Chapter 7 — Ruby Tries to Lay Low

For the next two days, Ruby avoided Kai like he was radioactive.

But Kai made that impossible.

He took her usual seat in class.

He “accidentally” bumped into her twice in the hallway.

He stole her pen off her desk without even looking at her.

Ruby gritted her teeth and kept her head down.

It was working… until lunch.

She tried to slip past Kai’s table unnoticed.

Except someone said, “Kai, isn’t that your neighbor?”

Ruby froze.

Kai turned lazily, gaze sliding over her with calculated boredom.

Ruby tried to mutter, “I’m not your—”

And that was when it happened.

She accidentally insulted him.

Right in front of his entire table.

He’d said something—something arrogant and smug—and Ruby snapped, “Maybe if you used your brain once in a while, you’d—”

The table went silent.

Kai’s smirk sharpened.

Ruby’s heart pounded.

Oh no.

Oh no, no, no.

“She had just declared war.”

Silence.

The cafeteria didn’t usually go silent — not even when teachers yelled — but somehow, Ruby managed to shut down an entire room with one sentence.

Kai’s friends stared at her like she’d just punched the mayor. Brielle’s mouth hung open. Someone dropped a fork.

Kai froze mid-smirk, his jaw ticking once.

Then, slowly… he leaned back in his chair, eyes dragging over her like he was assessing a threat he hadn’t taken seriously until now.

“Oh?” he said softly. “You want to repeat that?”

Ruby’s pulse hammered so hard she swore people could hear it.

She wished she could rewind time. Or spontaneously combust. Or teleport to a different country.

Preferably all three.

“N-no,” she said too quickly. “I didn’t mean— I was just—”

Kai lifted a hand, silencing her. “No, no. You were very clear.”

His voice was calm. Controlled. Almost amused.

Which terrified her more.

A guy like Kai didn’t get embarrassed. He got even.

His friends snickered, waiting for him to destroy her socially, verbally, emotionally — whatever method he preferred.

Ruby could practically see Brielle vibrating with excitement beside him.

Kai lifted his brows. “So tell me, Ruby Hale.”

Her name rolled off his tongue like a challenge.

“What exactly is wrong with my brain?”

Ruby’s face burst into flames. “I didn’t mean— it was just— You said that thing about how you never study—”

“Ohhh,” one of his friends laughed. “She’s calling you stupid.”

“I’m not—! That’s not—!” Ruby sputtered.

But Kai stood, slow and deliberate, pushing his chair back with his foot.

She backed up instinctively.

Kai didn’t even look angry. He looked… entertained. Like she was his favorite new game.

He stepped around the table and stopped in front of her, leaving just a few inches of charged space between them.

“You know,” he murmured, “most people at least wait a week before they publicly insult me.”

“I wasn’t—!”

Kai tilted his head. “You’re doing it again.”

She shut her mouth.

He stared at her for another long, unbearable moment — assessing, calculating — before stepping back and smiling, too pleasant, too slow.

“Well,” he said lightly, “if you wanted my attention, Ruby… you have it now.”

Oh no.

The entire cafeteria erupted in whispers.

Ruby grabbed her tray — she didn’t even remember picking it up — and practically sprinted out of the room, cheeks burning, heart bruising her ribs.

She didn’t stop until she reached a quiet hallway behind the gym. Only then did she press her back to the wall and groan.

“Why,” she whispered to herself, “do I open my mouth?”

Her phone buzzed violently.

New Post:

Girl Outsmarts Kai Kingston in Cafeteria Showdown!?

Comments:

– NO ONE insults Kai and survives

– she’s dead. dead. DEAD.

– she has a death wish???

– honestly kind of iconic

Ruby slid down the wall until she was sitting on the floor.

“Perfect,” she muttered. “Just perfect.”

---

Later That Afternoon

Ruby’s goal for the rest of the day: hide.

Her strategy: pathetic but determined.

Stay quiet in class. Leave early. Walk fast. Avoid eye contact with tall cocky boys who thought the world was their private concert.

But fate — or the universe, which apparently hated her — had other plans.

Because after the final bell, when she dug through her locker for her math notes, the hallway abruptly emptied. Completely.

Which was weird.

…Until she heard footsteps behind her.

Slow. Unhurried. Purposeful.

Ruby’s stomach dropped.

She turned.

Kai leaned against the opposite locker, arms folded, watching her like she was a riddle he intended to solve.

“You’re late,” he said casually, as if they had scheduled this encounter.

“I— what?”

“For our argument,” he clarified. “You insulted me. I figured you’d want to finish the job.”

“I don’t want to argue,” Ruby said immediately. “I want to go home and pretend today didn’t happen.”

He hummed thoughtfully. “See, that’s the problem. You declared war.”

Ruby’s face heated. “It was an accident.”

Kai raised a brow. “You accidentally called me brainless?”

“I didn’t call you brainless!”

“You implied it.”

“That is not— that’s—!” She threw up her hands. “You’re impossible!”

Kai grinned. “There she is.”

“There who is?”

“The girl who yelled at me on her balcony. I was starting to think you’d gone boring.”

Ruby stared at him, stunned. “You’re unbelievable.”

“And you,” he said, stepping closer, “really shouldn’t throw insults unless you’re ready for the consequences.”

Ruby’s breath caught.

“W-what consequences?”

Kai tapped her notebook lightly with one finger. “I’ll tell you when I figure them out.”

That was somehow worse.

He pushed off the locker and walked down the hallway like he hadn’t just threatened her with… something.

She shouted after him, “Kai!”

He glanced back.

Ruby forced the words out. “Can we just… not do this? I didn’t move here to be part of— whatever this is.”

Kai shrugged. “Then maybe stop insulting me.”

“I’m trying!”

He smiled again, maddeningly unconcerned. “Try harder.”

And then he was gone.

Ruby wanted to scream.

---

At Home

She dropped her bag onto her bed and face-planted into the pillows.

This was her life now.

Mistake Girl.

Accidental Insult Girl.

Public Enemy Number One of Kai Kingston.

She groaned into the mattress.

After several minutes of dramatic self-pity, she dragged herself to the balcony to take some air.

Bad decision.

Kai was already on his balcony, stretching after practice, shirt clinging to him, hair damp.

He looked over lazily.

“Evening, neighbor.”

Ruby froze.

Kai smirked. “Don’t worry. I’m not here for revenge. Yet.”

“Can you not?” she snapped, flustered.

“Not what? Breathe?”

“Talk!”

Kai laughed. “You’re the one who came out here.”

“I didn’t know you were out here!”

“You live next door,” he said. “Statistically, there was a 50% chance.”

She glared. “You’re not funny.”

“You think I’m hilarious,” he corrected, “you’re just fighting it.”

Ruby opened her mouth to argue… then stopped.

Because he was watching her.

Really watching her.

Not mocking.

Not smirking.

Just… curious.

The moment stretched — too long, too warm.

Ruby’s chest tightened.

Kai broke eye contact first, looking away with a quiet exhale, as if he didn’t like how that moment felt.

“Goodnight, Ruby,” he said, suddenly softer.

She blinked. “…Goodnight.”

He walked back inside.

Ruby stood frozen on the balcony, wind tugging gently at her hair, heart beating way too fast.

This was bad.

Very, very bad.

Because for the first time…

Ruby wasn’t sure she hated Kai Kingston as much as she wanted to.