CHAPTER FOUR

IVY

As I walked into school hallway, I knew something wasn’t right.

I had that weird, heavy feeling. The kind that one feels right before something bad happens.

People were staring at me from different directions. Some were bold enough to maintain eye contact, others quickly moving their eyes away, like they didn’t want to get caught staring.

My stomach clenched, hard. Why? I had no clue. But something was off. I felt it

Then I saw Sophia.

She was at my locker, arms crossed over her chest. Looked like she was waiting for me, but she looked funny. She kept fidgeting, occasionally turning to glare at something.

Rushing to her, my hands instinctively reached out to hold her.

My brows furrowed, I asked. “What’s wrong Soph?”.

She sighed. “Haven’t you heard?”

The way she asked, almost sent my heart racing.

“Haven’t I heard what? My voice came out too soft, and shaky. Damn it.

“The rumors. About you and Liam”, she whispered, but her hand gestures were loud.

I swallowed. My mouth instantly dried up.

Everything inside of me froze.

Liam?

“Huh?” I blinked.

Wait. What? Did I hear that right?

“What… what about him? What do you mean?”

She bit her lips. “Ivy… where’s your phone?”

“It’s in my bag. Why?”

She hesitated. “There are also posts. About you…and Liam”.

My stomach dropped.

“Posts?”, I repeated.

She hesitated again. That pause told me everything I needed to know.

It was bad.

I forced myself to breathe.

Sophia sighed. “Some people are saying you fought with him. Others are saying you… confessed, and he rejected you for Claire.”

My heart stopped.

I blinked once. Twice.

Then—bam.

My world went blank. Everything within sight instantly blurred. My ears were ringing.

Air. I needed air. But my lungs closed, refusing to work.

My chest felt heavy. Too heavy. Breathing was hard.

No.

No.

I swallowed hard. “That’s not true. You know that, Soph.” My voice cracked as I spoke.

Sophia frowned. “I know it’s not. But people don’t care if it’s true. They just like drama.”

My throat clenched. It was like something was physically stuck there.

I folded my arms, pressing them close, but it didn’t help. Almost folding in on myself, I tried the breathing exercises mum thought me whenever a panic attack was going to happen.

Were they staring? It felt like it. Too scared to look, I leaned my head on my locker, and closed my eyes.

Too loud. Too much. I couldn’t breath.

Covering my ears to block out the voices, I recited the periodic table over and over again.

Sophia’s grip on my arm tightened. “Breathe, Ivy. Please.” I could hear the worry in her voice.

I squeezed my eyes tightly, pushing myself to listen to her, and not to them. But the panic see in, I tried to wish it down, but it was already there making it hard for me to breathe.

“Ivy, just ignore it,” Sophia said, but we both knew that was useless.

My vision blurred. I bit my lip, hard, but it wasn’t enough, a tear broke loose anyway. I rubbed my face aggressively, but more tears followed, spilling faster than I could wipe them away.

“What do I do, Soph?” My voice cracked.

Before she could answer, my other friends rushed over, their face’s filled with worry.

“Ivy, what happened?” Diane asked.

“Are you okay?”. Nola asked, almost at the same time.

Sophia exhaled sharply. “The rumor,” she hissed, like that explained everything.

They surrounded me immediately, blocking out the stares. It should have helped. It didn’t.

It only raised my awareness that we were in the open, all eyes could see. More gossips to come. A sharp pain in my chest almost cut off my air flow. My knees buckled. Shit.

I fell forward, catching myself, barely. Warm fingers curled around my arm, holding me up.

“Easy,” someone said, Gary’s voice. “They don’t matter. Just breathe.

“Ivy, calm, don’t just listen to them,”Nola murmured.“Ignore them.”

But I couldn’t. Their voices became distant, their warm hands held me up. I barely felt anything.

They kept telling me not to worry, that it was nothing serious.

But we all knew otherwise, that it was something serious.

I knew it was something because the stares hadn’t stopped. If anything, they were getting worse.

I could feel their eyes.

Burning into my skin.

I wasn’t over reacting. At all.

The last time something like this happened, the girl involved? She was gone. No longer in our school.

