Theo's POV
Getting Ellie away from Melina is the only thing I can do right now.
But then why… why is she looking at me like that?
And more importantly, why am I looking back at her?
Why can't I take my eyes off her?
The red mark on her cheek—Ellie's slap—stands out against her skin. It shouldn't bother me. It shouldn't matter. But it does.
Something coils inside me, hot and restless. I want to do something—anything—for her. To step in. To shield her. But that makes no sense. Who even is she to me? We just met.
And yet… the pull to defend her is overwhelming. Stronger than I want to admit.
Behind them, Damon is watching me. That smug, knowing smirk plastered on his face like he's already read my mind.
Asshole. Damon Cassius.
Of course he noticed. He always does. He lives to notice, to twist, to use it against me.
I can't let him think he's right. I can't let him believe I feel anything for this girl.
So I march forward, force myself to grab Ellie's hand, and say firmly,
"Let's go, Ellie."
Damon chuckles—loud, mocking, deliberate. I grit my teeth. He knows exactly what I'm doing and why. And worse, he knows it isn't working.
Ellie's face lights up in victory, smug as she slips her hand around my bicep. She clings to me like a trophy as we head into the music club hall.
Every step feels wrong. My chest tightens with the urge to turn back, to look at Melina one more time. Just one glance.
But no. That would give Damon everything he wants. He'd read me like an open book. He always does.
I don't have feelings for her. I don't. I'm just… looking out for a fellow human being. That's all.
That's all.
Inside the hall, I yank my arm free from Ellie's grip the moment we're out of sight. She frowns but doesn't protest. She knows what this is—what we are. Friends with benefits, nothing more.
But my anger simmers. Not just at her. At myself. At the way things spun out of control. At the way Melina looked so silent under Ellie's slap. At the way that word—adopted—was spat like poison. The way her face switched to a face with something unreadable, and immensely hurtful expression she carries as if Everything us reminding her, how out of place she is, at the college, at her home maybe. I wanted to hug her and tell her -you deserves every happiness in life Melina
I can't keep quiet. I won't.
"Ell—" I start, ready to call her out when it's just us, We seven guys and her. when no one else can hear.
But Gregg's voice cuts through before I can speak.
"Ellie, you shouldn't do that!"
I blink. Gregg?
Ellie spins on him, her tone high and mocking. "What did I do, Gregg?"
"You know exactly what you did," he snaps. His voice is firm, sharper than I've ever heard it.
We've been cruel before. Too cruel. But Gregg has never raised his voice. Not like this. Not for anyone.
Something shifts in the room. My gaze flicks to Damon and the guys . They are as surprised as I am.
Ellie laughs it off, brushing Gregg's words aside with the kind of fake innocence she's mastered. But Gregg doesn't budge.
"You called her adopted! And you slapped her, Ellie!"
Ellie's smirk fades into a scowl. "Because she's f*cking adopted, and she deserved a slap!"
Her words slice through the air. Cruel. Unapologetic.
And then Gregg, of all people, explodes. "Who the hell are you to decide that?!"
The room goes tense. Samuel has to step in, grabbing Gregg by the arm and dragging him away before it turns into something worse.
But the damage is done. The silence afterward is deafening.
I should be angry at Gregg for calling Ellie out. For breaking the unspoken rule of our group. And I am. But not for the reason I should be.
Because watching him defend Melina sends a strange relief through me. Relief that someone stood up for her when Zara and Dove weren't there. And when i wasn't standing up for her because Damon would twist the gesture to something else.. Relief that someone saw what I saw and also Regret of not doing what i wanted.
And I hate that it wasn't me. I hate it wasn't me who stood up for Melina.
I hate it even more when another emotion slams into me—jealousy. Ugly, possessive jealousy. The need to punch that righteous fire out of Gregg's eyes, not because he was mad at Ellie, but because he was mad for Melina.
Who the hell was he to stand up for her like that?
Damon leans back, smirk tugging at his lips. "Is Gregg into Melina?"
Sam snorts. "Nah. She's too plain. Not Gregg's type."
Damon's grin widens, eyes flicking to me. "Plain or not, he likes her enough to stand up for her."
I clench my fists, pulse hammering in my ears.
