LOGINAARON'S POVHis hand stopped midway, like he had suddenly realized what he wanted to do. He let his hands fall back to his side.“It's… it's swelling already.” He murmured instead, gaze fixed on the sore spot.I swallowed hard.Did he see me walk into that locker? Fuck.How did he know I had an injury? My hair covered it slightly so it wasn't really noticeable. He definitely saw me walk into that locker.My knees nearly buckled.“Yeah.” I forced out, my voice low. “I know.”Another silence settled between us."I was heading to the clinic anyway," I added, awkwardly rubbing the sore spot again. "Before it gets worse."Jack glanced at my forehead once more before giving a small nod. "Good."I couldn't help wondering why he was standing here with me in the first place.Wasn't he supposed to be with that girl?The new girl. The same girl everyone had assumed was his date.My chest tightened.I shifted my bag higher on my shoulder. "So..." I cleared my throat. "I should go."He nodded si
AARON'S POVThe moment our fingers touched, I pulled my hand back quickly.I didn't even think.My body reacted before my brain could catch up.For half a second, the room seemed to disappear. There was only the warmth that had brushed against my skin and the stupid way my heart lurched because of something so small.It was ridiculous.I snatched the pen from the floor without looking at him and forced myself upright.Don't look at him.Just don't.I stared so hard at my answer sheet that the words blurred together.What was the question again?Something about...Shit.I had no idea.I swallowed, blinking several times before reading the sentence again.Still nothing.My brain refused to cooperate."Focus, Mr. Smithy." Professor Robin's voice cut through the silence.I looked up so quickly my neck almost cracked. "Huh?"He sighed dramatically from the front of the room."I mean..." He tapped his own paper with his pen. "Your test is in front of you. Not beside you."Heat flooded my fa
JACK'S POVI was already regretting agreeing to this.At home, mom had insisted. "Just make sure she gets to the administration office. That's all I'm asking."Apparently, "that's all" came with every student on campus staring at us. Though, Claire Beaumont didn't seem bothered in the slightest.She'd only moved into our aunt's house a couple of days ago while her parents stayed overseas to finish work. Claire was my cousin, and Mom had decided that made it my responsibility to walk her to the administration office on her first day.She walked beside me calmly, taking in the massive campus with quiet curiosity while I kept my eyes fixed straight ahead, pretending not to hear the whispers following us."Who's she?""She's gorgeous.""She looks expensive.""No wonder Jack rejected Vanessa.""She has to be the pretty date he mentioned yesterday."I rubbed a hand over my face.Pretty date?They were getting it all wrong. I never said my date partner was a girl. And besides, how can I ask
AARON'S POVI barely slept.Every time I closed my eyes, Mr. Harrison's face found me again, his voice calm and polite, as he talked about my parents like they were pieces on a chessboard."They're devoted Christians, aren't they?""Imagine finding out their son spends his nights sneaking into clubs...""Let's make sure your parents never have to find out where their son spends his nights."By the time my alarm finally rang, I wasn't even sure I'd actually fallen asleep. My head throbbed, my eyes burned, and the notes I'd spent half the night reading for today's test with Jack were scattered all over my bed.I dragged myself into the shower, hoping the cold water would wake me up, but it didn't do much. The mirror was even less encouraging.Dark circles.Red eyes.Great.I looked exactly how I felt.Downstairs, the smell of toast and fried eggs drifted through the house, and for one brief moment I wished I could stay home and crawl back into bed."Morning, sweetheart," Mom greeted the
AARON'S POVThe strange feeling of someone following me still lingered.I told myself I was just imagining it. I had already turned around once and there had been nobody there, just people walking past the restaurant, cars crawling through the street, and a couple laughing on the opposite sidewalk.Maybe I was just paranoid.After everything that had happened these past few days, maybe my brain had finally decided to torture me.I let out a slow breath and pushed the thought aside before pulling the restaurant door open.The smell of coffee and grilled food hit me immediately.For a second, I simply stood there, letting my eyes adjust as they wandered across the room until they landed on him.Mr. Harrison.He was seated in the far corner with a dark face cap pulled low over his forehead, one hand lazily wrapped around a coffee mug while the other rested on the table.The moment our eyes met, my stomach dropped.He raised a hand slightly. "Over here."My legs suddenly felt heavy, but I
JACK'S POVThe school bell rang and I felt like I could finally breathe. I was tired of thinking about Aaron and whatever the hell was wrong with me.I walked out of the building with my bag hanging loosely over one shoulder and pulled my phone out as I headed toward the parking lot.A few notifications sat on my screen but the only one I cared about was the booking app.I opened it automatically.There were three bookings but Aaron wasn't on the list.I frowned and refreshed the page.The same three names stared back at me.Maybe he hadn't booked yet. Maybe the app was just taking forever to update. Or maybe...I stopped myself.What the hell was I doing?I was seriously standing here making excuses because Aaron Smithy hadn't booked me?I locked my phone and shoved it back into my pocket roughly.What the fuck was wrong with me?My chest tightened for reasons I didn't particularly appreciate.Was he still angry about what happened on saturday night at the club? Did he decide he didn
JACK’S POV The entire group went silent for almost two seconds after I spoke. People glanced at each other like they suddenly weren’t sure if the game was just about fun anymore.Alex stared at me like he thought he heard wrong. “What?”I didn’t look away from him. “You heard me.”A strange tensio
JACK'S POV“What’s your face like behind the mask?”The question hit me so unexpectedly that my entire body went still for a second. Aaron looked just as surprised as I felt, like he hadn’t even meant to say it out loud.The room suddenly felt quieter than earlier.I stared at him without answering
AARON'S POVFor a moment after Jay asked the question, I didn’t answer.It wasn't because I didn’t hear him, but because I wasn’t sure how to respond to the way he said it.“Who did that to you?”His tone didn't sound like he was just asking. He sounded like he was already thinking about what he wo
JACK'S POVI stared down at Alex while he struggled to breathe properly on the pavement. Blood stained the corner of his mouth, and one side of his face was already beginning to swell. Even then, the idiot still tried glaring at me like he hadn’t just gotten beaten half to death.I crouched slightl