No one really knew why. Maybe she left on her own. Maybe she didn’t leave on her own. I clearly remember the verbal abuse she suffered, the way people looked at her…yeah. Everyone had their own version of why she left.

And now, it seems to be happening all over again.

To me.

I tried to breathe. In. Out. One foot in front of the other. Just keep moving.

Each step felt impossible. The whispers weren’t hidden anymore, they were loud and wouldn’t stop.

Sophia snapped at someone, probably looking a little too much. It was loud, it made them stare more.

People started looking at me differently. They had seen me fall apart.

I was no longer a rumor but now pity case.

I hated it.

By lunchtime, I felt drained. My head ached.

People weren’t whispering anymore, now they were openly staring. Like I was one tragic loser that got brought to the light.

My hands trembled as I held my tray, keeping my head down.

Just get in, eat, and get out—

Then my stomach dropped.

She was here.

Claire.

She had her arms wrapped around Liam’s, all smiles, laughing just loud enough to be heard.

Like none of this meant anything. Like she wasn’t part of what was tearing me apart.

Liam sat beside her, his eyes glued to his tray. He wasn’t laughing. Wasn’t looking at her. Hell, he wasn’t looking at anything.

And then, something happened.

A girl bumped into Claire, sending her books flying.

The cafeteria went dead silent.

Claire’s face darkened. Her lips curled.

“Watch it,”she snapped.

Then—bam. She shoved the girl.

The girl gasped, she barely caught herself, blinking fast. A flush crept up her neck.

She gulped, holding her school bag tighter.

Her eyes looked left and right, searching for an escape door.

I tensed.

Liam straightened beside her.“That’s enough, Claire.”

His voice wasn’t loud. But it was clear and enough.

Claire stiffened. For a second, I saw something flicker across her face, embarrassment? Annoyance?, but it was gone just as fast.

She glanced back at the girl, her face going blank.“Watch it,”she muttered, quieter this time.

The girl swallowed hard.“S-sorry.”

Zane, one of Liam’s friends sighed, he shook his head. Then without a word, he bent down and picked the books, and handed them back to the girl.

Claire huffed and rolled her eyes. “Seriously? You’re all so sensitive.”

Sweat dripped down my face. My vision blurred. I felt sick.

I inhaled through my nose, slow and steady, trying to keep down the frustration.

But then—

Claire’s eyes landed on me.

And she smiled.

It wasn't a nice smile. Not a friendly one either.

Goosebumps prickled up my arms, I felt uneasy.

Before I could figure out why—

The cafeteria doors banged open, the sound loud enough to drown all voices.

Heads turned. Conversations stalled.

Mr. Adams walled in, clapping his hands, drawing attention. “Alright, listen up students! The Spring Fling is coming up, and we need volunteers for the planning committee.”

I barely heard his words. My heart was still hammering.

Then Claire stood up, smiling.“Oh! Mr Adams, no need to worry. The A-listers will handle that. Liam, Zane, Natasha, and I will take care of everything.”

Liam barely looked up. “I’m not interested, Claire.”

Claire’s smile fell. Just for a second. Then she covered it with a laugh. “Oh, please.” She waved a hand, forcing a smile. “You’ll be supporting from the sidelines. Quietly.”

Diane, snorted.“Can you believe Claire? God she's insufferable.”

Gary snorted. “Understatement of the year.”

Nola, quiet as always, murmured, “I’m not surprised Liam didn’t go for it. He never really seems into her.”

I hesitated. Glanced at Liam.

He was eating, not paying attention to Claire.

But for just a second, after she turned away…

His eyes lingered on her.

What was his deal?

I didn’t get to think about it because the lunch bell rang, and suddenly, everyone was moving.

I pushed my chair back too fast. The screeching sound made my heart jolt.

I stumbled.

“Easy, Ivy,”Gary said, steadying me.

I smiled gratefully at him. Then I felt a presence, and I just knew.

She was there.

I turned and almost lost my balance. She was right there, she stood too close to me.

Claire.

I stiffened, my fingers curled at my sides.

Then she smiled, and said.

“Ivy, would you like to join the planning committee?”

The cafeteria noise faded.

Everything stopped.

My stomach dropped.

I stared at her, my gut screaming at me.

I had a bad feeling about this.

I swallowed hard.

This was a trap.