I barely slept. Not a wink. My mind replayed every whisper, every brush of skin, every smirk from Lucy yesterday. And that shadow, the one I'd felt outside the office haunted me.
Sitting at my usual desk in the classroom, I couldn't focus. Every movement, every flicker of hair or glance from the corner of my eye felt suspicious.
Was it her?
Or her?
I scanned the room slowly, trying to act normal while my pulse hammered. My friends, oblivious, chattered quietly about assignments, jokes, weekend plans. But I couldn't hear them over the storm of my thoughts.
If it was Aimee… The idea made my stomach twist into knots. I couldn't bear that possibility. Not her. She was… untouchable in a sense. Shy, calm, graceful. Every look she threw my way was so subtle yet completely devastating.
And then there was Lucy. She'd cornered me in the office, teased me, pressed herself against me like she owned my senses, and left me burning.
And the shadow… whoever she was. That lingering presence had lingered like smoke, unseen, unheard, yet somehow palpable.
I clenched my fists under the desk, trying to steady my racing thoughts. Every time someone moved past, my eyes followed them. Every laugh, every brush against a chair, made me jump slightly.
Was that her? I whispered silently to myself, hoping no one noticed.
Classmates' eyes occasionally flicked my way, probably noticing my jittery behavior, but I could only care about one thing: figuring out who had been listening.
If it's Aimee… I won't forgive myself, I thought, jaw tight, heart hammering.
The lecture began, but my focus had evaporated. I followed along just enough to answer questions, nod appropriately, but every glance, every shadow in the room kept me on edge.
My friends noticed my distance, nudging me quietly. "Hey, man, you're spaced out today," Jacob whispered, elbowing me.
"Yeah," I mumbled. "Just… tired, I guess."
They didn't push. They knew better than to prod too much when I was in this zone. But my mind wasn't in the classroom. It was reliving every moment from yesterday. Lucy's teasing smirk. The ghostly presence outside the door. Aimee's quiet, unreadable expressions.
By the time class ended, I was practically shaking. Every step toward the hallway felt like walking through a minefield. Every movement of a fellow student made me suspect.
And deep down, a single thought wouldn't leave me:
I need to know who that shadow was… before it's too late.
.....
Three days. Three long, torturous days since the incident in the lecturer's office.
Every glance, every shuffled footstep, every laugh in the hallway gnawed at me. Who had been listening? Was it Aimee? Was it someone else? Each passing moment without an answer made my thoughts churn.
Today was sports day, and the energy in the school was electric. Everywhere I looked, students dashed across fields, laughed, shouted. The girls' vests clung dangerously tight, barely holding in their curves. Shorts hugged hips and thighs in ways that made the sunlight glint off skin at every stride. I should have been distracted but my mind barely registered any of it.
I tried to follow the game, to enjoy the energy, to join my friends. But every cheer, every shout, every movement of a classmate seemed to scream at me: Watch closely. They might be the one.
Even my friends noticed my dullness. "Kael, you're off today," Jacob said, tossing a ball at me. I caught it awkwardly, my mind elsewhere, and returned it with a half-hearted shrug.
Mia noticed first. Pink hair bouncing as she moved past me in the crowd, her eyes flicked toward me and lingered just long enough for me to feel her gaze. But she said nothing. Not a word. Just a small, knowing smirk at the corner of her lips.
She could sense the storm inside me the nagging uncertainty, the dull ache of suspicion but she waited. She let me stew, let the tension grow, let the curiosity eat at me.
The games continued, girls running, laughing, showing off in the bright sun, their movements seductive without even trying. Each turn, each stride, made my chest tighten, my focus waver. Every student became a potential suspect in my mind, every smile a potential secret, every glance a hint of knowledge I might not want to discover.
And I nagged myself silently, over and over:
Three days. No sign. Nothing. Are they really hiding? Did I miss something?
Mia's smirk stayed in my peripheral vision, silent, patient, letting me twist in my own thoughts.
By the time lunch came, I had barely spoken to anyone. My friends laughed, joked, tossed comments about the games and the girls around but I could only stare blankly, trying to piece together a puzzle I had no clue how to solve.
It was maddening.
...
Even as the games rolled on, Mia was everywhere. Not overtly, not aggressively but enough for me to feel her presence. Her pink hair swung with every movement, bouncing just enough to catch sunlight, to make me notice. Her short sports skirt swayed, revealing just a teasing strip of thigh with every step. Her vest clung to her curves in ways that made my heart beat faster, yet my mind struggled to focus.
She moved near me at every opportunity: a brush of her hand when passing by to catch a falling ball, a laugh that seemed meant for me as she nudged another classmate, a subtle sway when she leaned to adjust her vest. Every motion, every glance, every flicker of her mischievous smirk was deliberate.
"Kael, you're spacing again," she whispered once as she walked past, her voice low enough to be heard only by me. The warmth of her breath tickled my ear, and for a moment I froze. My face must have burned, but I didn't turn.
I kept moving, trying to resist, trying to focus on the game, on the balls flying, on my friends' jokes, but Mia's teasing was like gravity. Every subtle motion made me aware of her presence, her body, her intent. My chest tightened with a mixture of irritation and… something else I refused to name.
My friends noticed my distraction too. "Bro, you're staring again," Jacob nudged me. "Don't tell me Mia's got you twisted already."
I clenched my fists and shook my head. "No… I'm just… tired."
But Mia's smirk only grew. She moved behind the line of players, letting her sway and posture catch my peripheral vision. Each time I tried to look away, I caught another subtle motion. the tilt of her head, the curve of her back, the gentle bounce of her hips as she walked.
