Dirty Looks, Colder Hearts

The hallway felt heavier when I walked in.

Maybe it was the silence that followed me like perfume. Or maybe it was the whispers that didn't bother hiding anymore.

"There she is. " "Three-day suspension." "Vanessa still has the scratch on her neck." "She's crazy."

Good. Let them talk.

I strutted past them like I hadn't just laid someone's pride on the floor a few days ago. My boots hit harder. My smile cut deeper. And my girls? They matched me step for step.

Juno walked beside me, gum popping every few seconds like gunfire. Leah trailed a little behind, her hoodie pulled over her head, but her eyeliner wing sharp enough to slice egos. Skye said nothing as usual, but the way she walked hands in her skirt pockets, chin tilted high was a warning all by itself.

They were my storm.

And we'd just started brewing.

I didn't look for Lucien.

Okay, maybe I did. Out of the corner of my eye. In the shadow of every doorway. But he wasn't in his usual corner.

He was distant now.

Colder.

Even when I caught sight of him later near the back stairwell, he didn't glance at me. Just kept his head down, hood off today, hair slicked back and shirt tucked like he belonged to some ghostly prep-school cult.

And Vanessa?

Oh, she was loud today. Louder than usual. Laughing at nothing with her voice high and forced. Her little crew clung to her tighter than ever.

"I swear, Lucien has the sharpest jawline," she said, loud enough for the hallway to hear.

I rolled my eyes.

Leah laughed under her breath. "Desperate much?"

"She's trying too hard," Juno muttered.

I didn't stop walking until we passed Vanessa's locker. I didn't look at her. I didn't need to.

Juno did it for me.

"Careful," she said sweetly to Vanessa. "Fake personalities are flammable."

Vanessa turned around, fake shocked. "Excuse me?"

"Not you," Juno smiled. "Unless you're guilty."

Vanessa's eyes narrowed. "You're all so obsessed with me."

I finally turned, lips curling. "No, sweetheart. You just keep throwing yourself at what's mine."

Her jaw dropped, but before she could speak, Skye stepped between us and dropped something in her hand.

Her lip gloss.

The one she'd lost two days ago.

"Found this in the bathroom," Skye said with a dead stare. "Might wanna be careful where you leave your stuff."

Vanessa flushed red.

We kept walking.

Behind us, I heard her say, "This isn't over."

It never was.

In chemistry, Lucien sat two rows ahead of me.

Not beside. Not behind.

Two rows.

It was his way of telling me something.

I ignored the sting in my chest and slid into my seat, leaning forward on my desk, propping my chin on my palm and watching the back of his head.

He didn't turn.

Didn't look.

Didn't move.

But I knew he felt me. The tension in his shoulders gave him away.

I leaned closer.

"You planning to keep avoiding me until graduation?" I asked, voice low.

Still nothing.

"I liked you better when you were reading in corners and ignoring people because you wanted to. not because you were scared."

That did it.

His jaw ticked.

He turned slightly, just enough that I could see the edge of his cheekbone. "You think I'm scared of you?"

I smiled. "I think you're scared of what happens if you stop pretending you're not."

He turned fully then.

Sharp. Ice-eyed. Beautiful in the kind of way that made your heart beat wrong.

"You have no idea who I am."

I leaned back, satisfied. "Maybe not. But you sure act like you know who I am."

His lips parted for a second like he wanted to say something, but the teacher walked in, and he turned back around without a word.

After class, I caught up to him.

He moved fast, cutting through students like a shadow with somewhere to be.

I didn't call his name. I just followed.

Out of the building. Across the courtyard. Around the back where no one ever walked.

He stopped.

Waited.

When I turned the corner, he was already leaning against the brick wall, hands in his pockets.

"You always follow people who don't want you around?" he asked.

"Only when they're lying to themselves."

He exhaled hard. "Aria—"

"Say it," I cut in. "Say whatever it is you've been swallowing since the day I kissed you."

Silence.

Then—

"You're wasting your time."

I blinked.

He looked at me then, eyes unreadable. "You're not the type to chase ghosts."

"Then stop acting like one."

He looked away. "You'll forget about me by the time summer ends."

Something in me cracked.

"You're trying to disappear."

He didn't answer.

"I don't care what you're hiding," I said. "But don't think for a second that I'll let you drift out of my story without a fight."

Lucien didn't flinch. But his silence thickened.

Then, like a whisper: "Maybe I'm not meant to stay in your story."

"Then I'll rewrite the ending."

He stepped away from the wall. Passed me without touching.

But I turned.

"I'm not done with you, Gray."

His voice came from behind me, low and steady.

"I know."

That night, I told the girls everything.

About Lucien. The coldness. The distance. Not the truth. because I didn't have it yet.

Leah kicked the leg of the table. "He can't just ghost you after all that."

"Maybe he thinks he's being noble," Juno said, rolling her eyes.

"Boys are never noble," Skye muttered. "They're just good at running."

I tapped my nails against the glass in front of me. "Then maybe we make it harder for him to run."

That's when Juno grinned. "Party?"

"Not just any party," Leah said. "We take over the quad. Lunchtime. Friday."

"I've got the speaker," Skye added.

"I've got the playlist," Juno smirked.

"And I've got the outfit," I said. "Something unforgettable."

The girls leaned in.

This wasn't just a stunt.

It was a warning.

For Lucien. For Vanessa. For everyone watching.

Aria west" doesn't get ignored.