CHAPTER FIVE: "Stalker Vibes or Just Curious?"
" WAIT WHAT !!" .
Jane yelled out eyes wide open .
"You mean class - annoying Evan " Jane said hands on her head like it was about to explode .
" You mean boring Evan " Jane asked again while Raye nodded slowly like she was told she was going to die in a few minutes .
"Come on , and I said he was NICE "Jane shouted standing up from the bed abruptly.
She couldn't believe she complemented Evan _ EVAN!!
Raye jerked at her sudden scream _ we were both shocked but she reacted more .
She couldn't blame her , Evan had also roasted her during class period too .
I wonder if he would ever get married Raye thought sighing .
Not that she was being rude but his nerdy tooth would bore the woman to sleep _ except she is also a nerd like him .
And geez that guy pride was so high ...he don't believe that they was anyone ,better than him , especially in biology.
"Bestie , you are not a nerd " Jane said shaking Raye shoulder back and forth .
"ok _ OK " Raye yelled swatting Jane hand from her shoulder with a frown .
She was already getting dizzy with the whole information ,and now Jane was shaking her as if begging her to throw up .
"It's ok , at least no damage was made , I would just go end things with him tomorrow and then back to our formal life ".
" Yes ok that would be good ".
---
Raye had marched through the corridor with a purpose that could only be described as mildly unhinged.
Jane trailed closely behind her, sipping from a Starbucks cup like it was fuel for confrontation, and also cracking her knuckles.
Raye frowned turning to look at Jane .
"Please ,fist should be kept down , we are not trying to punch a hole on his face ". Raye said while Jane gave her a ' are you seriously saying this ' face tilting her head .
Raye quickly corrected .
"Ok fine only if he says something stupid".
Jane grinned widely before saying .
"He will though".
They had evidence. Or at least, Raye thought they did.
Last night's mystery message—smooth, cryptic, a little too emotionally literate to be casual—had left her spiraling.
And while she wasn't completely sure, something about the punctuation, the way the message ended with a perfectly used semicolon, screamed Evan Griggs.
Evan, the school's biology genius.
Evan, who wore his sarcasm like it was stitched into his uniform.
Evan, who roasted girls during science competitions not out of malice, but out of an annoying addiction to sounding smarter than necessary.
He was sitting exactly where Raye expected him to be: third table from the back, surrounded by textbooks stacked like towers, glasses slipping slightly down his nose.
He looked up at her with all the interest of someone being approached by two problem .
"Well, well," he said, calmly adjusting his notes. "Have the mitochondria finally revolted?"
Raye crossed her arms.
Stunned at first but shook her head .
She was suppose to be use to this by now _ but the word was a new one .
"Save it. We know you've been sending messages. You're not as anonymous as you think."
Evan blinked once, slowly, like her words needed to buffer before reaching his brain.
"Ah," he said at last. "Paranoia seasoned with unwarranted confidence. A classic combination."
Jane stepped forward, her eyebrow arching like she'd trained it in a mirror.
"Cut the crap, Evan. You always act innocent, but you're full of games."
"No," Evan said, standing up. "I'm full of advanced vocabulary, caffeine, and a general disdain for underdeveloped theories. If I were the type to craft emotionally-charged riddles, I'd at least make them rhyme."
Raye's stomach twisted, partly from anger, partly because—God help her—this weirdo had a point.
The message last night had been sincere, almost poetic. Bad in a very good kind of a way .
Evan words never sent glitter or made her blush like that mystery guy words.... instead _it made her question all the school she ever been too !!.
Evan didn't do ' poetic and cold ' He did ' nerd and condescending with footnotes.'
"So you're saying it wasn't you?" she asked, voice calmer now but still clipped.
"I'm saying," Evan said, tucking a pen behind his ear, "that if I wanted your attention, I'd debate you about cellular mitosis until you cried. I wouldn't text you like a Victorian lover with poor boundaries.", he paused for a minutes flipping the page of his book ever so slowly before he continued . "I don't even have your number too ".
That was it ...she never remembered giving this doodlehead her number _ not like she would ever give him even if he begged .
They were fine being just course mates .
Her friend choked back a laugh,but still let it spill after a few seconds as she said .
"We would die if you did that , crying is an understatement".
Raye cast a side eye glance at Jane who was laughing before she rolled her eyes .
She wasn't yet done .
"Why are you always like this?"
"Because, Raye," Evan replied, glancing back down at his textbook, "your accusations are like your biology answers: emotionally charged, but tragically unsupported by data."
And just like that, he was done.
Raye stood there, jaw clenched, thoughts darting back to the message again—how it had made her feel warm and weird and seen.
And now? Humiliated.
Mostly by herself.
"Don't worry," Evan called after them, not looking up. "Next time, bring citations."
Raye didn't answer. She stomped away with Jane who was still laughing .
Raye stopped at the corridor staring at Jane hands crossed as she asked .
"Why are you even laughing ,like someone who was shot by ten laughing gas ".
"Look girl .. ahem ," Jane said clearing her throat before heaving a long sigh " it was so funny how the words flew from his mouth , did he know he sound like frankinstein junior ".
It was funny so I ended up joining Jane , as we both laughed together in the hallway while student passed probably heading to their dorm or department .
"So he is definitely not the guy " Jane finally said cleaning a small tear from the corner of her eyes . "Sure , it was never him , how did you even get the idea it was him ??".
"I don't know some silly thought " I muttered staring into space before blinking as I turned to look at Jane " that means I am back to square one right ".
Jane nodded offering her small smile.
"Don't worry we would get there ". She said patting her shoulder.
They were halfway down the stairs, Evan's words still clinging to her like a bad smell, when Raye's phone buzzed.
She didn't look at it right away.
She was still replaying the conversation in her head, mostly thinking of better comebacks she should've said.
Maybe she'd call him Dictionary Boy forever now.
Another buzz.
Fine.
She sighed and pulled her phone from her pocket, expecting a meme, a rant update from her friend group chat, or maybe a passive-aggressive email from the biology teacher.
Ok the last one was a joke she thought with a small smile .
But instead:
Unknown Number
You looked good when you were mad. It suits you.
Don't waste that fire on the wrong guy, sweetheart.
Raye stopped walking.
A second of silence stretched, and her friend barely noticed—still muttering about how Evan needed to be humbled with a broken microscope.
Her thumb hovered over the screen.
It was him again.
The mystery texter.
The same one who'd messaged her last night out of nowhere, starting with compliments too specific to be random, too smooth to be innocent.
She'd replied once—Who is this?—and got nothing.
Until now.
Her stomach flipped like it didn't know which direction was north anymore.
He'd seen her.
Someone had watched her.
And liked it.
She stared at the message, heart hammering.
Then she typed back, fast but sharp:
Raye:
Stalking me now? Cute. How long were you hiding today?
It only took a few seconds.
Unknown Number:
Long enough to know that rage looks better on you than confusion.
But if you keep talking to the wrong boys, I might get jealous.
Her throat went dry.
She should've blocked him.
This was not the kind of attention she needed. But there was something about the way he wrote—not desperate, not clingy, not trying too hard. Just... dangerous.
Raye:
You think this cryptic act is sexy? You're a coward hiding behind a number.
Unknown Number:
Maybe.
But even cowards know what they want.
And I want to see you burn, Raye. In the best possible way.
Her thumb trembled slightly over the screen.
Who the hell was this guy?
And why did her brain betray her by whispering maybe he's not wrong?
She turned her screen off, jaw tight, lips pressed together.
No more messages came.
Just that silence—the kind that felt like it was watching.
And somewhere, probably not far, someone was smiling.