Novel & Cerita Everybody's Watching Her But She's Looking At You

I think it is the way a person knows when a person is staring at them, the way that is in the back of the neck, the way that is in the place that is not a place you can see, the way that is the kind of thing a person feels when they have been a person who has been on the news, and who has been on TikTok, and who is now on a date with the man in the video, in a restaurant, in Echo Park, in a way that the entire world has opinions about. A girl at the next table. Twenty-something. Hair up. Phone in her hand. She is looking at us. She is not looking at us in the normal way a person looks at another person in a restaurant, which is the kind of way that does not register, that is just eyes passin

Close enough that she stiffens slightly, just barely. The crowd is still watching. I can feel their eyes burning into us, waiting for the next move, the next humiliation, the next explosion. I tilt my head slightly, lowering my voice. “Walk out quietly,” I whisper near her ear, my tone calm but cutting. “People are watching you.” A pause. “You’re the only rich, popular one here… not me.” My lips curve faintly. “You’ll be embarrassed if you stay longer than five seconds.”

I glance at her from the corner of my eye, my gaze snagging on the curve of her cheek as the faint light dances over her features. I know she’s aware of me watching her; it’s impossible she wouldn’t notice. But she says nothing, choosing instead to focus on the movie. Her silence only amplifies my awareness of her—the soft sound of her breath, the occasional shift of her posture, the subtle, teasing brush of her hand against mine as we occasionally reach for the bowl at the same time.

Focused. “You,” she says quietly, pointing not at any of us, but at the screen. “That person,” she continues. “They’ve been watching since before I ran.” Every instinct in me tightens. “How do you know?” I ask. She doesn’t hesitate. “Because they don’t look at people,” she replies. “They look at outcomes.” She steps closer, gaze fixed on the identifier blinking on the display. Shepherd. “That’s one of the clean shoes,” she says.

“Dоn’t touch mе!” I hear a murmur оf chatter frоm the ѕіdеwаlk. Pеорlе аrе watching uѕ аrguе. She either dоеѕn’t see them оr ѕhе dоеѕn’t саrе, bесаuѕе her gаzе locks оntо mine fiercely.

“Dоn’t touch mе!” I hear a murmur оf chatter frоm the ѕіdеwаlk. Pеорlе аrе watching uѕ аrguе. She either dоеѕn’t see them оr ѕhе dоеѕn’t саrе, bесаuѕе her gаzе locks оntо mine fiercely.

I watched her move. She didn’t scan the room frantically. She didn’t look lost or overwhelmed by the thumping bass or the press of bodies. She moved with a terrifying kind of purpose, her chin lifted, her gaze cutting a straight line through the crowd. She wasn’t searching for me. She had already found me. Which meant she had been watching me before I even saw her. My heart gave a single, violent thud against my ribs—a warning shot. I forced myself to remain statue-still. If I reacted, if I showed surprise, I gave her the upper hand. And in the game we seemed to be playing, the upper hand was everything.

L A N A I am completely stunned, staring back at him in disbelief as a deep frown settles on my brows. My eyes search the room, analysing the reactions of the people around me. Everyone seems confused, their clamouring growing louder and louder until their gazes finally land on me, eyeing me with nothing but pure judgment. As my eyes search the crowd, that's when I finally take notice of someone... of her... Elizabeth...

She doesn’t just make me want her. She makes me want to deserve her. And that’s terrifying. “Because you’re different.” She immediately rolls her eyes. I laugh. “See? That’s exactly what I mean.” “What?” “You never believe it.” I step a little closer. Not enough to crowd her. Just enough that she can’t pretend this conversation doesn’t matter. “You think everybody sees what you see when you look in the mirror.” Her breath catches slightly. “But they don’t.” “Maya, you walk into a room and notice everybody else.”

“Why are you hiding? It's in my honor, and as my closest friend, your presence is important. Remember, you have nothing to be ashamed of.” “B-but, look at them.” She gestured at the crowd with her eyes, “They're staring at us as if—as if we don't fit in among them.” "Look at me," I commanded, and she did. "They're watching us because we look mind-blowing," I added, winking at her and making her smile. While I understood why everyone was looking at us so intently, I chose not to be concerned, and I didn't let Rey worry about it either. Indeed, this is precisely what I hoped to find, and I believe this is only the start.