Chapter Two – Whispers and Warnings
822 Words
By third period, Crestwood had done what Crestwood always did — turned a two-minute conversation into a full-blown legend.
Alisha sat at the far back of History, pen resting against her notebook, her chin balanced on her palm. She wasn’t listening to Mr. Parker’s monotone about industrial revolutions. She didn’t need to — she’d already read the chapter last night.
What she was listening to was the girl two rows over.
“…I swear, they were talking like they’ve known each other forever.”
“Yeah, but didn’t you hear? He called her Ice Queen. That’s not exactly romantic.”
“Romantic? Please. If Lucas wanted her, she’d already—”
A sharp scrape of Alisha’s chair legs on the tile cut the girl off. She stood, handed in her half-completed worksheet, and walked out of class without a word. Mr. Parker barely glanced up — people didn’t stop Alisha when she moved like that.
The hallway outside was quieter, the buzz of fluorescent lights humming above. She made her way toward the back staircase — the one no one used unless they were skipping class — and found Bettina leaning against the wall, grinning.
“You heard the rumors?” Bettina asked.
“Which ones?”
“About you and King.”
Alisha tilted her head, amused. “The world’s really that bored?”
“Oh, babe, you have no idea. Half the girls think you’re secretly together, the other half think he’s going to ‘claim’ you like this is some kind of medieval romance novel.” Bettina wiggled her fingers dramatically.
Alisha smirked. “And what do you think?”
“That you don’t even like him.”
Alisha didn’t answer. That was the thing about her — silence could mean anything, and she knew it.
---
Across campus, Lucas King leaned against the hood of his motorcycle, a cigarette dangling between his fingers though he hadn’t lit it. Two of his crew — Marco and Darius — stood nearby, keeping their voices low.
“She’s different,” Marco said.
Lucas didn’t look at him. “She’s smart.”
“Smart gets you killed around here.”
Lucas finally lit the cigarette, exhaling smoke into the cool air. “Not if you know who to trust.”
“Meaning you?” Marco smirked.
Lucas didn’t answer either.
---
Lunch period was always chaos at Crestwood — shouting across tables, the smell of fries and pizza, the occasional food fight in the back corner. Alisha sat at her usual spot against the far wall, Bettina across from her, and a paperback novel in her hands.
She was halfway through a page when the cafeteria noise shifted again.
Not a hush this time — more like a ripple. Heads turning. Shoulders straightening.
Lucas was here.
He didn’t walk in alone. Three of his crew flanked him, each carrying that same quiet confidence that came from being untouchable. They didn’t sit down right away — they scanned the room first, like a lion picking a spot in the shade.
And then, without asking, Lucas sat at the edge of Alisha’s table.
Bettina’s eyes went wide. “Um… hi?”
Lucas didn’t even glance at her. His gaze locked on Alisha.
“You’re avoiding me,” he said.
Alisha closed her book, marking the page with a finger. “Or maybe you’re just finding me too much.”
That smirk again — lazy, dangerous, knowing. “I like a challenge.”
“Then find one somewhere else.”
He leaned in slightly, voice dropping low enough only she could hear. “Careful, Ice Queen. People might start thinking you’re interested.”
Alisha’s expression didn’t change, but inside, she could feel the heat of his proximity. Not fear — just awareness.
Lucas stood, his crew following. “See you around,” he said, and the words sounded less like a goodbye and more like a promise.
---
That night, back at home, Alisha sat cross-legged on her bed, laptop open but forgotten. From the kitchen, she could hear her mother, Hazel, humming to herself while chopping vegetables for dinner.
Hazel was the kind of mom people wished they had — easygoing, funny, beautiful in that ageless way that made strangers do double-takes. But she also had an uncanny ability to notice things.
Like now.
“Who’s Lucas King?” Hazel asked, voice carrying down the hall.
Alisha froze. “Where’d you hear that?”
“Bettina’s mom,” Hazel replied. “Apparently he’s dangerous. Apparently he’s also been hanging around you.”
Alisha rolled her eyes. “You know how people exaggerate.”
Hazel’s voice softened. “Just… be careful, okay?”
Alisha didn’t answer. She just stared at the glow of her laptop screen, Lucas’s smirk flashing uninvited in her mind.
And for the first time in a long while, the Ice Queen wondered if she was standing too close to the fire.
- Writer
