Semua Bab To the two boys I like: Burn me the safe way: Bab 21 - Bab 30

"...So if we look at the derivative of f of x equals three x squared plus two x," Mr. Hendricks was saying, turning to write on the board, "we apply the power rule to each term separately. Who can tell me what we get?"Elena was not looking at the board.She was looking at the empty chair in the third row where Noah usually sat with his hoodie pulled up and his long legs stretched out and his general air of someone who was physically present and mentally somewhere else entirely. The chair was pushed in. Neatly. Like nobody had touched it all morning.He hadn't shown up."Elena?" Mr. Hendricks was looking at her. Half the class turned.She blinked. Looked at the board. "Six x plus two," she said automatically, because she'd done this problem in her sleep two years ago back in London."Correct." He turned back to the board, satisfied.Elena turned back to the empty chair.She'd been doing this for the entire lesson. Glancing at it every few minutes, telling herself to stop, glancing aga

Noah hit the bag.Jab. Cross. Hook. The rhythm was automatic, muscle memory taking over where his brain had stopped being useful. The heavy bag swung on its chain in the small yard behind his house, the sound of impact echoing off the fence, the neighbor's dog barking in response every third hit or so.He'd been at it for maybe an hour. Shirtless because the evening was warm and also because he needed to feel something other than what was happening in his chest. Sweat plastered his hair to his forehead, ran down his spine, made his hands slippery inside the wraps.Jab. Jab. Cross. Uppercut.The bag was old, patched in three places with duct tape, filled with sand and fabric scraps and whatever else he could find when he'd made it two years ago. It hung from the beam his dad had installed when Noah was twelve, back when his dad was still around to install things, still teaching him proper form instead of learning it himself in warehouses that smelled like blood and money.Hook. Hook. C

Elena took longer than necessary at her locker the next morning.She was waiting. She knew she was waiting. Pretending to reorganize textbooks that didn't need reorganizing, checking her phone three times even though there were no new messages, making herself busy with nothing so she had a reason to still be standing there when first bell was five minutes away.She wanted to see him.Needed to, actually. After yesterday's radio silence, after spending the entire evening scrolling through his photos like some kind of obsessed person, after lying awake until past midnight replaying their kitchen in her head, she just needed to see his face.The hallway was thinning out. People heading to class. She was about to give up when she saw him.Noah walked in through the main entrance, backpack slung over one shoulder, hood up despite the school's constant reminders about dress code. Hands tucked into his pockets. Moving with that particular unhurried stride he had, like he owned the hallway an

Words spread fast.By Monday morning everyone seemed to know that Elena Hart and Liam Hale were officially together. She'd barely made it to her locker before three different people she'd never spoken to stopped to say congratulations like she'd won something.Liam was waiting at her locker when she got there. He'd started doing that, showing up before first bell with coffee and that easy smile. This morning he had her usual order and a chocolate croissant."Thought you might need fuel," he said, handing them over. "You mentioned you didn't eat breakfast."She had mentioned that. Once. Three days ago."Thanks." She took the coffee, took a sip. It was perfect, exactly how she liked it.He leaned down and kissed her cheek, casual and comfortable like they'd been doing this for months instead of days. When he pulled back he was still smiling. "You look tired. Late night?""Couldn't sleep.""Homework?""Something like that."She hadn't slept because she kept replaying Noah's face in the p

Elena decided to try harder.That's what she told herself Monday morning while getting ready for school. She was going to be present. Engaged. The girlfriend Liam deserved instead of this hollow version who kept disappearing into her own head.So when he suggested a study date at the library after school, she said yes immediately. When he asked if she wanted to walk on the beach Saturday morning, she agreed before he'd even finished asking. When he texted her throughout the day with random thoughts or funny observations, she made herself respond with more than one word answers.She was trying.The library study session should have been easy. They sat at their usual table in the back, textbooks spread between them, the afternoon light coming through the tall windows in that specific way that made everything look softer. Liam was working through calc problems, occasionally asking her opinion on something even though she was in a different math class. She had her history reading open in