NOT JUST PRETTY
770 Words
Lira drifted through the rest of her classes like a ghost smiling when expected, nodding when addressed, laughing softly when her friends cracked jokes she didn’t really hear.
But her mind wasn’t in the room.
It was stuck in that empty corridor, in the sound of rain on the windows, in the sharp way Juno Falcon had looked at her.
No one had ever looked at her like that.
Not with admiration. Not even with lust.
But with knowing.
It unsettled her.
It excited her.
It terrified her.
She barely touched her lunch. Even her usual favorite mango yogurt and spicy plantain chips tasted like cardboard. She told Iris she had a headache and skipped their usual after-school hangout.
She needed air.
She needed space.
But she hadn’t even reached the front gates of Moonridge Academy when the air shifted again.
The world around her faded into the background,the giggles of students, the revving of a car, the shriek of a girl chasing after her brother.
Because standing across the school parking lot, arms folded over his chest, stood Juno Falcon.
He wasn’t in uniform anymore. He wore black jeans that hugged his legs like they were made for him and a plain grey T-shirt that clung to his body just enough to reveal the lean strength beneath. His boots were scuffed, his dark hair slightly damp from the fading drizzle.
And his eyes?
Still storm-grey.
Still dangerous.
Still on her.
Lira paused mid-step.
She didn’t know whether to run or approach him. Her heartbeat pounded like a warning or maybe a dare.
Then he tilted his head at her, just a little. Like a silent challenge.
Come closer.
She did.
Slowly.
Cautiously.
Drawn by something she didn’t understand.
When she was a few feet away, he spoke—not loudly, but just enough for her to hear through the drizzle.
“You’re different.”
She blinked. “I… I’m not. I’m just—”
“Pretty?” he interrupted, smirking faintly. “Everyone already knows that.”
She hesitated. “Then what do you think I am?”
There was a long pause.
His eyes flickered over her, not with lust but with calculation, with interest, with something unreadable.
Then he stepped forward just one step and leaned in close enough that she could see the drop of water clinging to his lashes.
“You’re not ready for me,” he whispered.
Lira’s breath caught in her throat.
Her fingers clenched into her skirt.
Before she could speak—before she could even process—he turned and walked away, the weight of his words crashing over her like a second storm.
She walked home in a daze.
You’re not ready for me.
What the hell did that even mean?
Who did he think he was?
Who did she think she was getting flustered over a guy just because he had a mysterious voice and eyes like rain?
But no matter how many times she replayed the conversation in her head, she couldn’t make sense of it.
All she knew was that Juno Falcon had seen through the smile she wore for the world.
And that made him dangerous.
Because she didn’t even know what he saw but she was afraid he might be right.
Later that night
Tess Moonfire was strict as always.
“Dinner’s in twenty minutes. No distractions. And no boys calling your phone, Lira.”
Lira didn’t answer. Not because she was defying her mother but because the only boy on her mind… hadn’t even asked for her number.
She stood in front of the mirror, still in her uniform, eyes trailing over her own reflection.
She was used to being told she was beautiful she had the soft kind of beauty that made people stop and look twice. Large almond-shaped eyes, smooth brown skin that glowed under any light, glossy lips that rarely said more than necessary.
Boys flirted.
Girls complimented.
Teachers adored.
But none of it ever touched her.
Not until Juno.
He didn’t say she was pretty.
He didn’t compliment her eyes or ask where she got her lip gloss.
He looked like he wanted to uncover something else entirely something beneath the quiet and the perfection.
And it scared her.
Because what if she didn’t like what he found?
Midnight
She opened her window, just to feel the breeze.
The night air was cool and full of crickets. Moonlight spilled across the wooden floor of her bedroom.
She stared out into the dark for a long time.
Wondering.
Waiting.
Wishing she hadn’t met him.
And wishing she could see him again.
- Writer
