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ARK POV
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I woke to the throb.
It pulsed through my stomach like something alive, a slow, punishing reminder that Melissa's fists weren't some nightmare I could shake off. I lay there for a while, curled slightly on my side, trying to breathe past the ache. Every shallow inhale tugged against a knot in my abdomen.
The ceiling above me was still dark with early morning, and the silence was thick, a kind of hush that dared me to cry.
But I didn't.
I peeled the blanket away slowly, stiff from the bruises forming along my ribs. Each movement was cautious, like lifting a body not entirely mine. I didn't need a mirror to know my face was a mess. I could feel the heat swelling near my cheekbone, the dull ache when I blinked too hard.
I sat up. Then paused.
I wouldn't let this stop me.
Melissa wanted to humiliate me- scare me enough to disappear, to crumble under her fists. But if I didn't show up to school, she'd win. And more importantly, I knew Jade would notice. I didn't want that.
I didn't want anything from Jade today.
By the time I got to school, my limbs had gone heavy with effort. I felt like a cracked shell of myself, walking down the corridors with my scarf pulled tighter than ever. Nobody could see the damage beneath it, not unless they looked too closely. I kept my hood up too, not caring if it broke uniform rules. Let the teachers try me today.
I slipped into first period five minutes early, grateful the classroom was empty. I headed straight to the seat in the back- my usual spot, two desks from the window. It gave me just enough coverage to pretend I didn't exist. I laid out my books with a quiet sort of precision, like maybe if I acted normal, the inside of my body would forget it had been brutalized.
Then he walked in.
Jade.
Tall, casual, deliberate.
He didn't hesitate- his eyes scanned the room once, then narrowed when he saw me. I kept my gaze down. I didn't want to meet whatever expression sat on his face.
He took his usual seat, the one next to me. I thought that would be it. That he'd finally take the hint that I was done with whatever this game was. But Jade was never that easy.
We were halfway through the lesson when our teacher handed out worksheets. I didn't look up when she called him to help distribute them. My hand was shaking slightly when I reached for my pen.
"Here."
I hadn't noticed how close he'd gotten until his hand brushed mine.
The paper slid toward me with the faintest graze- his fingers brushing my knuckles, deliberate, featherlight. I jerked my hand away like it burned, clenching it under the desk. I could feel the pressure of his stare without having to lift my eyes.
When he came to sit, he leaned towards me.
He dipped his head toward me under the guise of stacking more papers, his voice low- nearly a whisper, meant only for me.
"You're avoiding me."
I didn't respond. I stared straight at the numbers on the worksheet like I hadn't heard him, like my heart wasn't jackhammering in my chest. My face burned under the scarf.
"You okay?" He asked me.
I turned slightly- just enough to glimpse him from the corner of my eye.
And that's when I saw them.
Tasha and Charlotte.
Front row, both pretending not to stare but doing a poor job of it. Charlotte nudged Tasha with her elbow, and Tasha whispered something with a smirk. The same kind Melissa wore yesterday.
I straightened in my seat, shifting slightly away from Jade, putting cold air between us. If he noticed, he didn't show it.
The rest of the class dragged. Every time I tried to focus, I could feel Jade's gaze flick to me. Like he was trying to figure something out. Like I was a puzzle missing just one piece- his piece.
By lunch, my stomach had twisted itself into something unmanageable. Pain bloomed behind my ribs with every step. I didn't want to eat, not like I would. I didn't even want to be seen. But hiding would only make them more confident. That was the part I hated the most.
I went to the furthest edge of the quad and sat by the wall, hoping the shade might make me invisible. For a few minutes, it almost worked.
Then I saw them.
Jade, walking with Charlotte and Tasha this time. Melissa was nowhere in sight, but her absence didn't comfort me. Charlotte kept glancing toward me like she had something to say. Tasha followed her lead with the same fake sweetness that made my skin crawl.
Jade didn't say anything. But he did look.
Right at me.
A long, calculating stare. He didn't wave, didn't smile- just looked, head slightly tilted like I was a painting he couldn't figure out whether to admire or destroy.
I stared at the table.
Minutes passed. Maybe twenty. Maybe five. I couldn't tell.
Then a shadow loomed over me.
Not his.
Tasha.
"Hey, Scarf girl." Her tone was all sugar and venom.
I didn't look up. "W-What d-do you w-want?"
She hissed. "Rude. I just thought I'd check in. You know, since you had a bit of a… rough day yesterday."
