Episode Three: Dangerous Games
488 Words
I didn’t sleep that night.
I kept replaying it his smirk, his voice, the kiss I didn’t ask for but couldn’t forget.
And now, I’d agreed to fake date Rowan King.
It was supposed to be a deal. Cold. Practical. A way to survive Crestwood without anyone digging into my past.
But nothing about Rowan felt safe.
The next morning, I walked into school and instantly felt it eyes following me, conversations stopping mid-sentence. People didn’t whisper this time. They just stared.
I had no idea what he’d told them.
I barely made it to my locker before someone stepped in front of me.
A girl. Blonde. Tall. Lip gloss too shiny. Eyes like daggers.
“So it’s true,” she said. “You’re with Rowan?”
I blinked. “Excuse me?”
She crossed her arms. “You’re Eden Knight, right? The transfer? Thought you could just show up and steal what’s not yours?”
“I didn’t steal anything.”
She scoffed. “You must be new if you think Rowan King belongs to anyone but himself.”
She leaned in closer, her tone sharp. “Don’t get comfortable. He always gets bored.”
She walked off before I could respond.
I turned back to my locker, my fingers trembling as I entered the combination. I wasn’t afraid of her, not really. But it was clear whatever Rowan had started, I was the one paying for it.
He found me after first period.
“Hey,” he said, like nothing had happened.
I shut my locker harder than I meant to. “What did you tell people?”
He tilted his head. “That we’re dating. Isn’t that the deal?”
“You could’ve warned me.”
He shrugged. “You’ll get used to it.”
“I don’t want to get used to it.”
He leaned against the locker beside mine, arms crossed. “Too late.”
There was silence between us. That familiar tension I was starting to hate.
Or crave. I wasn’t sure anymore.
“You okay?” he asked suddenly, his voice softer.
I hesitated.
He reached out and gently brushed a strand of hair from my face. “They won’t mess with you again.”
“You don’t have to pretend when no one’s watching,” I said quietly.
He didn’t smile this time.
“Who said I’m pretending?”
Before I could answer, someone called his name from down the hallway. A group of guys loud, cocky, laughing like they owned the place.
He looked at me once more, then walked off to join them.
And just like that, I was alone again.
But something lingered. The way he’d looked at me. The way he’d touched my hair like he wasn’t just playing a game.
Maybe this was dangerous.
But I wasn’t sure if the danger was Rowan…
Or what he was waking up inside me.
To be continued…
- Writer
