BETWEEN US AND THE PAST

CHAPTER 5 - THE BLACKMAIL

The car ride felt too quiet. That was never a good sign with Lori.

After a few minutes, she finally spoke without looking at me.

“So… what aren’t you telling me?”

I sighed. There was no escaping it.

“…Mason got my number from my mom,” I admitted.

A beat of silence.

Then Lori let out a short laugh. “Of course he did.”

I turned my head slightly. “That’s your reaction?”

“What else am I supposed to say?” she said, still amused. “Your mom basically added him to your life herself.”

I groaned and leaned back against the seat.

“It’s not funny.”

But it kind of was. And that was the problem.

Lori glanced at me briefly, that familiar teasing look forming again.

“There’s more, isn’t there?”

I hesitated. She already knew.

I exhaled.

“…He saw me,” I said quietly.

“Doing what?”

I closed my eyes for a second.

“…Dancing.”

That got her attention.

I didn’t even need to look at her to know she was smiling.

“It was at night,” I continued in a lower voice. “I didn’t know he was outside. He was literally across the street.”

The silence that followed was short.

Then Lori let out a soft laugh.

“Evelyn,” she said, shaking her head, “you’re not living a normal college life.”

I stared out the window.

I already knew that.

And somehow… it felt like it was only getting worse.

The campus was already busy when Lori and I arrived at Westbridge. Students rushed past us, the usual morning chaos filling every corner of the hallway.

I adjusted my bag and followed Lori toward our classroom, still half-focused on the fact that I already knew this day would be exhausting.

That feeling didn’t last long.

Frost Dawson was standing near the classroom entrance. Too calm. Too early.

Before I could even react, he stepped forward and grabbed my bag from my shoulder.

“Hey—what are you doing?” I said quickly. “My bag,” I added, trying to pull it back.

“I know,” Frost replied.

And just like that, he walked inside—with it.

“Did he just take my bag?” I asked Lori.

She was already smiling. “He did.”

I followed him inside, annoyed now, while students started looking.

Frost walked straight down the aisle and stopped near the middle row. He placed my bag on the seat beside him and sat down like it was already decided.

“Sit,” he said simply.

I stared at him. “You can’t just decide that.”

“You followed anyway,” he said.

I opened my mouth—then stopped.

Because I did.

Behind us, Lori slipped into a seat, clearly entertained.

I sighed and sat beside him.

“Happy now?” I muttered.

Frost looked forward. “Better.”

“Better than what?” I asked.

He didn’t answer. Just stayed calm.

And that alone felt like a problem I didn’t understand yet.

The class went on normally after that. Too normal, actually.

The professor’s voice filled the room, slides changing on the board, students taking notes—the usual rhythm of a first-week lecture settling in.

I tried to follow along. I really did.

But my attention kept drifting—not to chaos this time, but to the people around me.

Frost was beside me, and for once, I wasn’t irritated. I was… observing.

He was fully focused on the discussion. Not the distracted kind of “looking at the board while thinking about something else.”

No. He was actually listening.

Writing at a steady pace, eyes tracking every point the professor made like he was building everything in his head piece by piece.

It was oddly… impressive.

At one point, the professor asked a question, and before anyone else could react, Frost answered.

Calm. Direct. Correct. Like it was nothing.

I blinked at him without realizing it.

He didn’t even look satisfied. Just went back to his notes like it was expected.

“…Show-off,” I muttered under my breath, though there was no real annoyance in it.

Lori, sitting behind us, leaned forward slightly. “You’re staring.”

“I am not,” I whispered back immediately.

“You were.”

I ignored her and looked forward again.

But my attention didn’t stay there either.

Because I noticed something else.

Frost smelled… good.

Not strong. Not distracting in an obvious way.

Just clean and subtle, like fresh soap and something warm I couldn’t place.

It was the kind of thing you only noticed when you were sitting too close.

I frowned slightly to myself.

Why was I even noticing that?

I shifted in my seat and forced my eyes back to the board.

Frost turned a page in his notebook. Still focused. Still calm.

And somehow, that made him even more annoying.

