All Chapters of Nightmare turned love : Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

Class was supposed to be my escape—a break from the earlier... what do I even call it? A gang-up? Public roast? Whatever it was, sitting through this lesson was the only thing keeping my heart from launching into orbit. My hand moved aimlessly over my notebook, scribbling nothing in particular. Learning is hard, y’all. We were about thirty minutes in when noise outside snapped me out of my imaginary rabbit hole. “What the heck is going on now?” I whispered to Eli, who wore the same confused expression. “No damn idea,” he muttered back. “Eyes on the board, people!” the teacher barked, trying and failing to redirect our attention. But nope—we all kept staring at the classroom door like it was about to fly open and unleash a demon. Well... it did open. And honestly? A demon would've been preferable. It was Monique. Again. Me and Eli exchanged looks. She stormed into class like she owned the place and made a beeline for me. Before I could even blink, she grabbed my wrist and

I kept walking, scanning every corner of the school until I found him—Aiden. Sitting at the edge of the bleachers, bag slouched beside him like he already had one foot out the door.He looked up the moment I stepped in front of him.“Hey—”But I didn’t let him finish.“Let’s go,” I breathed.His brows furrowed. “Go where?” he asked, standing up.“Anywhere but here,” I said, almost breathless. “I just… I need to get out of here. Please.”He didn’t hesitate. He grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder, eyes steady on mine.“Say less.”He reached for my hand, and I let him. I let myself be pulled along like I’d been waiting for someone to come drag me out of this mess.We moved fast, barely speaking until we reached his bike.“You sure about this?” he asked, holding out a helmet.“No,” I replied, climbing on behind him. “But I need to breathe.”He didn’t ask again.The engine roared, and we were off—racing through streets like we had somewhere to be, even if we didn’t.For the fir

I thought we had detention.Honestly, I was even looking forward to it. Sitting in class doing nothing but arguing with Aiden? Sounds like my kind of punishment. Fun and character development all rolled into one.But the moment we got to the principal’s office after school, everything shifted.“You’ll be volunteering for the first week instead,” he said, flipping a folder open like this was a boardroom meeting. I caught Aiden shaking his head in pure disbelief. I wanted to do that too, but I had to keep up the “good kid” act. Sucks.“Where exactly are we doing this ‘service’?” Aiden asked in his signature bored tone—one I’m proud to say I could rival now.“I’m glad you asked, Mr. Cross.” The principal smiled like he was about to gift us a winning lottery ticket. “It’s a local youth centre a few miles from here. Just minor help, nothing strenuous. And the bright side—you start tomorrow.”The bright side? If this is bright, please show me the dark. I might actually prefer it.After a fe

After Aiden dropped me home, I realized something strange—my parents were actually home. Both of them. Like, in the house. At the same time. It had been a minute since that happened, and I was determined to make the most of it.So I flopped down on the couch beside Arnold, who was deep into some weird video game that involved way too many explosions and grunts.“So…” he said, not taking his eyes off the screen. “You got any idea who submitted the recording?”“Nope,” I replied, plain and simple, crossing my legs on the couch in mismatched socks and the messiest bun known to mankind. I screamed surviving, not thriving.“I think we should investigate,” Arnold said in his best detective voice. “I could do that much for you.”I opened my mouth to reply, but before I could get a single word out—DING DONG.The doorbell rang like it had beef with peace and quiet.I froze on the spot like a socially unprepared panda.“Why are you just sitting there like a statue?” Arnold yelled without lookin

Aiden Pov:I hadn’t made it more than five steps out of Nova’s house before I felt like I needed to breathe into a damn paper bag.Meeting parents—especially unplanned—was a whole other beast. Her mom was sweet, warm even, but had that quiet intensity that made it clear she’d remember every word I said and replay it in her mind like a detective at a crime scene. And her dad? The man looked at me like he was trying to figure out the fastest way to break me in half if I so much as blinked wrong. Not that I’d let him, but still… talk about pressure.Then there was Arnold—my so-called friend. He could’ve at least warned me. A text. A casual “Hey, just so you know my parents are home and will likely grill you like a rack of ribs” would’ve been nice. But nope. He hit me with a “come over and hang” like we were just going to play some video games, eat chips, and maybe sneak a glance at Nova every now and then—not walk straight into an interrogation chamber disguised as family dinner.But her