Ellie's voice cuts in, shrill and piercing. "What about you, Theo? You've been awfully quiet."
All eyes are on me. Damon's smug. Sam's curious. Ellie's expectant.
I force the lie out, cold and clipped. "I don't care about that girl or anything related to her at all."
The words taste bitter, but no one can know.
Before the tension can strangle me any further, I push back from my seat and storm out. The hall feels suffocating. I need air.
—
BUMP. CLASH. THUD.
I slam into someone in the corridor. Papers fly everywhere, scattering like broken feathers. The girl crashes to the ground with the impact.
"Watch where you're going," I mutter, stepping past. I don't even look—don't want to look.
But then fingers wrap around my leg, gripping tight.
My balance slips.
Thud.
I hit the floor hard, irritation blazing. My eyes snap to the culprit, ready to scorch them alive—
And then I see her.
Melina.
The fury drains out of me in an instant, replaced by something I don't want to name. My chest tightens. My eyes soften without permission.
She looks startled, wide-eyed, a mess of scattered papers around her. She shouldn't even be here. Not in my path. Not under my skin.
But here she is.
Before I can speak, a sharp voice slices through the moment.
"YOU JERK! Can't you and your girl leave her alone for once?!"
Zara. My sister.
Of course.
I groan inwardly. FML.
And yet… even as Zara storms forward, fury in her eyes, all I can see is Melina.
The red imprint of Ellie's slap still lingers on her cheek — a slap that should never have landed. It stirs something fierce in me.
All I can see is her. Melina.
Her eyes catch mine, wide and unguarded, framed by loose strands of hair the wind keeps playing with. The strands brush across her face, and instead of messy, she looks… untouchable. Majestic.
I realize I've been staring at her for far too long — a solid minute maybe. And then it happens. She smiles.
At me.
And for the first time in my life, it feels like a full-on wrestling match has broken out inside my chest. My organs are sumo-wrestling each other, and my heart—hell, my heart feels like it just smiled back.
Then she speaks, her voice steady, laced with dry sarcasm.
"How about you stay in your cocoon of a friend group if you can't even properly walk?"
I blink. That… that was Melina?
The same girl who didn't utter a word when Ellie tore into her? The same one who stood there, small and silent, absorbing everything?
Now she's sharp-tongued, tossing her words at me while bending to gather her scattered papers. She pushes herself up, brushing off her clothes with brisk hands, not sparing me more than a glance.
My lips twitch upward. I can't help it.
"Are you going to sleep there or something?" she adds, eyes flicking to me briefly.
Damn. Damn it, Melina. Where was this tongue when Ellie slapped you? Where was this fire? Because right now, all I can think is—hell, I want to kiss you.
I shove that thought down, bury it beneath my usual mask. Standing up, I dust off my clothes and plaster a cocky smirk across my face.
"What's up, Miranda? Got yourself a tongue extension from Zara and Dove's Spa?" I shoot back.
The silence that follows makes my smirk falter for half a second. She just stares at me. No comeback. No reaction. Nothing.
Why is she silent now?
She takes a step to my left, trying to slip past me. I immediately match her movement, stepping left to block her way, grinning down at her.
"Oops. Mistake," I drawl.
Her eyes lift to meet mine, blazing with fury. God, those mad eyes are a feast.
She tries again, this time stepping right.
Not so fast, Mel.
I mirror her, stepping right. "Ugh, again. Mistake," I say with a grin, as if the whole world is a game and she's the only player that matters.
She exhales loudly, an audible sigh of annoyance, her jaw tightening. The sound only makes me want to tease her more, to see what other expressions I can drag out of her.
And then Zara barges between us, shoving me back a step.
"What's up with you, Theo?!" she snaps, eyes blazing as she positions herself like a shield in front of Melina. "Leave her alone! You can't play with her like you do every other person!"
Her words hit harder than they should.
I stare at my sister, then at Melina behind her, clutching her papers to her chest, lips pressed into a thin line.
Play with her?
The truth is, I don't even know what this is. I don't know why I can't stop staring, why her smile knocked the air out of me, why her sarcastic bite made my chest ache in the best and worst way.
But I do know one thing.
Melina isn't like "every other person."
And that terrifies me.
To be continued