Eventually, dinner ended—not with a bang, but with a mix of eye rolls, chaotic glares, and way too much passive-aggressive sarcasm.
We all walked out of the restaurant like survivors of a mild disaster.
Nova and Zim peeled off together, Nova's hand slung around her shoulders like they were co-stars in a romcom. Zim waved back at me with that clueless grin, completely unaware of half the tension that had buzzed under the table tonight.
Thea was silent—rare and dangerous. She clung to Aven's arm like a duty-bound girlfriend but kept stealing glances at Jace and me like we were walking red flags.
Jace, who had definitely clocked Leo's flirting, was all broody shadows and unspoken warnings.
And me?
I just wanted to go home. Preferably to a reality where Leo didn't exist.
Thea and Aven took a cab, not saying much, leaving me stuck with Jace in me .
He didn't speak the entire ride.
Didn't have to.
He just leaned against the window, jaw clenched, and eyes full of suspicion.
At me.
At Leo.
At the entire universe, probably.
When I finally stepped into my room, I collapsed onto the bed.
Ding.
My phone buzzed.
> Leo:
I'll swing by tomorrow night to pick up the gun.
Don't worry. I trust you didn't snoop.
I snorted. The audacity of this man.
My thumbs hovered. A hundred replies popped in my brain—all biting, sarcastic, maybe one with a heart emoji just to mess with him.
But I settled for:
> Fine.
No "good night." No sass.
Just "fine."
And for the first time all evening, I felt my shoulders drop.
Like someone had lifted a weight I didn't even know I was carrying.
Leo was coming back.
Tomorrow night.
And until then, I could at least pretend my world wasn't slowly tilting sideways.
____Next morning _____
The next morning felt… painfully normal. Like the night before didn't involve a gun, intense flirting, truth or dare tension, and Leo's infuriating smirk tattooed in my brain.
The school hallway buzzed as usual. Noise, movement, too many humans before caffeine.
But this time, I noticed something different.
Thea.
She was walking side by side with Zim and Nova—laughing like they'd been best friends since diapers. Zim looked way too excited about something, probably gossip. Nova had her usual cool-girl calm, but there was amusement in her eyes.
Jace spotted Thea and visibly rolled his eyes before moving straight to Aven and giving him a casual high-five. The friendship between those two was weird, but somehow real.
Me? I had my head buried in my phone, checking the schedule to figure out which lectures I could skip today without risking death by GPA.
That's when Thea appeared in front of me like a bright-colored roadblock.
"Kael! Hey, you got notes for last lectures?"
I didn't even look up. "Nope."
She blinked. "You didn't attend?"
"I did," I said, still scrolling. "I just don't share notes. I hate sharing notes."
Her mouth opened, like she was about to argue.
But Nova, who knew exactly how petty I could be, let out a quiet chuckle behind her.
Thea turned to her. "What?"
Nova shook her head with a sly smile. "Don't bother. Kael would rather burn his notes than share them."
"Facts," I muttered.
Zim laughed way too loud. "He's literally the academic goblin. Hoards info like it's gold."
I gave her a mock glare. "Say that again and I'm swapping your lunch with cafeteria sludge."
"Tempting," she grinned.
Everything felt… weirdly right. Bitter, sweet, and stupid.
But somewhere in the back of my head, I still remembered Leo's message.
He's coming tonight.
And no amount of hallway noise could drown out that thought.
Right after that whole notes thing, I kind of… zoned out.
I don't even know why. Maybe I was still stuck in my head, overthinking the Leo stuff. Or maybe I just didn't want to exist in a world where Thea, Zim, and Nova had formed some unholy trio of chaos.
Whatever the reason, I slipped back into my little bubble of phone notifications and schedules and—
"Leo!" Thea's voice rang through the hallway like a damn school bell.
I blinked up, confused, just in time to see her waving both arms like a maniac. Zim and Nova turned too. Jace visibly cringed and mumbled something to Aven, who looked... cautiously excited.
And then it happened.
Before I could even process it, I felt a familiar presence beside me.
Warm. Tall. Expensive-smelling.
I looked up slowly from my phone—and nearly jumped.
Leo.
He was standing right there. Right next to me.
Hands in his pockets, smug smile already warming up on his face like he'd just been waiting for this moment.
"Good morning," he drawled low, tilting his head slightly. "Cute how you ignore the world when you're pretending not to wait for me."
My brain went blank for a good two seconds. My soul disconnected. My internal Wi-Fi just gave up.
"I wasn't—" I started, but it sounded too defensive.
He raised an eyebrow. "Weren't what?"
"I wasn't waiting for you," I muttered, locking my phone and glaring at him. "Why are you always standing so close?"
He leaned in half an inch, eyes glinting. "Why are you always pretending to hate it?"
Nova coughed loudly, clearly eavesdropping.
Thea grinned like she was watching her OTP unfold in real-time.
Jace? Looked like he was ready to throw something.
Zim whispered to Nova, "Wait, are they flirting or fighting or…?"
Nova deadpanned, "It's Kael and Leo. The answer's yes."
The bell rang, loud and shrill, slicing through whatever tension was still lingering in the air.
Jace muttered something to Aven, and the two peeled off toward the club room—probably to escape the weirdly chaotic energy surrounding us. Meanwhile, Thea, Nova, and I decided to actually be functional humans and attend our classes.
Zim? Zim was ready to go anywhere. She shrugged dramatically, "Whichever path leads to snacks or sleep."
But before she could wiggle out of it, Nova grabbed her by the wrist like a kidnapper with standards and yanked her toward class. "We're not failing this semester because of you," she said without even looking back.
And then came the part where the world decided to get nosy.
Leo and I walked into the classroom together.
Together.
At the same time.
Like we had choreographed it.
The room practically vibrated with whispers. Everyone turned. Some whispered, some gaped, some stared like they'd just seen a unicorn walk in with a mafia boss.
I ignored it.
Or at least I tried to—until Nova turned her head slowly and shot a look at the class.
You know the one.
The "should I kill you or just ruin your life socially" look.
Instant silence. Beautiful, suffocating silence.
We all scattered into our seats after that. Thea slid into the seat beside Leo, looking entirely too satisfied with herself. I ended up between her and Nova, probably the safest buffer zone in a 5-meter radius.
Zim, goddess of naps, was already curled up in the corner like this was a hotel and not a classroom.
And me? I was doing what I do best—focusing. I flipped open my notebook, clicked my pen, and locked into lecture mode. I needed these grades. I needed that top spot. I had dreams, goals, and no time for—
Leo.
Leo who was not taking notes.
Leo who was not even pretending to pay attention.
Leo who was… staring at me.
Deadass staring.
From my peripheral, I could feel his eyes on me. Burning through my skin. Not in a creepy way, just… annoyingly smug.
Like he knew something I didn't. Like I was part of a joke I didn't get yet.
I turned slightly, trying to catch him.
He smirked.
Of course he did.
He leaned in a little and whispered, "I like this look on you—focused, determined. You look almost...dangerous."
I didn't even blink. Just whispered back, "If you don't stop staring at me, I might become dangerous for real."
His grin widened. Like that was a reward, not a warning.
This guy was going to be the end of me.
Not metaphorically.
Academically.
Emotionally.
Spiritually.
All of it.