LOGIN"You are not allowed to talk to Noah anymore."His voice was low, dangerous, and he was already moving toward me, backing me up step by step until my legs hit the edge of his bed."What?" I tried to sidestep him, but he mirrored my movement, blocking my escape. "Since when? He's been nothing but nice to me, Jace. He's the first person in this entire school who's actually—"My knees buckled and I fell backward onto his bed, the mattress soft beneath me.Jace followed me down.He braced his hands on either side of my head, caging me in, his body hovering over mine but not quite touching. Close enough that I could feel the heat of him, smell his cologne—something woodsy and expensive that made my head spin."I've known Noah my entire life," he said, his voice a rough whisper. His face was inches from mine, his dark eyes searching my face with an intensity that made my heart stutter. "You've known him for two days. He doesn't do anything for free, Lena. Sooner or later, he's going to ask
Chapter Fifty-NineI burst through the front door of the Dawson house at exactly 5:03 PM, breathless and disheveled, my bag sliding off my shoulder and the Sprite stain on my shirt still damp and cold against my skin."I'm so sorry I'm late!" I called out, rushing toward the study. "I got caught up with friends and I had to—"I froze in the doorway.Martin was there, sitting at the usual table with his textbooks spread out in front of him, looking up at me with his bright, eager smile.But he wasn't alone.Jace sat next to him, leaning back in his chair with one arm draped casually over the back of Martin's seat. He had a pencil twirling between his fingers, and there was a notebook open in front of him—like he'd actually been helping with homework.The sight stopped me cold."What friends?" Jace's voice was dark, dangerous. His eyes locked onto mine with an intensity that made my breath catch. "You mean the ones I saw sitting next to you at lunch?"The temperature in the room dropped
"Yeah, just…" Noah tapped the screen and a voicemail started playing on speaker."Hey, Noah boo." Allison's voice poured out, saccharine sweet. "I hope you haven't forgotten about our Biology project...""Since when does she care about school?" Nicole whispered.Noah boo? I thought. Interesting nickname."I think we should meet up at my family's estate uptown," Allison continued. "It's really gorgeous, you'd love it. My dad just had the pool house renovated so it’s private." She paused, then her voice dropped to a sultry, seductive tone. "Then maybe I can teach you a thing or two about my biology, if you know what I mean."Jake scrunched up his face as he'd bitten into a lemon. "Oh, dude. That's… no.""Yuck!" Nicole gagged. "I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.”My face burned. I studied my hands intently, pretending I hadn't understood the double meaning even though I absolutely had.Meanwhile, Noah just sighed and tucked his phone back into his pocket. "Subtle as a brick t
Chapter SixtyLena’s POV – Present [Recap: Last chapter ended with Noah asking Lena "Do you trust me?" after she revealed she can't meet Allison’s impossible standards for the tryouts.]I stared at Noah, he’d known me barely twenty-four hours but had already stood up for me more than anyone ever had.He didn't care about being seen with me in public; he wasn't worried about his reputation. He was worried... about me.His eyes were steady and patient as he waited for my answer."Yes," I said quietly. "Yes, I trust you." How could I not? It made no sense to feel so much trust for someone I had barely met, and I knew it didn’t make much sense, but I did trust him. There was no doubt about it.His smile was bright and comforting enough to chase away some of the anxiety coiling in my chest. He held out his hand."Then leave everything to me.”I took his hand and shook it gently, his grip warm and sure.The final bell rang, echoing through the empty hallway. Students poured out of classro
The smell of mediocre pizza and B.O hit me the moment I walked through the cafeteria doors. It was packed full of students who were gathered around different tables in their usual friend groups.The popular table was in the centre, my table, where Allison was already holding court with her crew. She saw me enter and wiggled her fingers at me, patting the empty seat beside her with a soft smile. Apparently, she’d chosen to forget all about the last fight we had, and went right back to trying to get in my pants.I ignored her.My eyes scanned the room, searching for…There.Back corner, at the table nobody ever sat at because the AC was broken and it constantly smelled like cleaning chemicals. Also, nobody ever went there except for her and a few other pathetic, friendless nerds.And there was Lena, sitting with Noah and a bunch of juniors I vaguely recognised but didn’t really know.She didn’t seem pathetic or friendless at all.She was laughing, actually laughing in her soft breathy
Chapter Fifty-EightJace’s POV Flashback“Lena, wait—”The bell rang, and Lena was already jumping the hell out of her seat before the sound even finished echoing through the classroom.I watched her practically sprint for the door, running away from me after ignoring my note.I specifically told her that we needed to talk.Three fucking words, that’s all I’d written, nd she couldn’t even give me that.What the hell was wrong with her?I started to get up, ready to follow her and talk some sense into her, when Marcus’s hand suddenly clamped down on my shoulder to stop me.“Dude, what the fuck?”I shrugged him off. “Get off me.”“No, seriously.” Marcus stepped in front of me, blocking my path to the door. “Why are you talking to that girl?”“I’m not talking to anyone. Move.”“Bullshit. I saw you the entire class.” Marcus’s eyes were sharp, searching my face for something. “Passing notes, pulling her hair like we’re in third grade, kicking her chair. What’s going on with you, man?”“N
Alison stepped forward."Aww, look at you. Big runner, huh? Like Usain Bolt?" she asked, and the vicious grin was back now, lit up from underneath with real enjoyment. "Alright, let's give you a good workout then."She gestured toward the far end of the gym, toward the east corridor doors.Toward t
Lena’s POVI stood in the middle of it with the cold still on my coat and the strobe lights washing everything in slow blue arcs, including everyone towering above me, and I made a decision."I'm not playing," I said.Alison blinked. Then she laughed mockingly, pointing her finger at me."I'm sorry
As the cab stopped me in front of the school, I sensed something was very, very wrong somewhere. Because for one, there was loud club music coming out of the front gates.“What the fudge is going on here?” I whispered to myself. “No, this has to be a mistake right? Maybe I misheard?”But I knew I ha
Lena's POVMartin had his head down over his comprehension worksheet when my phone rang. After a while he had gotten over his crying and shaking, then we took a break from math and worked together on his English.“That’s odd, it's an unknown number,” I muttered, sliding the receiver icon over to red







