002

Luca stood frozen in the middle of the hallway, clutching his schedule and trying not to let the desperate ache in his chest show on his face.

"You okay, man?"

Luca turned to find a tall Black boy with kind eyes and an easy smile watching him with concern.

"Elvis Washington," the boy said, extending a hand. "And you look like you've seen a ghost."

"Luca Hampton." He shook Elvis's hand gratefully. "And yeah, something like that."

"Let me guess – Ryan Thompson just gave you the grand tour and now you feel like you've been hit by a truck?"

Luca's eyes widened. "How did you—"

"Dude, you're not the first scholarship kid to get the 'Thompson Special.'" Elvis slung an arm around Luca's shoulders with easy familiarity. "He does that thing where he's all friendly and helpful, but there's this wall around him, right? Like he's performing being nice instead of actually being nice?"

"We used to be friends," Luca found himself admitting. "Before I moved away."

Elvis raised an eyebrow. "Friends with Ryan Thompson? Damn, plot twist. What happened?"

"Life," Luca said simply. "Life happened."

They walked toward their first period together, Elvis chattering easily about teachers and social hierarchies and which bathrooms to avoid during lunch. But Luca's mind kept drifting back to that moment in the hallway, to the way Ryan's composure had cracked just enough to let something real slip through.

*You were never nobody. Not to me.*

The words replayed in his head like a broken record. Because if that was true, if he'd mattered to Ryan even half as much as Ryan had mattered to him, then why had the past two years felt like drowning in slow motion? Why had every unanswered phone call felt like another nail in the coffin of whatever they'd almost been?

And why, despite everything, did seeing Ryan again feel like coming home and having his heart broken all over again at the exact same time?

"Earth to Luca," Elvis said, snapping his fingers in front of Luca's face. "You're doing that thing again."

"What thing?"

"That thing where you look like you're trying to solve the mysteries of the universe and coming up empty." Elvis grinned. "Whatever happened between you and golden boy, maybe it's time to let sleeping dogs lie. Trust me, getting involved with the Thompson family drama never ends well."

But as they walked into AP Chemistry and Luca caught sight of Ryan already seated in the back row, looking like every teenage dream come to life, he knew it was too late for that advice. Some sleeping dogs were already wide awake and prowling through his chest, and the only question now was whether they'd devour him or set him free.

Ryan looked up as they entered, and their eyes met across the room. This time, Ryan didn't look away. This time, something passed between them that felt like a promise and a threat all rolled into one.

Luca took a seat three rows ahead and tried to focus on the teacher's introduction to organic chemistry. But he could feel Ryan's eyes on the back of his neck like a physical touch, could practically hear the questions burning in the silence between them.

Two years of separation, two years of trying to forget, two years of building walls around the part of his heart that had belonged to Ryan Thompson since they were kids.

And now here they were, in the same room again, breathing the same air, and Luca could already feel those walls starting to crumble.

The question wasn't whether he was ready for whatever came next.

The question was whether either of them would survive it.

---

The morning passed in a blur of introductions and syllabi, but Luca barely absorbed any of it. His mind kept wandering back to Ryan – the way his voice had roughened when he'd said Luca wasn't nobody, the way he'd jerked his hand back from that brief touch like it had burned him. The way he'd looked at Luca across the chemistry classroom like he was trying to memorize his face.

By lunch, Luca's nerves were frayed raw. He followed Elvis to the cafeteria, a cavernous space with vaulted ceilings and long wooden tables that looked like something out of Harry Potter. The noise was overwhelming – hundreds of conversations blending into white noise, the clatter of silverware, bursts of laughter that echoed off the stone walls.

"Scholarship kids sit over there," Elvis said, nodding toward a table near the kitchen doors. "It's not an official rule, but it's pretty understood. Unless you want to deal with the stares."

Luca was about to follow when he heard his name called across the room.

"Luca!"

He turned to see Ryan approaching, tray in hand, and the cafeteria seemed to quiet around them. Conversations paused mid-sentence, heads turned, and Luca could feel hundreds of eyes tracking their interaction.

"Sit with us," Ryan said when he reached them, and it wasn't really a request.

Elvis shot Luca a look that clearly said *this is a bad idea*, but Luca found himself nodding anyway. Because this was Ryan, and even after everything, even after two years of silence, Luca had never learned how to say no to him.

They followed Ryan to a table dead center of the cafeteria, where the beautiful people held court like royalty. A stunning brunette with sharp cheekbones immediately scooted closer to Ryan, possessive fingers curling around his bicep.

"Who's your friend, baby?" she asked, voice sweet as poisoned honey.

"This is Luca," Ryan said, gently but firmly removing her hand. "We knew each other before he moved away. Luca, this is Emily, and Marcus, and James..."

The introductions blurred together. These kids radiated the kind of effortless confidence that came from never having to worry about money or acceptance or whether your shoes were falling apart. They were polite enough to Luca – their parents had raised them too well for outright rudeness – but he could feel their assessment, could practically see them cataloging his discount clothes and nervous energy and filing him under 'charity case.'

"So Luca," Emily said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, "what brings you to Westmore? Are you on scholarship?"

The question was designed to embarrass, to make him squirm, but Luca had dealt with worse. "Yeah," he said simply. "Academic scholarship."

"How wonderful," she cooed. "Ryan's father is so generous with his charity work, isn't he?"

The words hit their mark, but before Luca could respond, Ryan's voice came through from across the table.

"Luca's here because he earned it," he said, and there was finality in his voice that made everyone sit up straighter. "His grades are better than anyone's at this table."

An uncomfortable silence fell over the group.