The following day, Williams got ready for work while Dashley whipped up a quick breakfast. Once they were done eating, he waited for her to finish getting dressed before dropping her off at school—but not before confirming that the pendant necklace was still securely around her neck. Only then did he head off to work.
Dashley met up with Celine on the way to their first class. The two chatted casually, their easy banter a welcome distraction from the strange tension of the day before.
Their morning classes passed quickly, and when the bell rang for lunch, they made their way to the cafeteria. After grabbing their food, they found a table near the windows and settled in to eat. But a hush suddenly fell over the room as the 'populars'—Jace, Axel, and Kellan—strode into the cafeteria. This time, Molly and Lisa were nowhere in sight.
Dashley and Celine, recognizing the cause of the silence, returned to their meal—unaware that the trio had spotted them and was heading in their direction. They only realized it when trays clattered down onto their table.
"Well, hello, ladies," Jace greeted, flashing his signature grin as he took the seat directly across from Celine. Axel sat next, and Kellan followed, his piercing gaze never leaving Dashley.
Axel stared at her openly, but Dashley refused to meet his eyes—still annoyed about his rudeness at the library. Instead, she looked to Kellan, who was also watching her, though his expression was more unreadable.
"So… Celine, right?" Jace asked, casually brushing off the growing tension.
"Yes," Celine answered shyly, clearly stunned that he even knew her name.
"And you," he said, turning to Dashley. "You must be new. I haven't seen you around."
"I am," Dashley replied curtly, then focused back on her food, choosing not to entertain small talk.
Celine jumped in. "So… what brings you guys here?"
"To eat," Jace answered with a smirk.
"There are other empty tables," she pointed out.
"I like the view from this one."
Speechless, Celine blinked. Dashley stifled a scoff.
"Dashley," Axel said, testing her name slowly like it was a riddle on his tongue. "It's a pleasure to see you again."
Celine turned to Dashley, whispering, "Again?" Dashley subtly shushed her, promising to explain later.
"I wish I could say the same," Dashley replied dryly.
"Still angry about yesterday?" he teased.
She didn't respond.
"I'm Axel. Axel Peyton."
"I'm pretty sure they already know who you are," Jace quipped.
"I wanted to introduce myself personally," Axel said, ignoring him and turning back to Dashley. "Funny, though—you smell different today. More… normal."
That piqued the interest of both Jace and Kellan. Dashley narrowed her eyes.
"What are you, a dog?" she snapped.
"Hey, Axel, you're getting the girl worked up," Jace warned.
Kellan, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke.
"Where are you from?"
"Pardon?"
"I mean, you said you're new here. Where did you move from?"
"Balish. I moved here recently with my dad."
"Hmm… I see." Kellan nodded, but his tone suggested there was more behind his question.
The group ate in relative silence after that, save for a few of Jace's light jokes that made Celine giggle. Dashley noticed both Axel and Kellan kept glancing at her, though each for entirely different reasons.
After lunch, Dashley discovered that she had her next class with both Axel and Kellan. Kellan sat in the back, choosing a seat far from everyone else. Axel, however, deliberately dropped into the seat beside Dashley, making her bristle.
"Hey, Mister…"
"I believe I introduced myself earlier," he interrupted.
"Plenty of empty seats, yet you chose this one. Why are you bothering me?"
"Funny, weren't you the one trying to be my friend yesterday?" he smirked.
"That was before you acted like a complete jerk."
Axel shrugged. "Fair. I wasn't exactly in the best mood. Sorry about that."
He paused, then added, "Can we start over? Be friends?"
Dashley gave him a narrow glance, then sighed and nodded.
"You didn't tell me your full name."
"I did."
"No—you gave me your first name. I gave you mine. Fair's fair."
"Dashley George?" she answered, her tone uncertain.
"Hm." Axel seemed to file it away, then drifted back into thought. Dashley, noticing his odd silence, concluded he was definitely strange and chose not to dwell on it.
Neither of them noticed the boy sitting across the room, eyes fixed on them, jaw tight. He didn't like how close they looked.
The teacher walked in, pulling their attention back to the front.
After classes ended for the day, Dashley gathered her things and made her way out when Axel called after her.
"So… library today?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"I have enough books to last me a few days."
"Wouldn't it be more fun to have someone to read with?"
"I read alone," she replied bluntly, and walked off.
When she got home, Dashley lay down to rest before preparing dinner. It had been her routine for as long as she could remember—make breakfast, go to school, come back, nap or take a walk, make dinner, sleep. There had never been much else to her days. But with Celine around now, she could feel that routine shifting, just slightly.
Celine had mentioned a student party earlier when Dashley had told her about her awkward library encounter with Axel. She had politely declined, claiming she had too much to do—even though the truth was she simply wasn't ready to be social.
By the time she woke up again, Williams was back home. When she greeted him and made her way to the kitchen to prepare dinner, he stopped her, holding out a paper bag.
"I picked up food on the way home," he said.
Dashley grinned in delight. "Thank the heavens."
She fetched plates and served the food while Williams took a seat at the table.
"You didn't run into anyone… like that boy from the library, did you?" he asked cautiously as they ate.
"He approached me at school today."
Williams stopped mid-chew. "And what did he do?"
"Oh, nothing dramatic. He apologized. Said he wanted to be friends."
He stared at her for a moment, then slowly nodded, though the tension hadn't left his face.
"Just… don't get too close to him, Dashley."
"Don't worry, Dad. I won't."
"I do have a right to be worried about my daughter," he added with a playful pout.
"Of course you do, Dad," she chuckled. "Of course you do."
But Williams didn't laugh.
Instead, he released a long, slow sigh—and somewhere in his eyes, the shadows lingered.