Aiden folded his arms, a lazy smirk pulling at his lips. "You've got guts, talking to me like that in front of everyone," he said. "I guess you think you're some kind of saint, huh? Probably the kind that reads business textbooks for fun and cries when the lecturer forgets your name." His tone dripped mockery.
Lana stayed still, jaw tightening.
He stepped closer, voice dropping just enough for his friends to hear but loud enough for the growing crowd too. "You should be careful, though. Talking too much can ruin a pretty face. Especially one that looks like it hasn't smiled in years." His friends snickered. "Or maybe you're just mad 'cause no one's paying attention to you."
"Stop talking," she said, her voice low, shaking—not from fear this time, but from anger building under her skin.
He raised a brow, like she'd just amused him. "Oh, she talks now."
"I said stop."
He ignored her, leaning on one leg, playing it up for his friends. "What? You don't like the truth? You walk around acting like you're too good for everyone, but deep down—"
"Shut up!"
Her voice cut through the air, sharp enough to make his friends' laughter fade. "You think being loud and stupid makes you cool?" she shot back. "You're not funny, you're pathetic. You walk around with your friends like you own the place, showing off girls' pictures, laughing like a bunch of twelve-year-olds. It's embarrassing. I don't even know you, and I already know exactly what kind of person you are, a joke that doesn't even realize he's one."
The words hung in the air. Aiden froze, that smug grin finally slipping off his face. His friends blinked at her, mouths half open, not sure whether to laugh or stay quiet.
Lana didn't stop. "You think you're special because people look at you? Because girls fall for your stupid smile? They'll figure you out soon enough. You're all looks and no depth, just noise."
Aiden's jaw flexed. His voice dropped lower, hard now. "You think you're better than me, huh?"
She didn't answer, just looked at him, unflinching.
He gave a tight laugh, masking whatever hit his pride. "Nah, I get it," he said, tilting his head. "You're just bitter. Probably haven't had a guy look at you twice, and now you're mad one finally did." He scanned her body, slow and deliberate, like he wanted to humiliate her. "Though, I can't blame them. There's not much to look at."
His friends laughed again, the noise echoing across the walkway. A few students passing by slowed down, phones subtly raised, watching.
Lana felt her face heat, not from shame, but fury. Her heart was pounding so hard she could hear it. For a second, she didn't know whether to slap him or walk away.
Lana's breath came fast, but her voice was clear, cold, like she'd snapped past the point of caring.
"I'd rather die," she said flatly, "than ever imagine you being attracted to me."
That hit him first, a stunned flicker in his eyes before he covered it with a smirk that didn't quite land.
She kept going, the words spilling sharp and sure. "If I ever fall in love, it won't be with a lowlife like you. You walk around thinking you're some god because people stare. The only thing you've got going for you is your face, and even that's wasted on a soul as empty as yours."
The space around them shifted. Whispers broke through the crowd, murmurs, half shock, half delight. A few students even let out quiet "damn"s and "no way"s.
Aiden's jaw tightened. He stood straighter, every trace of humor gone. His friends glanced at him, waiting for his comeback, but he didn't speak. His chest rose once, sharply, like he was holding something back.
No girl had ever spoken to him like that, not one. Not the ones who giggled around him, not the ones who begged for his attention, not even the older girls who'd thrown themselves at him just to say they did. He'd never been rejected, not even disliked.
And now this stranger, this quiet, ordinary girl, had burned straight through his ego like it was paper.
Lana just adjusted her bag, her expression calm now. "You done?" she asked, not even giving him the satisfaction of anger in her tone.
Aiden didn't move, but his eyes followed her as she turned and walked away. His friends said nothing, just exchanged looks, the kind that said, man, she really got you.
He finally scoffed, running a hand through his hair, but his smirk didn't return. Something about her words stuck deeper than he wanted to admit.
As Lana walked a distance his voice cut through the noise, sharp, mocking, filthy.
"Guess that mouth only runs when you're not on your knees, huh?"
The laughter around them burst like fireworks, loud, cruel, and echoing across the courtyard. His friends doubled over, egging him on, like they'd just watched him win something.
Lana stopped dead. Her fists clenched at her sides, the sound of her heartbeat pounding in her ears. Slowly, she turned around and walked back toward him. The crowd quieted a little. Even Aiden's smirk faltered for a split second before returning.
She stood right in front of him, her eyes steady. "Say that again," she said, voice low.
Aiden tilted his head, that same smirk stretching wider. "Oh, what? Hit a nerve, sweetheart? You gonna cry now?"
And before he could say another word...
Her hand came up fast and clean across his face.
The crack echoed. The laughter stopped.
Aiden's head turned with the force of it, and for a long second, he didn't move. The students around them stared, mouths open. Lana's chest was heaving, eyes burning with fury and humiliation she refused to show.
Aiden slowly turned back to her, his jaw tight, cheek already red. That cocky look was gone, what replaced it was colder, sharper.
"Bad move," he said quietly.
Aiden's jaw flexed, his breath sharp as he lunged toward her, pure ego and temper boiling over. But Lana didn't flinch.
The moment he got close enough, her palm met his cheek again,louder, harder. The sound cracked through the murmuring crowd. His friends froze where they stood, their shock painted clear.
Before he could react, Lana gripped his shirt with both hands, pulling him closer until they were eye to eye. Her voice was steady, low, trembling not with fear but fury.
"This is the last time," she said. "The last time we meet, the last time we speak. Until we graduate, you stay out of my life."
Aiden's breath hitched, his expression shifting from anger to disbelief. She released him, smoothed her hoodie like nothing had happened, and turned away.
Students parted as she walked through them, some whispering, some too stunned to move. His friends hurried to him, still trying to piece together what they'd just witnessed.
Aiden stood there, his pride cracked open, watching the girl who just humiliated him in front of half the campus disappear into the crowd.