Because while everyone else was struggling to keep up— he looked like he already understood everything.

And I didn’t know why that amused me more than it should have.

School had just ended, and the hallway was loud with students rushing out, laughing, talking—the noise of the day spilling everywhere.

I was walking with Lori when I felt someone step into my space.

“Evelyn.”

I stopped immediately.

That voice was familiar by now.

I turned.

Mason.

Standing a few steps away, hands in his pockets, expression unreadable—but sharper than usual.

Lori glanced at me once, then quickly made an excuse.

“I’ll wait outside,” she said, already backing away.

“Of course you will,” I muttered.

And just like that, it was only us in the hallway.

“What is it?” I asked.

Mason didn’t waste time.

“Stay away from Frost.”

I blinked. “What?”

He repeated it, calmer but firm. “Don’t sit beside him. Don’t get involved with him.”

I frowned. “That’s not your decision.”

“I know,” he said simply.

That only made it worse.

I crossed my arms. “Then why are you saying it?”

A pause.

Mason’s eyes stayed on me—steady, serious.

“Because I’ve seen what happens when people get too close to him.”

I let out a short laugh. “That’s dramatic.”

“It’s not a joke.”

His tone made me pause slightly.

That was new.

Mason wasn’t smiling. Not teasing. Not relaxed like before. Just… focused.

I tilted my head. “Are you trying to warn me or control me?”

“Neither,” he said.

A beat.

Then, quieter:

“I’m trying to keep you out of it.”

That made the air shift.

I looked at him for a moment—really looked.

“…Out of what, exactly?” I asked.

Mason didn’t answer right away.

His jaw tightened slightly, like he was deciding how much to say.

Then—

“I saw the way he looks at you in class,” he said.

My stomach tightened a little.

“That doesn’t mean anything.”

“It does,” he replied immediately.

Silence.

He stepped half a pace closer, lowering his voice.

“Frost doesn’t do things without reason,” Mason said. “And he doesn’t involve people unless he’s already decided something.”

I frowned. “That sounds like your opinion.”

“It’s not,” he said.

Another pause.

Then his voice softened—but only slightly.

“I’m serious, Evelyn.”

That made me stop joking.

Because Mason didn’t sound like he was trying to win anything this time. He sounded like he actually meant it.

I looked away first, exhaling.

“This is too much for a first week,” I muttered.

Mason didn’t argue.

He just said, “Then stay away from him.”

For a moment, neither of us moved.

The hallway slowly emptied around us, footsteps fading into the distance.

And I was stuck between two things I didn’t fully understand yet— Frost, who didn’t explain anything. And Mason, who suddenly sounded like he knew too much.

A pause.

Mason exhaled slowly, like he was deciding something.

Then he reached into his pocket.

My stomach tightened.

He pulled out his phone.

“…What is that?” I asked cautiously.

He didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he unlocked it and turned the screen toward me.

My world stopped.

It was me. Dancing. In my room. Singing. Pointing. Completely unaware I was being watched.

Oh God. Why? Really?

He lowered the phone slightly but didn’t put it away.

“I’m not doing this to embarrass you,” he said.

I pointed at the screen. “You are literally using it against me.”

Silence.

Then Mason finally said it.

“If you don’t stay away from Frost… I’ll expose it.”

The words hit like a slap.

I froze.

“…You’re blackmailing me,” I said slowly.

Mason didn’t deny it.

That was worse.

My voice dropped. “Why?”

His jaw tightened.

“Because you don’t understand what you’re getting into with him.”

I let out a short, bitter laugh. “So your solution is to threaten me?”

“It’s to protect you,” he said immediately.

“That’s not protection,” I snapped.

He stepped slightly closer, voice still controlled.

“I don’t want that video out,” he said. “But I will if I have to.”

Silence stretched between us.

The hallway felt colder now.

My hands tightened at my sides. “So it’s that simple? I stay away from Frost… and you keep my humiliation to yourself?”

Mason didn’t answer right away. Just looked at me.

That silence was enough.

I shook my head slightly, disbelief sinking in.

“You’re unbelievable,” I muttered.