Chapter 7: Different Opinions

Caleb’s P.O.V

As soon as Caroline stepped out of the washroom, I spotted her immediately, her fingers absentmindedly toying with the strap of her bag. Without a second thought, I reached for her waist, pulling her close as I steered her away toward our next class. She barely had time to register my touch before letting out an amused huff, her eyes flickering up at me with curiosity. 

"Okay, what’s with you today?" she asked, tilting her head slightly as we walked. "You don’t have to escort me everywhere, you know. I can actually walk on my own." 

I smirked, but instead of answering her directly, I tightened my grip just a little, a silent but firm indication that I wasn’t going to let this go. "You shouldn’t go near that weird charity kid," I muttered, keeping my tone casual but laced with just enough seriousness to make my point clear. 

Caroline stopped abruptly, forcing me to pause with her. Her brows furrowed as she turned to face me fully, disbelief flashing in her eyes. "Wait, what?" she asked, as if she hadn’t heard me right. "Are you talking about Aurora?" 

I sighed, already knowing this wasn’t going to go the way I wanted. "Yeah," I admitted. "I just don’t like her."

Caroline’s mouth fell open slightly, her expression a mix of shock and mild disappointment.

"Caleb," she said, her voice lower now, more measured. "That’s really rude. You don’t even know her." 

I rolled my eyes, shifting on my feet. "I don’t need to know her," I replied simply. "I just—" I hesitated, running a hand through my hair. "I just don’t like her and I don’t want you to be near her all of a sudden." 

Caroline’s eyes narrowed, and she crossed her arms. "You may not like someone, but that doesn’t give you the right to be rude about them, or about them," she pointed out, her tone sharper now, challenging. 

I held her gaze for a moment, the weight of her words settling between us. I knew she was right—Caroline always had this way of calling me out when I was being unreasonable. But something about Aurora didn’t sit right with me, and the thought of Caroline getting close to her put me on edge. 

Still, I could tell from the way she was looking at me that this wasn’t a fight I was going to win. So instead of pressing further, I exhaled heavily, shaking my head. "Just… be careful, alright?" I muttered, my voice softer this time. 

Caroline studied me for a second longer before sighing, uncrossing her arms. "You’re impossible," she murmured, but there was a flicker of understanding in her eyes, even if she didn’t agree with me. 

I reached for her hand, giving it a light squeeze before nudging her forward. "Come on," I said. "We’re gonna be late." 

Even as we walked, I could tell she wasn’t letting this go. And honestly? Neither was I.

“Caroline—” I began, but she cut me off.

“Caleb, look, we can have different opinions about someone but that doesn’t give you the right to say rude things about them. If you don’t like her, you can just ignore her. But you can’t tell me what to do or who to be friends with.”

Friends?! The thought was absolutely ridiculous.

“Care, I can’t believe we’re having a fight about that…that…girl!” I scoffed. “Please…why do did you even do that in the first place?”

The scene from earlier replayed in my head. Mia had Aurora backed against the lockers, her words cutting sharper than a blade, her voice laced with that cruel amusement she always had when she found someone weak to toy with. Aurora had been frozen, barely able to defend herself, and then, out of nowhere, Caroline had stepped in. She hadn’t hesitated. Just thrown herself between them like a shield, like it was second nature to her.

Caroline turned her head slightly, as if she had expected the question. "Do what?" she asked, her voice even.

"You know what," I shot back. "Why did you help Aurora? Mia was handling her."

Caroline stopped walking for a split second before shaking her head with a small scoff. "Mia wasn’t ‘handling’ her, Caleb. She was humiliating her."

I frowned, not because I disagreed, but because I wasn’t sure why it even mattered to Caroline. "Yeah, and? Aurora should learn to stand up for herself if she believes she was right."

"Maybe," she said, her eyes meeting mine, unwavering. "But that doesn’t mean she deserved that."

I let out a breath, shaking my head. "You don’t even like Aurora."

Caroline let out a dry laugh, one that lacked any real amusement. "And you don’t like Shane or Mia. But that’s never stopped you from butting into their business, has it?"

I narrowed my eyes, not appreciating the way she flipped that on me. "That’s different."

"Is it?" She arched her brow. "You want to know why I stepped in? Because I felt her pain. I felt her fear. And I just couldn’t stand there and let Mia tear her apart like that. So, I did something about it."

I stared at her, my jaw tightening. "I really don’t understand you sometimes, you know that?"

Caroline just shrugged, unfazed. "You don’t have to understand me, Caleb," she said simply. Then, with a sharpness that cut straight through me, she added, "But maybe you shouldn’t be so quick to judge people or be mean to them, because one day, that might just come back to bite you in the ass."

I scoffed, rolling my eyes, because of course she had to make this into some kind of moral lesson. Typical Caroline. I didn’t say anything else, though. We just kept walking, side by side, heading to our next class, the words lingering between us like a challenge neither of us was ready to acknowledge.