Tom's POV
As Cassie stood at the front of the class introducing herself, I tried to keep my focus there, but I could feel Imogen shifting beside me. Then she leaned in slightly, close enough that I caught the faint scent of her perfume again.
"That's her, right? Cassandra?" she whispered.
I nodded once. "Yeah."
She watched Cassie for a second longer before murmuring, "She's really pretty."
"I guess," I replied, a little too quickly, my eyes still on the front but not really seeing anything. She turned her head toward me slightly. "What, you don't think she's cute?" she asked, a hint of curiosity in her voice.
I don't know what the hell possessed me.
"I don't know," I said quietly, leaning just a fraction closer. "For some reason, I only have eyes for one beautiful girl… and I'm sitting right next to her."
The words left my mouth before my brain could slam on the brakes.
Fuck.
Instant regret hit me like a truck. What the hell was I thinking? Real smooth, Tom. She sees you as a friend, and you just went and made it weird as shit.
I kept my eyes forward, bracing for the awkward silence, for her to pull away, for that moment where everything changes and you realize you fucked it up.
But instead—
She blushed.
A soft pink spread across her cheeks, and she let out a quiet giggle, like she didn't quite know what to do with what I'd just said.
And somehow, that made it worse.
Or better.
I couldn't fucking tell.
A small smile tugged at my lips despite myself, something warm settling in my chest, light and unfamiliar. I exhaled slowly, trying to act like I hadn't just dropped that out of nowhere.
I shifted my attention back to the front of the class just as Cassie finished her introduction.
But for a split second—just a second—I could've sworn I saw her looking our way.
Not just looking.
Glaring.
It was quick. Too quick.
By the time I really focused, her expression was neutral again, like nothing had happened.
Yeah.
I probably imagined that shit.
Lunch break came around way sooner than I expected, and somehow I ended up at a table with Imogen, Luke, and Cassie.
And fuck, it was awkward as hell.
Like, suffocatingly awkward.
No one really knew what to say, and the silence kept stretching just a little too long between every sentence. Luke was sitting across from us, and I caught him staring at Cassie more than once—really staring—the same way he used to look at Imogen. Like he was trying to figure her out, or maybe just… drawn in.
Imogen, on the other hand, was trying to hold the whole thing together.
"So, Cassandra," she started, her tone light, forcing some kind of normalcy into the situation. She glanced at me briefly before looking back at Cassie. "Tom told me you guys were friends."
Cassie smiled at that, turning slightly toward me before answering. "Yeah," she said, her voice soft but confident. "Me and Tommy were pretty much inseparable."
She nudged my arm with her shoulder as she said it, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
I stiffened slightly.
Luke let out a small laugh, clearly entertained by the whole "Tommy" thing, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Imogen trying to hold back a giggle.
Yeah. Great.
Perfect.
I leaned back in my chair slightly, running a hand through my hair, trying to play it off like it didn't bother me—but it did. Not enough to react, but enough to sit there, under my skin.
And then—
I saw him. At the corner of the cafeteria.
Tyler.
Fuck.
My entire body tensed instantly. My jaw clenched before I could stop it. When the hell did he come back? And why the fuck was he here now?
Like this day wasn't already complicated enough.
My eyes flicked back to the table, and that's when I noticed something else.
I wasn't the only one who had seen him.
Imogen had gone quiet.
Cassie too.
But it wasn't the same kind of silence.
Cassie looked tense in a familiar way—like she remembered him. Of course she did. Back in middle school, Tyler had been a complete asshole. Always picking on us, always running his mouth like he owned the place.
But Imogen…
That was different.
There was something else in her expression. Not just recognition—something deeper. Something tighter. Like whatever connection she had with Tyler wasn't just history.
And suddenly, everything felt off again.
Like whatever the hell this was—this moment, this table, this fragile balance—was about to crack.