Juliette:
The sky was deepening into dusk, the air cooler as it wrapped around us just outside the theater. After everything that had happened—Cole’s comments, the kiss, the tension with Maddox—I felt like my head was spinning.
I was still standing there awkwardly, unsure what to say next, when Maddox looked over at me and casually asked,
“You eaten yet?”
I blinked. “No, not yet.”
He rubbed the back of his neck, glancing out toward the parking lot. “Yeah… me either.”
I hesitated, the words already forming—**I’m fine, I’ll just go back to my dorm**—but before I could speak, my stomach chose that exact moment to let out a long, unmistakable growl.
I froze. Maddox smirked. “Yeah. No, you’re not just heading back to the dorm. Come on.”
“Maddox, it’s okay—”
“Jules,” he said, ra
