The school had never seen a press conference before.
Not a real one, at least—not with microphones, not with prepared statements, and definitely not with someone like Lynn Kay standing at the front, her shoulders square, her voice steady.
The courtyard buzzed as students gathered around. Dianne stood beside Lynn, arms folded like a bodyguard. Gallagher manned the speaker controls. Fanshia kept the crowd in check with her signature smirk and sharp eyes.
Alex stood just behind them all, arms crossed. Calm. Watching.
Waiting.
"This is ridiculous," Chelsea hissed from the back. She was trying to look unbothered, but her hands trembled around her designer bag.
Jamy stood beside her, paling by the second. He'd worn one of his best button-downs today, hoping it would give him back the attention he'd lost.
It wouldn't.
Not after this.
Lynn stepped to the mic.
---
"Good morning," she began, her voice carrying across the courtyard. "Some of you already know me. Some of you only know what you've heard about me. Rumors. Gossip. Lies dressed up like truth."
Her gaze scanned the crowd—confident, unshaken.
"A few days ago, a forged email was released, suggesting that my family bribed the school board to favor me. It was a lie. A calculated one, meant to discredit me, humiliate me, and control the narrative of who I am."
Whispers spread. Phones were up, recording every word.
"But what those behind it forgot," she continued, "is that this school isn't a stage. And I'm not a puppet. I'm not just someone's daughter. I'm not a brand. I'm not a scandal to be managed."
She nodded toward Peter, who tapped a button on his laptop. A slide appeared on the courtyard projector: a screenshot of the fake email's source code.
"Evidence shows the email was forged on school Wi-Fi. Traced to a device belonging to Chelsea Thorne."
Gasps erupted.
Another click.
"And that file was forwarded to Jamy Kay, my stepbrother."
More gasps.
Lynn didn't flinch.
"I'm not doing this for revenge," she said. "I'm doing this because I'm done letting people build their names by dragging mine through the dirt. I have every right to love who I want, walk where I please, and speak when I must."
She glanced back at Alex—her anchor in the storm.
Then returned to the mic.
"My name is Lynn Kay. And I decide what I'm worth. No one else."
Silence.
Then the applause came. First in scattered claps. Then a wave.
Even teachers in the windows above clapped. Some nodded in respect. A few wore stunned expressions.
Alex stepped beside her.
"You were lightning," he murmured.
Lynn turned to him, heart pounding. "I've never felt this alive."
---
Chelsea didn't stay for the fallout. By the time the crowd dispersed, she was gone. Jamy, red-faced and humiliated, tried to defend himself in front of Suzie, who had stormed into the school office demanding a meeting with the principal.
But the damage was done.
Lynn had taken the hit—and risen higher.
---
In the locker room, Gallagher handed Alex a soda. "That was one hell of a move."
"Lynn planned it," Alex said.
"Yeah, but you backed her the whole way."
Peter joined them. "That's not just support. That's ride-or-die material."
"Careful," Sam added, sketching quietly in the corner. "If she sees you blushing, she'll never let you live it down."
Alex smirked. "Let her try."
---
That night, at the Kay estate, John Kay called Lynn into his study.
He didn't speak for a long moment, just stared at the fire crackling in the marble hearth.
Finally, he said, "I watched your speech."
Lynn waited.
"I'm proud of you," he said quietly.
She blinked.
"You reminded me of your mother today," he added. "Fearless."
Lynn's throat tightened. "You haven't said her name in years."
"I know," he said. "I regret that."
There was a pause.
Then: "I'm sorry for letting Suzie speak for me."
Lynn swallowed hard. "It's not too late to speak for yourself."
He looked up. "You want that boy in your life?"
"I do."
"Then make it count."
It was the closest he'd ever come to approval.
It was enough.
---
Lynn stepped out onto the balcony later, where Alex was waiting under the moonlight.
"You good?" he asked.
She nodded.
He took her hand. "So what now?"
Lynn leaned into him.
"We don't just survive this school," she said. "We own it."
And under the stars, with the city asleep beneath them, Lynn Kay and Alex—the girl with fire in her voice and the boy with iron in his soul—kissed like the world was theirs.
Because it was.