EXPOSED
~KADE POV~
{Playlist Suggestion: "Bad Reputation" by Joan Jett}
Valerie's voice cuts through the cafeteria noise like a scalpel. Every conversation stops. Every head turns.
"Golden boy Kingston prefers the janitor to a real girlfriend."
The words hang in the air, toxic and deliberate. My hands curl into fists under the table. Heat floods my face, but not from embarrassment. From rage.
Because this is about Chelsea. And I just made her life hell.
"Val, back off," Denver warns, but his voice gets swallowed by the crowd.
Valerie approaches our table, her designer heels clicking against the linoleum. Her friends follow like vultures, phones already out, recording everything.
"What's wrong, Kade?" She leans across the table, her perfume cloying. "Embarrassed your new girlfriend