I stiffened.
Charlotte appeared behind her like a ghost, arms folded. "Yeah, we're just worried about you."
"Really worried," Tasha added. "You see, Jade doesn't really like girls your legel. And you-looking at you. You don't even reach that level. So you better stay away from him."
My eyes shot up. "I don't want anything from him."
Tasha smiled like I'd told a joke. "That's cute. That's what everyone of you say."
Then she leaned down, voice suddenly low and flat. "Don't think you're special just because he looks at you. He looks at everyone. You? You're just nothing. He'll get to see how boring you are. And when that happens- if you're still hanging around- we'll make sure your next fall hurts more."
They turned, walking away like they'd just shared a pleasant conversation. Jade was sitting with two guys across the quad. Tasha caught his eye and winked.
He didn't wink back.
But he watched.
He always watched.
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The last few minutes of class ticked by with unbearable slowness, each second dragging behind the next like a bad dream I couldn't wake up from. My pencil trembled in my grip as I filled in answers I wouldn't remember later. The air was too still, and even though I sat near the window, I could feel the heat of Jade's presence next to me like the sun itself had shifted indoors and decided to settle besides me.
Students sprang from their seats, chairs scraping, voices rising in the usual chaotic rush. And that's when I started to noticed that the school bell is broken, students surely knew the time to go home. I stayed seated, waiting for the noise to thin, the hallway to quiet.
I didn't want to bump into Melissa. Or Tasha. Or Charlotte. Or anyone who looked at me like I was a mistake that needed correcting.
Slowly, I stood, grabbing my bag with a wince. The ache in my side had deepened, blooming like a bruise that stretched with every breath. I adjusted my scarf and reached for my books-
A hand caught my wrist.
I froze. I wasn't alone.
I was with him.
Jade.
The whole time.
My breath snagged in my throat, my heart stuttering to a halt before bolting into a sprint. His grip wasn't tight- just firm enough to hold me there, like he couldn't let me leave yet. I turned my head slightly, meeting the intensity in his eyes.
"You've been ignoring me," he said.
His voice was low and soft, almost hesitant. It made something inside me quiver.
"I-I'm n-not," I replied, barely above a whisper. "I-I j-just don't w-want t-trouble."
"Trouble?" His brows furrowed like the word didn't belong in the same sentence as us.
"Y-you know w-what I-I mean," I said, tugging my arm gently.
But his grip didn't loosen. Instead, he stepped in closer- too close. The desks pressed against the backs of my knees. One wrong move, and I'd topple.
"I just wanted to talk- "
I moved to pull away again, too fast this time. My foot caught the leg of the chair behind me, and suddenly the floor slipped beneath me. I stumbled forward with a short gasp-
-and fell straight into his chest.
His arms wrapped around me instantly, catching me before I hit the ground, but his weight shifted too, and he lost balance. In a clumsy tangle of limbs and surprise, we crashed backward onto the floor between the rows of desks.
I landed on him.
Hard.
For a second, the world stilled.
No sound.
No thought.
Just heat.
Just heartbeat.
His hands were on my waist, steadying me. My hands braced against his chest. I could feel the rise and fall of his breathing beneath my palms, slow and steady. His eyes searched mine with something unreadable- something dangerous.
And that's when I noticed.
My lips pressed against his lips through the scarf.
It wasn't supposed to. I wasn't ready. I hadn't even thought it possible-
But it happened.
A kiss.
Through cloth. Through panic. Through something electric and unspoken.
My first kiss.
And it wasn't sweet or slow or the kind of thing you'd dream of as a little girl. It was breathless and tangled and wrong in the way that felt too right.
I jerked back the second I processed it. Heat flared across my skin, burning up my neck, even under the scarf. I scrambled off of him as if I'd been burned, grabbing my bag and running- no, flying- down the hallway like I could outrun what had just happened.
The hallway blurred past me. My feet slapped against the floor without rhythm, and my heart pounded so loud I could barely hear my own thoughts. I didn't stop until I burst through the double doors at the front of the school building, gasping in air like I'd been underwater too long.
I could feel him.
Not see him- no footsteps behind me, no echo of his voice- but I felt him. Like his hands were still on me. Like his lips were still...
No. No.
I shook my head hard and broke into a jog toward the usual corner where my mom picked me up every afternoon.
He wasn't following me. He hadn't even said anything after the kiss.
Was it even a kiss?
Did it count?
God.
