Mag-log inHomeroom was in Mr. Peterson's classroom, it was a bright, airy space with motivational posters covering the walls and rows of desks that had seen better days.I slipped into my usual seat near the middle, trying to make myself as small and invisible as possible.Noah had been swarmed the moment we entered the building.Students asking questions, introducing themselves and offering to show him around.He'd handled it all with that easy charm, but he'd caught my eye once and mouthed "sorry" before being pulled away by a group of curious juniors.Now he stood near the door, scanning the room. When he spotted me, he waved, his face lit up and he started making his way over."Is this seat taken?" he asked, gesturing to the empty desk beside mine.Before I could answer, a high-pitched whiny voice cut through the chatter, gossiping behind us."Oh my God, Allie, you need to stop defending him."I turned to see Allison sitting three rows back, surrounded by her usual entourage. Tracy was ru
The BMW purred beautifully as Noah navigated the streets toward Westbrook. I barely knew anything about cars, but I knew this was a good one.In fact, good didn't even begin to describe it.The leather seats were buttery soft, the interior immaculate. Everything about it screamed wealth, from the polished wood trim to the subtle scent of expensive cologne that lingered in the air.It was so much better than walking the long distance or taking the bus every day.I sat in the passenger seat, my bag clutched on my lap, still processing what had happened in the kitchen."You okay, Lenny?" Noah asked, glancing over at me. His voice was gentle now, all traces of the earlier angry confrontation gone."Yeah. I'm fine.""Lena." He said my name in that way and I knew right away that he could see straight through the lie. "What happened back there...""We weren't fighting," I said quickly. "Jace and I. It wasn't like that. We were just having a disagreement over nothing, really. He wasn't a dan
"What part of 'leave her alone' do you not understand?"Noah's voice cut sharply through the tension. He'd reached the bottom of the stairs now, and his expression seemed calm but his eyes were hard as steel as they locked straight onto Jace.Jace's entire body went rigid. "This is none of your fucking business, Noah.""Isn't it?" Noah moved closer, physically putting himself between Jace and me. "Because from where I'm standing, it looks like you're making her cry. So yeah, I'm making it my business.""You don't know what the fuck you're talking about...""I know enough." Noah's voice stayed level and controlled. "I know she asked you to stop and you kept pushing, anyone with eyes can see that she's clearly upset. And I know you need to back off."Jace's hands clenched into fists. "Don't do this, Noah. Don't fucking do this right now or I swear to fuck--""Do what? Protect someone who needs protecting?" Noah's calm was somehow more threatening than if he'd raised his voice. "Or are y
“I couldn’t sleep,” I said defensively. “Also, why are you interrogating me? You don’t get to…”“Don’t I?” His voice was barely above a whisper now, but it carried an edge that made my breath catch. “You’re in my house, sleeping in the same bed as my cousin, whom I can’t fucking stand, and you expect me to just…”“We weren’t in the same bed,” I lied, hoping maybe that would persuade him to drop this. “There were separate sleeping arrangements, and everything was completely appropriate. Besides, this is my place of work, it would be incredibly unprofessional of me to do anything like that here, so you have no right to…”“Stop.” One of his hands came up to cup my face, his thumb brushing across my cheekbone. “Just… stop. I don’t want to argue with you.”The gentleness of the gesture was such a contrast, so different from the burning fury in his eyes that I didn’t know what to do or how exactly to react. This wasn’t platonic. Nothing about the way he was holding me, kissing me, looking
Lena’s POVI woke up warm.Too warm.My eyes fluttered open slowly, adjusting to the pale pre-dawn light filtering through the curtains. For a moment, I couldn’t figure out why I felt so… secure. So wrapped up and comfortable.Then I realised.Noah’s arm was around my waist, holding me tight against his chest. His breath was soft and steady against my hair, warm puffs that made the fine hairs on the back of my neck stand up.Somehow during the night, we must’ve found each other, or maybe I’d found him, and now we were tangled together like we’d done this a thousand times before.My heart slammed against my ribs.This was…this was so inappropriate. We’d just met. He was Jace’s cousin. We were supposed to be on opposite sides of the bed, respecting boundaries and keeping things professional.Instead, I was curled into him like he was my personal heater, his legs tangled up with my own, his hand splayed across my stomach, fingers just barely brushing the sliver of skin where my t-shirt
He had a point. A logical, reasonable point that made my panic feel silly and overdramatic and also a little childish."Okay," I heard myself say. "Okay, fine."Which is how I ended up lying in bed, stiff as a board, hyperaware of every inch of space between us.Noah had kept his promise, staying on his side, but the mattress dipped slightly under his weight, creating a subtle gravity that made me feel like I might roll toward him if I relaxed even a fraction."You're not going to sleep like that," Noah said quietly, glancing at me with an amused look on his face."Like what?""Like you're afraid the bed might explode or something." There was laughter in his voice. "You can relax. I don't bite."Easy for him to say. He looked completely comfortable, propped up against the headboard with one arm behind his head, scrolling through his phone with the other.I forced myself to breathe, to let my shoulders drop from where I’d squeezed them up to my ears."That’s better," he said.Abd that'







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