The lunchroom chatter swelled around Crown Height Academy like a steady hum, trays clattering, laughter echoing against marble walls. Sophia sat at the heart of it all, her table gleaming with polished silver cutlery and sparkling glasses. Yet for once, she wasn't entirely tuned into her friends' chatter.
Her gaze drifted — again and again — to the table across the room.
To him.
Noah Sinclair.
Even now, his back was impossibly straight, posture exuding quiet command. He wasn't laughing like Ethan, wasn't making sly remarks like Adrian, wasn't sketching absentmindedly like Mason. He was simply there — calm, steady, detached. And yet that fleeting glance earlier had been enough to set Sophia's heart racing.
She tapped her fork lightly against her plate. "He looked at me," she said finally.
Her friends turned, almost in unison.
Chloe's eyes went wide. "Wait, when?"
"Like, actually looked? Not his usual glare?" Isabella pressed.
Amelia leaned across the table, practically bouncing. "Oh my god, Sophie. Don't tell me the ice prince cracked."
Sophia only smirked, swirling her drink. "He didn't crack. He noticed. That's all I need."
Her friends squealed and whispered in excitement, but deep down, Sophia's chest burned with something heavier than simple triumph. It was determination — the thrill of a challenge. She had grown up adored, envied, and admired. People noticed her the second she walked into a room.
But Noah Sinclair? He didn't bend. He didn't chase. He didn't even care.
That made him the only one who mattered.
---
Across the hall, Noah listened halfheartedly as Ethan cracked another ridiculous joke.
"…and then Coach nearly tripped over his own clipboard. Funniest thing I've ever seen, I swear."
Mason snorted, scribbling the scene down in doodles. Adrian leaned lazily against the table, winking at the girls staring at him from afar.
And Noah? He sat silent, pushing his fork into his untouched food. His friends' voices blurred into background noise, drowned by the memory of Sophia's voice earlier in class.
"Or are you afraid I might outshine you?"
He clenched his jaw. That smile of hers — bold, reckless, challenging — had lodged itself in his mind like a splinter. He should've brushed it off. He always brushed people off.
So why couldn't he ignore her?
"Noah," Ethan said suddenly, jolting him back. "You good, man?"
"Fine," Noah replied smoothly, his tone betraying nothing.
But his friends exchanged knowing glances. They'd seen the way Sophia's gaze lingered. They'd seen the way Noah's usually unshakable calm had faltered — if only for a second.
Leo, quiet as ever, finally spoke. "She's going to keep pushing."
Noah's eyes narrowed. "Not if I stop her first."
But the truth? Even as he said it, he wasn't sure he could.
---
The afternoon passed in a blur of classes and whispered rumors. Crown Height Academy thrived on gossip like flowers on sunlight, and by the time the final bell rang, whispers of "Sophia and Noah" had circled every corridor.
Sophia walked gracefully down the marble staircase, her heels clicking softly, her friends trailing like satellites around her. She was radiant, collected — but inside, her mind spun with possibilities.
How could she turn this project into something more? How could she crack Noah's ice one layer at a time?
"Tomorrow," she murmured to herself, lips curving. "Tomorrow, he won't stand a chance."
---
Noah stood by the academy gates, waiting for his driver. The cool breeze tugged at his blazer, the fading sunlight gilding his profile. He hated the whispers. He hated the eyes that followed him everywhere.
And yet…
He glanced once over his shoulder.
Sophia was there, laughing with her friends, the sound carrying like music across the courtyard. She shone too brightly for him not to notice.
For the briefest second, his expression softened.
Then the car pulled up. He got in without a word.
But even as the academy gates closed behind him, her voice lingered in his head.
"Never. Especially not with you."