Every instinct in me screamed to chase, to tease back, to give in—but my mind nagged relentlessly. You can't. Not now. Focus. And the shadow… who was that?
By the end of the first event, I was a mix of exhaustion and tension. My body had moved mechanically through the drills, but my thoughts had danced entirely elsewhere. Mia noticed, of course, and as she passed me at the water station, her hand brushed mine.. a spark, intentional, electric.
"Careful, Kael," she whispered, pink lips curling. "Don't lose focus… or I might have to drag your attention back."
I froze, heart hammering, but I managed to look away just enough. My mind groaned silently.
Three days of nagging, and now she's escalating.
The rest of the day dragged on like a tease. Every time Mia approached, brushed, or leaned close, my chest twisted. And every time I forced myself to resist, my mind only circled back to the nagging question: Who was watching me from the shadows?
By the final relay, my friends had stopped commenting. They could see the tension radiating off me. Mia, of course, smiled patient, teasing, relentless while I barely registered the cheers, the sprinting, the sun bouncing off bodies.
I was trapped in a storm of thoughts, desire, suspicion, and nagging guilt.
.....
The sports ground was buzzing cheers, laughter, sneakers crunching the earth but Kael felt detached, like his body was there but his head had drifted far off. He sat on the bench, barely responding to his friends' jokes, his eyes scanning every face like they might betray the shadow that haunted him from the office.
Mia had been circling him all day, every step calculated. She made sure her sports jersey rode up just enough when she stretched, her skirt swaying with deliberate exaggeration, her voice echoing near his ear whenever she bent down to "adjust" her shoelace. But Kael barely twitched. His eyes were somewhere else, his mind replaying whispers, Lucy's smirk, and the invisible presence that had been at the door that day.
Mia smirked, lips curling, but inside she was frustrated. Why isn't he falling for this? He always notices when I move closer…
Then it happened Aimee.
She wasn't loud. She wasn't teasing. She simply jogged past, her ponytail bouncing, a gentle rhythm that matched the soft sway of her body under the fitted vest and shorts. Her focus was on the track, but something about her quiet determination pulled Kael's eyes like gravity. She didn't need to force his attention she simply owned it.
When she slowed, taking a seat near the grass with her friends, Kael found himself watching without meaning to. Her cheeks were flushed from the run, strands of hair sticking against her face, and when she laughed at something one of her friends said it wasn't seductive, it wasn't staged it was just… real.
And Kael felt that sting. The difference between Mia's look at me and Aimee's I don't even know you're watching.
As though she felt the weight of his gaze, Aimee turned slightly, her eyes brushing past his. A fleeting glance, shy but intentional, and Kael froze.
His chest tightened.
For a moment, the noise of the field blurred into silence.
Mia caught the shift immediately. From across the bench, she narrowed her eyes. So that's it… That's who's making him drift.
Kael lowered his head quickly, pretending to tie his shoelace, though his mind was racing. The memory of Selira's advice, Lucy's smirk, Mia's teasing all of it swirled but Aimee's quiet glance cut sharper than any of them.
He laughed under his breath, a dry, nervous sound. "Damn it… I'm losing it."
And yet, when Aimee stood again to rejoin her group for another round, Kael's eyes betrayed him drawn right back.
.....
The games wound down, the field emptying as groups laughed and teased each other on their way out. Kael lingered near the side, pretending to watch the scoreboards, though his thoughts were a mess. His heartbeat hadn't calmed since that moment Aimee's eyes brushed past his.
He felt it still the faint heat lodged in his chest.
"Kael…"
The voice was soft. Almost too soft to hear over the chatter.
He turned and froze.
Aimee stood there, just a step away, her shoes scraping the dirt nervously. Her cheeks were flushed, not from the run this time but from something deeper, warmer. She held the edge of her sports jersey with both hands, fidgeting, her gaze on the ground like it might swallow her whole.
Kael swallowed hard. Is this real?
She shifted, exhaled, then finally spoke barely above a whisper:
"I… I saw you earlier. You didn't look so good. Are you okay?"
Kael blinked, trying to find words. His mouth opened, but nothing came out. His chest thudded violently, every second stretching longer than it should.
Her eyes lifted for just a second big, shining, shy and Kael felt his whole world tilt. It wasn't Mia's boldness. It wasn't Lucy's smirk. It wasn't Selira's strange lessons. This was different.
This was terrifying.
"I… I'm fine," he stuttered, his voice lower than he meant, awkward and strained. "Just… too much on my mind."
Aimee bit her lip, the smallest smile tugging at her face before she quickly looked away again, cheeks flaming red.
"Oh. O-okay… I just thought… maybe…" She trailed off, shaking her head, strands of hair falling in front of her eyes.
Kael's pulse slammed. He wanted to reach out, to say something anything to keep her there. But his body froze, chained by the weight of her closeness.
"Thanks, Aimee," he finally managed, voice rough, almost cracking.
She nodded quickly, bowing her head slightly, then turned to leave her steps small, almost hurried, like she was afraid to linger too long.
Kael stood there, rooted. Watching her walk away, the world around him spinning into silence again.
His fists clenched at his sides. His heart pounded so violently he could hear it in his ears.
"Damn it " he muttered under his breath, shaking his head. "What… what was that?"
And for the first time in days, the confusion of shadows, lessons, and smirks faded leaving only the raw, undeniable truth that Aimee's shy smile burned hotter than anything else