every problem in my life involves a girl?"

"With you? Yes."

I roll my eyes, but he isn't entirely wrong. Except this time, it doesn't feel like a problem. It feels like something I can't name, and that's worse.

The day crawls through first period. The teacher talks about statistics, but all I can think about are probabilities of my own - like the chances of seeing her again, or the odds that she even remembers our conversations. It's ridiculous, and yet every tick of the clock feels tied to her somehow.

By the time second period starts, I'm restless. The class assignment is a group project. The teacher starts pairing names off a list, and I barely listen until I hear mine.

"Aiden Cole and..." a pause, "our new student. You two will work together."

I look up so fast my chair squeaks. She's sitting near the window, that same calm expression in place. She glances at me once, not surprised, not pleased either. Just... aware.

The teacher continues reading names, but I don't hear the rest. My pulse is a quiet drum in my ears.

When the bell rings, she doesn't wait for me. She walks straight out into the hallway, notebook in hand. I catch up easily.

"So, looks like we're partners," I say.

"Looks like it," she replies without slowing down.

"Excited?"

She tilts her head slightly. "That depends. Are you actually planning to do the work?"

"Hey, I'm a model student."

She snorts, the faintest trace of amusement there. "Sure you are."

I grin, matching her pace. "We could meet after school to start. Library again?"

She hesitates. "Fine. But I don't wait around for late people."

"I'll be early."

"Doubt it."

The corners of her mouth twitch, and it feels like a victory, small but real.

When she walks away toward her next class, I find myself smiling like an idiot. Ryan would never let me hear the end of it.

The day passes in a blur of half-listened lectures and impatient glances at the clock. When the final bell rings, I'm already on my way to the library.

She's there, of course. Always early, always focused. Her notebook is open, pages filled with neat handwriting. She looks up briefly when I sit down.

"Two minutes late," she says.

"I was distracted by your fan club," I reply. "Half the hallway was talking about you."

She groans quietly. "Fantastic."

"You made an impression."

"I wasn't trying to."

"That's what makes it work."

Her eyes lift to mine, cool and steady. "You really don't stop, do you?"

"Not when I'm interested."

She rolls her eyes, but I catch the faintest curve of her lips.

We start working, and for a while, there's only the sound of pens scratching paper and the occasional turning of a page. She's sharp - the kind of smart that doesn't need to prove itself. Every time she speaks, it's direct, clear, and just a little challenging.

I find myself watching the way she taps her pen when she's thinking, the way she bites her bottom lip when she's trying to find the right word. She catches me staring once and raises an eyebrow.

"Something on my face?"

"Yeah," I say, leaning back in my chair. "A look that says you think too much."

"And you don't think enough."

"Balance," I say with a grin.

She shakes her head, hiding a small smile behind her hair.

An hour passes before we even notice. The light outside turns softer, gold slipping into gray. She packs her books and stands.

"This was productive," she says.

"I make everything productive."

"Sure you do."

She hesitates for a moment, then adds, "Same time tomorrow?"

"Wouldn't miss it."

She leaves before I can say anything else, and for a few seconds, I just sit there staring at the door she walked through.

The next day, the air at school feels heavier. Whispers follow me down the hall - soft, cutting things about how the playboy found a new target. I ignore them, but they multiply like shadows.

Ryan catches up to me between classes. "You know Mason's been running his mouth, right?"

"He always does."

"This time it's about her."

I stop walking. "What did he say?"

"That she's your new challenge. That you bet you could get her to fall for you."

I grit my teeth. "I didn't."

"I know. But people like a story."

And Westbrook runs on stories.

At lunch, I see her again - sitting at her usual spot by the window, alone as always. A few students glance her way, whispering behind their hands. She ignores them completely.

I want to go over there, to tell her not to listen, but I don't. Not yet.

Instead, Mason strolls by her table, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Careful who you study with, sweetheart. Some people like collecting projects for fun."

Her jaw tightens. She doesn't look up.

I stand, already halfway across the cafeteria before I realize it.

"Mason," I say sharply.

He turns, smirking. "Just talking."

"Then talk somewhere else."

"Touchy, Cole. Guess the rumors hit a nerve."

"Maybe because you started them."

He steps closer. "You really that protective? Or are you just mad she isn't falling for you like the others?"

The noise in the cafeteria fades into a low hum. I feel the anger rise, sharp and sudden, but I keep my voice calm. "Walk away, Mason."

For a second, he looks like he might push it. But then the teacher on duty shouts across the room, and he backs off, muttering something under his breath.

I take a breath, turning back to her. She's watching me now, eyes unreadable.

"You didn't have to do that," she says quietly when I reach her table.

"Yeah, I did."

"Now they'll just talk more."

"Let them."

She studies me for a long moment, like she's trying to figure out if she should be grateful or annoyed. Then she nods once, almost imperceptibly.

"Thanks," she says finally.

I nod back. "Anytime."

For the rest of the day, the whispers keep coming, but I don't care. Something in me feels steady for the first time in a while.

After school, I find her waiting near the library entrance. "We still meeting?" I ask.

"If you're not too busy defending my honor."

I grin. "Always got time for that."

Inside, the library is quiet as ever. She sits down, pulling out her notebook, but she isn't writing yet.

"Why do you care?" she asks suddenly.

I blink. "What?"

"You could have ignored him. You usually do."

"Maybe I'm tired of ignoring things."

She looks at me like she wants to believe me but doesn't know if she should. "You don't owe me anything, Aiden."

"I know."

"Then why?"

I hesitate, the words sticking in my throat. Because you're different. Because you don't look at me like everyone else. Because when I'm around you, I actually want to tell the truth.

But I don't say any of that.

Instead, I shrug. "Maybe I just like proving people wrong."

She studies me for another long moment, then says softly, "That's not it."

And maybe she's right.

We work in silence again, but it feels different this time - charged, fragile. When our hands brush while reaching for the same book, she doesn't pull away immediately. Neither do I.

Something passes between us - a flicker, a spark, something that makes the air too thin.

She's the first to look away. "We should focus."

"Yeah," I say quietly. "We should."

But I can't. Not really. Because for the rest of the evening, all I can think about is the way her hand felt against mine, warm and real.

When she finally leaves, I sit there alone, staring at the pages we didn't finish reading. The silence feels heavier now, filled with something I can't shake.

Ryan texts me later asking where I am. I don't answer. I just stay in that quiet library until the lights flicker off, thinking about a girl who shouldn't matter but somehow already does.

For someone who spent years pretending not to care, I realize too late that I'm already in trouble.

And the worst part?

I think I like it.