Novels by coachiboli

The small bell above the nail salon door rang, sharp and sudden, and my shoulders jumped up without me thinking. A sweet, heavy perfume rushed into the room, cutting through the chemical smell I’d just gotten used to. It made my nose twitch. I kept my eyes down, watching the tiny brush move carefully across my last toe. But I knew the moment they walked in — Cassidy Chen and her group of girls. The room felt smaller the second they stepped in, noise shifting around them without anyone saying a word. I gripped the armrests tighter. Don’t look up. Don’t— “Nova?” Her voice hit like a tap on a bruise. I flinched, my foot shifting. The line of dark red polish smudged in an instant. The nail tech sighed in that sharp way adults do when they’re annoyed but trying not to show it. She grabbed a cotton ball and gently wiped at the mistake. “Oh my god,” Cassidy was closer now. “I almost didn’t recognize you—” She stopped. Her voice changed. Softer, maybe. “You look different.” My thr

The paper burned against my finger even through the thin fabric of my bag.I hadn’t opened it again. I didn’t need to. The shape of it was enough—folded once, edges sharp, sitting wrong against the curve of my hips as I walked. Every step down the hallway made it knock lightly against my side, like it was reminding me it hadn’t gone anywhere.Talia spotted me before I reached the corner.She lifted her hand, mouth already opening with‌ what‍e⁠v‌er sarcastic comment she’d prepared, but it‍ died halfway when she saw my face.“Okay,” she said slowly. “What happened.”I stopped in front of her locker. My hand went to the metal without thinking, palm flat, grounding myself in the cold.“There was something in my locker,” I said. Her smile vanished. “What kind of something?”I slid my backpack off⁠ my shoulder‌ and unzipped it just eno⁠ugh to pull the folded paper out. I didn’t look at it, I held it between my fingers like it was dirt. Talia took it from me, unfolded it, scanned the words

“Report it,” Talia said , pacing the bedroom with her phone clutched tight like a grenade. “He can’t just post that. You could report it.”I didn’t move. I sat at the edge of her bed, legs bouncing, heart cold. “No. Let it stay up.”Talia froze mid-step. “Are you insane?”I looked up slowly, my voice low but steady. “Let them talk. Let them see. The version of me they want to laugh at… she doesn’t exist anymore.”Talia blinked, stunned. “Okay, wow. Who are you and what did you do with Nova Carter?”“I’m done playing nice,” I muttered. “He’s poked the bear one too many times.”Talia sat beside me, brushing her auburn curls behind one ear. “You know Ryder’s going to see it, right? Half the school’s already sharing it.”I paused, anxiety twisting through my chest. “Let him. He doesn’t care what people think.”“But you do,” she said gently.I nodded once. “Not anymore.”It was a lie. Of course I cared. But I’d bled enough in private. Cried enough under covers. Starved enough dreams.If th

My feet froze as Jace stepped fully into the doorway, sunlight catching on the sharp lines of his lean body. It hit his hazel eyes just right, turning them almost gold—but there was nothing warm in them. His jaw clenched. His eyes burned. And his stare was locked on Ryder’s retreating back.I could feel the shift in the room, like the moment right before a downpour. Thick air. A hush before the thunder.“Since when,” Jace said tightly, “do you talk to him?”I gathered my books slowly, not looking at him. “Since it became a school assignment. Don’t make it a thing.”“It already is a thing, Nova,” he snapped. “You don’t even know him. That guy’s bad news.”I met his glare. “So was being dumped because I gained fifteen pounds. Funny how I survived that.”His face twisted like I’d slapped him. “That’s not what it was about—”“Oh, so it wasn’t about me not being good enough to stand beside the school’s favorite golden boy? Or was it the stretch marks? The soft stomach? Remind me, Jace.”He

My hands trembled in my lap, fingers digging into the fabric of my jeans as I clenched my fists. It wasn’t Jace. Not anymore. It was him—Ryder Black.He was a storm wrapped in denim and shadows, his eyes a deep golden blaze that had seen straight through me in the gym. Like he knew. Like he’d been there. My throat dried up.“Ryder Black?” I whispered, barely managing the name.Talia leaned in with a dramatic roll of her eyes, her thick curls bouncing. “Transfer. Rich troublemaker. Expelled from two schools. Rumor has it he broke a guy’s jaw with one punch, and his dad paid off the principal. Now he’s Crestwood’s problem.”I blinked at her. “And he’s in my class?”“More than that,” she said darkly. “He’s in every class.”I laughed nervously. “Well, that’s not terrifying.”Talia leaned back in her chair, arms folded, lips pursed. “Just stay away. He’s the kind of boy that doesn’t come with warning labels. He is the warning.”But she was wrong.Ryder didn’t feel like a warning.He felt l

I didn’t expect the crowd outside Crestwood’s gym to fall silent when I walked past, but they did. I heard a can drop. Shoes scuffed the tile floor as necks turned and eyes locked on me — not with mockery this time, but something far more dangerous: curiosity.“Nova… you look like someone who eats heartbreak for breakfast,” Talia muttered beside me, her voice a mix of admiration and disbelief. She nudged me with her elbow, flashing a grin. “He’s staring.”I didn’t need her to say who.Jace.He stood near the vending machine, flanked by two basketball teammates, trying too hard to look indifferent. His dark hair was buzzed shorter than I remembered, but the same cocky confidence clung to him — until our eyes met. His grip tightened around a soda can, jaw twitching slightly.It was petty, but I smiled. Not for him. For me.I tugged at the hem of my new denim jacket — cropped, cinched at the waist — a far cry from the oversized hoodies I used to hide behind. My wavy brown hair, now cut t