My hands trembled as I reached the pavement and sat down on the low wall by the parking lot, ducking my head, scarf still firmly in place.
Was he coming?
I glanced back toward the school building. Empty. Just a bird pecking at crumbs by the curb. My chest rose and fell in erratic bursts. I didn't even realize how red my face was until-
"You okay, baby?"
I jolted upright.
My mom's car had pulled up without me noticing. She leaned her head out the window, frowning at me with concern.
"You're bright red," she said.
"I-" I looked down at my hands, searching for an excuse. "It's just hot. I ran, I thought you'd I were waiting for me."
Her eyes lingered, scanning my scarf, my posture, the tension in my limbs. She didn't press, though. Just unlocked the door.
I slid in and closed it gently, grateful for the silence.
At home, I barely mumbled a word. My mom offered me food, but I shook my head. I wasn't hungry, I wasn't in the mood. The house felt colder than usual. My scarf stayed on until I shut the door to my room, collapsed onto the bed, and yanked it off with shaking fingers.
I stared at the ceiling.
Then rolled over and screamed into my pillow.
My first kiss.
My first kiss.
And it had happened through a scarf.
On top of Jade.
In an empty classroom.
After he grabbed me.
What was that?
What even was he?
Why did he have that look in his eyes? Like I was something he didn't want to want- but couldn't stop himself from touching anyway.
I pressed my fingers to my lips, even though there had been no real skin-to-skin contact. Still, I could feel it. The pressure. The heat. The tremble in my chest that hadn't gone away.
I lay there for a long time.
Then the panic came.
What if someone saw?
What if Tasha or Charlotte had walked by at the wrong time and saw us? What if Melissa found out? What if they were waiting for me tomorrow?
I sat up, clutching my knees to my chest.
I couldn't breathe.
I was scared.
But also-
Butterflies.
God, the butterflies.
I wanted to cry and scream and laugh all at once. The ache in my stomach from Melissa's punch was nothing compared to the swirl of emotions wrecking my insides now.
Because for one terrifying, suspended moment, I hadn't been the girl with the scarf.
I had been Ark.
A girl someone wanted, Maybe.
Someone kissed.
Someone held.
Even if just for a second.
And that scared me more than anything else.
Later that night, long after the house had gone still and the shadows on my ceiling stopped shifting, I found myself wide awake. My stomach twisted- not from fear this time, not from bruises- but from a different kind of ache.
Hunger.
I hadn't eaten all day. The events kept replaying themselves, overlapping in flashes. The pain, the kiss, the way Jade had looked at me. And then- Tasha, Charlotte, Melissa. A triangle of threat orbiting every glance he threw my way. It was too much. All of it.
But the rumble in my stomach was louder than my thoughts.
I pushed the blanket off and tiptoed down the hallway barefoot, careful not to wake anyone. The hallway floor was cold beneath my feet, and for once, it grounded me. No butterflies. No fantasies. Just the stillness of night.
I opened the fridge and scanned the shelves. Leftover chicken. A juice box. Half a slice of cake on a plate with cling wrap.
I took the cake.
As I shut the fridge door quietly, plate in hand, I heard it- soft laughter, floating through the dark from the living room.
I froze.
It was my mom.
She was on the phone.
"...No. I don't believe it too."
Her voice sounded… light. Excited. Not the usual tired hum I'd grown used to. I stood there, hidden behind the half-wall near the kitchen entrance, her words floating to me in pieces.
"I know it's still early. And Ark- well, I think she'll like it. But I'm not rushing anything."
Another soft giggle.
"I'm just happy. Really, really."
I held the plate against my chest.
I didn't move. I didn't try to listen harder. I didn't need to know what she meant or what was the reason was. She would tell me when she wanted.
It didn't matter.
All I could think was that my mom- my exhausted, overworked, always-worried mom- was happy.
And that was enough.
I smiled faintly to myself and turned back down the hallway, the cake in my hand suddenly feeling sweeter than ever.
When I got to my room, I sat in bed, lights still off, the slice untouched for a few moments. I glanced at my scarf draped over the chair, at the faint reflection of my face in the dark window.
So much had happened in one day.
Pain. Embarrassment. A kiss. Fear.
But also warmth.
Hope.
And somewhere in all of it, maybe… the beginning of something.
I pulled the blanket up and let the quiet wrap around me.
Tomorrow would come with its own chaos, its own sting- but for now, I let the last sound in my head be my mother's laughter.