ログインThe glowing screen of Elena's phone was the only light in her dark bedroom at two in the morning. Her thumb hovered over a fresh calendar app she’d downloaded under a completely blank folder icon. It felt clinical. Too organized for something so messy, but her brain was short-circuiting trying to keep the days straight.She tapped a square. Blue for Liam. Mondays and Wednesdays. It made sense because those were his heavy practice days anyway, and he was usually tired enough to just want to sit on the porch or study. Then she selected a dark, sharp purple. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Noah. Weekends? Weekends were left a blank, terrifying grey. A cautious wildcard she’d have to figure out on the fly, depending on who asked first or who looked like they needed her more. It felt dirty looking at it layout like a work roster, but the panic in her chest wouldn't let her sleep until it was done."It’s literally the only way I survive this week," Elena muttered the next morning, shoving her sh
The house didn't feel quiet again until nearly seven, when Claire finally let Noah escape the living room. Elena stood at her bedroom window, her forehead pressed against the cool glass, watching the sharp red tail-lights of his bike disappear down the dark street. Ten minutes later, Jojo and Dusty were slipping through the back door, sneaking up the carpeted stairs like they had before.They sat in a tight circle on her mattress, the bedroom door shut completely and locked for good measure. Elena sat cross-legged in the center, her dark hair falling loose around her shoulders, her hands twisting the frayed edge of her duvet into tight knots."I'm losing my mind," Elena said, her voice dropping into a tense whisper that barely carried across the room. "Like, actually losing it. I sit with Noah in his apartment, and it's everything. It's crazy and intense and I feel completely safe, like the rest of the world just stops existing. But then I see Liam in the hallway at school, and I l
The roar of the motorcycle engine died the second Noah cut the ignition in the driveway. Elena slid off the leather seat, her legs feeling a little heavy, her skin still humming from the heat of his apartment. She turned around to face him as he kicked the stand down. He looked up at her, his jaw relaxed, looking completely different from the intense guy who had been holding her against the mattress an hour ago.She leaned down, her fingers catching the collar of his faded jacket, pulling him into a slow, lingering kiss right there on the gravel. She didn't care if the neighbors were looking through their perfect white curtains.Then the heavy wooden front door of the house clicked open.They broke apart instantly. Elena’s heart did a violent jump into her throat as she scrambled backward, her sneakers crunching loudly on the stones. Claire was standing on the threshold, a silk scarf tied neatly around her neck, her eyes wide as she took in the scene. Elena braced herself for the
A low, thick growl scraped right out of Noah’s chest the second the apartment door clicked shut behind them. He didn't even let her drop her bag. He just caught her by the waist and pulled her straight toward the mattress in the corner of the room, their mouths crashing together before they even hit the sheets. It was wild, thick with an urgency that felt like they’d been separated for years instead of just a few hours in a crowded hallway. Their tongues slid together in a deep, bruising rhythm that made Elena’s head spin completely out of focus, her hands instantly flying up to cup his face, her fingers digging into his jawline just to hold him still against the absolute fire of it.She shifted, her skirt gathering around her hips as she swung her leg over him, sitting astride his lap. Her dark hair fell forward, a heavy curtain on both sides of their faces, blocking out the rest of the dim room until there was nothing but his breathing and the smell of his skin. Noah’s hands we
"Tell us everything. Literally every single detail, El, do not skip a single second."Jojo was practically vibrating against the row of chipped metal lockers, her fingers gripping the strap of her tote bag so hard her knuckles were white. The locker room was a chaotic mess of slamming doors, the sharp tang of body spray, and the distant echo of a coach’s whistle from the gymnasium down the hall.Elena shoved her heavy biology textbook into her locker, the thick plastic spine hitting the metal back with a loud clatter. A slow, helpless smile broke across her face before she could even try to hide it. She looked at Jojo, then over at Dusty, who was leaning against the adjacent bench with his arms crossed, his eyes wide and completely locked onto her."Okay, so," Elena started, dropping her voice to a low murmur as a couple of freshman girls walked past them toward the showers. She leaned into the narrow space of her locker, pretending to look for something in her bag. "Yesterday at lu
The call with Liam had been surprisingly easy. Too easy. She’d sat on the edge of her mattress last night, her throat tight, spinning a chaotic story about forgetting an essential textbook at the library and panicking because of her grades.Liam just swallowed it. He always did. “It’s fine, El, I get it. Just text me next time so I don’t think you crashed your mom’s car,” he’d said, his voice so painfully forgiving it made her stomach turn. He was trying so hard to be the perfect boyfriend, completely oblivious to the fact that the girl he was protecting didn't really exist anymore.By the next morning, the guilt was still a dull thud in her temples, but it faded the second she walked into third-period AP Biology.The room was hot, smelling of formaldehyde and floor wax. Mr. Harrison was already drawing a massive, clumsy diagram of a cellular membrane on the whiteboard, the green marker squeaking with every stroke. Elena sat near the back, her fingers mindlessly tapping against her







