Curious

CALLA

I try to ignore the lingering heat of Ryder’s touch from yesterday, but it’s impossible. Every time I take a step, every time I bend to grab a book from my locker, I feel it there, a small, unsettling weight I can’t shake. I tell myself it’s nothing but just a little accident I should get over and focus on getting extra credit. But he doesn’t let me get over it. Not with his eyes finding me across the hallways, and in the quad when I’m not even trying to look at him.

Then Miles appears.Of course, he always shows up. Always just when I’m trying to breathe normally.

“Hey Cal.”

His voice is low and casual, but when I look up, there is that familiar smile underneath the calm. That ridiculously perfected charming look in his eyes he has perfected over the years that is one of the things I fell for.

“Morning,” I murmur, keeping my head down, pretending I didn’t just roll my eyes at myself for thinking I could ignore him.

“I heard that you started tutoring Monroe,” he says. There is no accusation in the statement but his eyes linger a second too long. It's the kind of gaze that makes my stomach twist.

“Yes, for extra credit,” I answer carefully.

He steps closer, just enough that the crowd passing by doesn’t notice, but close enough to feel his presence pressing on me. “I don’t like it.”

I freeze. It’s not because he is yelling. He is not. He is actually calm, almost too calm but that makes his words feel heavier than an outburst.

“You don’t have to—”

“I don’t like it, Cal,” he repeats, this time a soft warning. “I don’t trust that guy.”

My heart thumps away gently. It’s not just the way he says it, it’s also the way he is looking at me, like he is ready to do anything to Ryder if he dares to harm me. Protective. A part of me is bold enough to think maybe he cares more than he shows, maybe he is jealous. But, would a jealous person hurt me the way he did two days ago without remorse?

I glance away, pretending to adjust my bag. “I’m fine, Miles. You don’t have to worry.”

“Are you?” He steps closer. “You don’t know what he is capable of.”

I bite my lip. “Yes, I do. Everyone does.”

He shakes his head slowly, watching me with that soft intensity. “You don’t. Not really. I didn’t tell you everything about that day. They shouldn’t have let him back into normal people’s lives because that guy, is not normal! Stay away from him, please Cal.”

Something about the certainty in his voice makes me shift back instinctively, even though I still haven’t figured out why. “I don’t have a choice. I—”

Just then, Brina slides into the space between us, her heels clicking sharply against the tiles. “Ugh! Guess who just tried to hit on me in the parking lot. That psycho freak, Ryder. Can you believe it?” She breathes heavily, rolling her eyes until the irises disappear. “Girl, I hope you carry mace or something sharp with you whenever you are tutoring him, just in case he tries something. ”

I force a small smile and shake my head. “Brina, I can handle—”

“People like him are out of control!” she snaps. “You think you know him, but you don’t. You really don’t.” Her eyes glitter with disgust. “Calla, you can’t seriously do this. You can’t just be alone with him.”

I swallow, feeling my throat tighten. Their words should scare me. They should make me cautious. And I am careful instinctively, but something about the venom in Brina’s voice and the certainty in Miles’ makes me uncomfortable in a way that has nothing to do with Ryder.

“It’s just tutoring,” I say firmly, more to myself than them.

Miles doesn’t argue or snap. He just reaches out, brushing my wrist lightly as I step away, a touch that stops me mid step.

“Just be careful,” he murmurs. “For me.”

The words are gentle and protective. It’s like he loves me. I know he does, but not the way I want him to. The weight behind them presses into me. I feel the control he exerts without even realizing it, buried deep. It makes me uncomfortable.

I pull my wrist free, forcing a smile I hope looks natural. “I’ll be fine, guys. You don’t have to worry. ”

Brina’s glare doesn’t soften as I step away. This time, there is a hint of jealousy looking at me. She leans even closer to Miles, marking boundary. I look away and start leaving because clearly there is no place for me here.

And then I see him. Ryder. He is across the courtyard, standing near the benches just observing me. His eyes track me the way predators study their prey. Except I don’t feel like prey, and he doesn’t feel like a predator. Not the way people make him out to be.

I blink and look away but he catches up a minute later.

“Pierce.”

I don’t respond or even look at him. I just keep walking with longer strides.

“Okay. What did I do to deserve the silent treatment?” His tone is playful.

“We are not friends and this is not a tutoring session. I don’t have to talk to you.”

“What if I have a tutoring question?”

“Wait until tutoring,” I say, finally looking at him. He is closer than I expected. Too close that it makes my breath stumble.

“What if it’s urgent?”

“It’s classwork, not life or death,” I say, crossing my arms so he doesn’t see them tremble.

“That depends.”

“On what?”

“Who you are standing next to.”

Heat suddenly creeps up my neck. I hate that he sounds entertained. I narrow my eyes. “You are not funny.”

“And you are not convincing.”

“About what?”

“That you don’t want to keep listening to me.”

I scoff. “I don’t.”

“Then why did you stop walking?”

I didn’t realize I had until that moment. My pulse jumps. “You are reading into things.”

“No,” he says lightly, stepping so close that there is barely enough room to breathe. “I’m just noticing them. And you like our interaction more than you want to admit. You are curious.”

The way his voice dips, the way his lips move, and the way his eyes stare into mine challenging me to deny it makes my tongue feel heavy in my mouth. I’m not even thinking that I’m standing dangerously close to the school pariah. I’m thinking that he sees me. He knows things about me even before I do.

My heart stutters as words stumble out.

“I’m not,” I whisper.

He steps back then, giving me space.

“See you at tutoring, Pierce.”

He turns and walks away like he didn’t just unsettle every steady thing inside me. I stand there, my pulse still racing, and something dangerously close to anticipation twisting in my chest.