First Public Appearance

004

Mira arrived at the coffee shop at 8:47 am.

She told herself it was because she liked to be early. Not because she couldn't sleep or because she had replayed the study room conversation several times.

She ordered a black coffee, her usual and sat at a table near the back. Not hiding. Just... positioned. From here, she could see the entire shop. Including the corner booth where Ethan and Jenna sat every morning.

They weren't there yet.

Mira checked her phone. No messages from Sebastian. She hadn't given him her number. They had signed a contract like Victorian businessmen and then walked away into the night without exchanging a single digit.

It felt ridiculous now.

At 8:52, the door opened.

Sebastian walked in like he owned the place. Messy hair, leather jacket, boots that looked expensive and beat-up at the same time. He was carrying a newspaper, an actual physical newspaper, which was so absurd that Mira almost laughed.

He spotted her immediately. Walked over and dropped into the chair across from her without asking.

"You're early," he said.

"You're earlier."

"I said 9 am. It's 8:52." He glanced at his watch. "I'm early because I wanted to watch you wait for me."

"That's creepy."

"That's honest." He signaled to the barista. "Another black coffee for my girlfriend, please. And a muffin. Whatever is least healthy."

The barista, a sophomore named Marcus who had once asked Mira to a date and been rejected so coldly that he switched majors, stared at them. "Your... girlfriend?"

"She's very private." Sebastian smiled. It was warm and fake and perfect. "But we're done hiding. Right, baby?"

Baby. Mira's eyes twitched. She forced a smile. "Right, honey."

Marcus looked like he needed a therapist. He walked away.

Sebastian leaned across the table. "Honey? That's the best you could do?"

"You started with 'baby.' We're both terrible at this."

"We'll practice." He reached across the table and took her hand. His fingers laced through hers like it was nothing. Like they had done this a hundred times. "Ethan just walked in."

Mira's spine straightened. She didn't turn around. Didn't react.

"How do you know?"

"I saw his reflection in the window. He's with Jenna. They're heading to the corner booth." Sebastian's thumb traced a circle on the back of her hand. "He's looking at us. Don't look back."

"Wasn't planning to."

"Good girl."

Something hot and uncomfortable twisted in Mira's stomach. She hated when people praised her. But a good girl from Sebastian Kessler felt different. It felt like a challenge.

Marcus returned with the coffee and muffin. Sebastian didn't let go of her hand. He used his free hand to push the muffin toward her.

"Eat," he said.

"I don't eat muffins."

"Today you do. Right now you're a girl who eats muffins with her hot new boyfriend while her ex watches." He broke off a piece and held it to her lips. "Open."

Mira stared at him. His expression was unreadable. But his eyes, those gray, hungry eyes... were daring her.

She opened her mouth and he fed her the muffin.

Her teeth grazed his fingers. His pupils dilated, but neither of them acknowledged it.

"Good," he said. "Now smile like you're imagining my death."

Mira smiled. It was real. Not because she was imagining his death, but because she was imagining something else entirely. Something she had written in rule number three.

No real feelings.

She was already breaking it.

***

Ethan appeared at their table three minutes later.

Jenna was behind him, eyes red, clutching his arm like a life raft. Ethan looked furious. His face was blotchy, his hair too perfect, his smile too tight.

"Mira." He said her name, like a warning.

Sebastian didn't look up. He was reading his absurd newspaper, one hand still holding Mira's. "Can we help you?"

"I wasn't talking to you, Kessler."

"Then you're being rude to my girlfriend." Sebastian folded the newspaper. Slowly. Deliberately. "And I don't like people who are rude to my girlfriend."

Mira watched Ethan's face contort. He wasn't used to being dismissed. He was used to being the biggest person in the room, literally and figuratively. Sebastian was taller. Broader. And right now, he was pretending Ethan didn't exist.

Jenna stepped forward. "Mira, can we talk? Please? Just for a minute."

Mira looked at her. Jenna's pink hair was dull, her eyes swollen, her lip split... had Ethan done that? No. Jenna bit her lip when she was nervous. She had bitten it raw.

"What's there to talk about?" Mira asked. Her voice was cold and controlled. The ice queen was back. "You slept with my boyfriend. Multiple times. In my bed, probably. Even while I was at Nationals, representing our school, trying to win something that mattered."

Jenna flinched. "It wasn't like that."

"It was exactly like that." Mira pulled her hand from Sebastian's. Not because she wanted to. Because she needed to feel in control. "You texted me good luck before the final round. You said 'you're my favorite person.' And then you went to his apartment and climbed into his bed."

Ethan opened his mouth. Sebastian cut him off.

"She's not talking to you." His voice was quiet. Deadly. "You lost the right to speak to her when you lost your pants around her best friend."

The coffee shop had gone silent. Everyone was watching. Phones were out. This would be on the gossip page within minutes.

Ethan stepped closer. "This is fake. You're not actually together. Everyone knows you hate each other."

Sebastian stood up.

He was taller than Ethan by two inches. Not much. But the way he moved, loose, relaxed, completely unthreatened, made the difference feel like miles.

"Try me," Sebastian said.

Ethan's face went pale. Then red. Then he laughed, a sharp, ugly sound. "You're insane. You know that? You threw your entire reputation away last year. Everyone know you are poison in human form and now you're dragging her down with you."

Sebastian didn't react. Didn't blink.

"She's standing right here," he said. "And she's chosen me. Not you or Jenna. Me. You want to know why?"

The shop was so quiet Mira could hear the espresso machine hissing in the background.

"Because I see her," Sebastian continued. "Not the trophy. Not the GPA. Not the performance. Her. And I'm not stupid enough to throw that away for a quick fuck with someone who was never in her league."

Jenna made a small, wounded sound. Ethan looked like he'd been slapped.

Sebastian sat back down. Picked up his newspaper. Took Mira's hand again.

"You can leave now," he said.

They left.

The coffee shop slowly returned to normal. Conversations resumed. Phones were tucked away. But Mira could feel eyes on her, curious, judgmental, fascinated.

She looked at Sebastian. His face was calm. But his hand was shaking slightly around hers.

"You didn't have to do that," she said quietly.

"Yes, I did."

"You made enemies."

"I already had enemies." He finally looked at her. His gray eyes were soft and Vulnerable. "You needed someone to make them afraid of you again."

Mira's chest ached. She didn't know how to respond. So she did the only thing she could think of.

She broke off a piece of muffin and held it to his lips.

"Open," she said.

Sebastian stared at her. Then he smiled, not his sharp, hungry smile. Something smaller. Something real.

He opened his mouth.

She fed him the muffin.

Their fingers touched. Neither pulled away.

"This is still fake," she whispered.

"Of course," he whispered back.

They both knew it was a lie.