The Boy Next Door’s Secret Crush

Chapter 4 : The Jacket

*Chapter 4: The Jacket*

*POV: Mia Bennett*

Monday morning started with me checking the pocket of Lucas’s jacket for the third time.

The note was still there.

_You did good Saturday. Don’t let her scare you off._

No name. No signature. But I knew. Only one person had been close enough to slip something into the pocket without me noticing.

I folded the note carefully and tucked it into my sketchbook before Chloe could see me reading it again.

She was already at her locker, surrounded by her usual group, laughing about something I didn’t care to know. When her eyes flicked to me, her smile sharpened.

Like she knew about the note.

Like she knew about the jacket.

Like she knew about _him_.

I shut my locker fast and headed to English.

---

Room 214 was louder than usual.

People were talking about the Sports Festival. The relay. The teacher-student race where Mr. Davies tripped and landed in a pile of cones.

And me.

“Did you see her with Lucas’s jacket?”

“I heard she spilled water on purpose to get his attention.”

“She’s been following him since day one.”

I kept my head down and slid into the back row. Lily wasn’t in this class. She’d texted me this morning: _Stay strong. I’ll save you a seat at lunch._

Mr. Davies started class without mentioning any of it. Thank god.

Halfway through, the intercom crackled.

“Lucas Carter, report to the auditorium immediately. Sound check for the assembly.”

Lucas stood up, gave me one quick glance, and left.

Chloe watched him go, then turned around in her seat and smiled at me.

“Have fun freezing today,” she said quietly. “I heard you’ve been wearing his jacket nonstop.”

I didn’t answer.

She leaned back, satisfied.

---

Third period was free.

Lily dragged me to the library annex, where it was quiet and no one could corner me with questions about Lucas.

“You okay?” she asked, dropping her bag on the table.

“Fine,” I said, pulling out my sketchbook.

Lily snorted. “You’re drawing his jacket again.”

I stopped. Looked down.

It was true. I’d been sketching the embroidered ‘C’ on the chest, the worn edges of the cuff, the way it hung on me like it belonged there.

“I’m not,” I said, closing the book.

“Uh-huh.” Lily didn’t push. She just opened her lunchbox and slid a cookie toward me. “So, what’s the plan? Are you giving it back today?”

“I was going to,” I said. “But he said to keep it.”

Lily’s eyes lit up. “Oh? And you listened?”

“It’s cold,” I muttered. “And it’s wet under my hoodie from Saturday.”

“Sure,” Lily said. “Cold. That’s why you slept in it.”

I kicked her under the table.

She laughed. “Okay, okay. But Mia… if you’re gonna keep it, you need to be ready for what comes next.”

“What does that mean?”

Lily sighed. “It means Chloe’s not gonna let this go. And if Lucas keeps doing things like this, people are gonna talk. More than they already are.”

I didn’t want to think about that.

So I changed the subject. “What’s the assembly for?”

“Midterm pep talk,” Lily said. “Principal says it’s to ‘boost morale before testing week.’ Translation: he wants us to stop vandalizing the bathrooms.”

I almost smiled.

---

The assembly was in the auditorium at 2 PM.

The whole school was packed in, row after row of restless kids and teachers trying to look like they cared. The stage was set with a podium, a banner that said _Good Luck on Midterms!_, and a sound system that was already screeching feedback.

I sat near the back with Lily, wearing Lucas’s jacket over my hoodie. It was warm. It smelled like him.

Chloe was on stage with the Student Council crew, adjusting the microphone and talking to the principal. She looked perfect. Polished. In control.

She scanned the audience and saw me.

Her smile didn’t change, but her eyes did.

The principal started talking about study habits and sleep schedules. I stopped listening after the second minute.

Then the lights dimmed.

“Before we start,” the principal said, “we have a special announcement.”

Chloe stepped forward.

“As you all know, the Sports Festival was a huge success,” she said into the mic. Her voice was smooth, practiced. “But it wouldn’t have been possible without our volunteers.”

A slide flashed on the screen behind her: photos from Saturday.

There I was. Behind the scoreboard table. Wet. Shivering. Wearing Lucas’s jacket.

The auditorium went quiet.

Then someone laughed.

Then a few more people.

Chloe kept talking like she hadn’t noticed. “We’d like to recognize one volunteer in particular for their dedication.”

The slide changed. A close-up of me, taken from the bleachers. My face was red, my eyes were wide, and Lucas’s jacket swallowed me whole.

“Mia Bennett,” Chloe said. “Come on up.”

My stomach dropped.

“Mia,” Lily whispered. “Don’t go.”

But Chloe was already walking toward the edge of the stage, hand outstretched like she was being generous.

“Come on,” she said into the mic. “We don’t bite.”

The whole school was looking at me.

I stood up.

---

Walking to the stage felt like walking to an execution.

Every step echoed. Every face was watching. Chloe’s smile never wavered.

When I reached the stage, she took my arm and pulled me to the center.

“Everyone,” Chloe said, “this is Mia. She worked the scoreboard all day Saturday. Even when she got a little… clumsy.”

More laughter.

I wanted to disappear.

Chloe handed me a certificate. _Outstanding Volunteer Service._

“Thank you, Mia,” she said. Her voice was sugary. “We appreciate you.”

I nodded and took the certificate, my fingers shaking.

Then I saw him.

Lucas was standing in the wings, holding his track jacket. His face was tight. Angry.

He started walking toward the stage.

“Lucas,” a teacher said, stepping forward. “You’re not on the list.”

He ignored her.

He walked up the steps, took the mic from Chloe’s hand without asking, and turned to face the auditorium.

“Stop,” he said.

The room went silent.

Chloe’s smile slipped. “Lucas, what are you doing?”

Lucas didn’t answer her. He looked at me.

“You don’t have to stand up here if you don’t want to,” he said. “You did your job. You did it well.”

I swallowed. “I’m fine.”

Lucas nodded, then turned back to the crowd.

“Mia spilled water on Saturday,” he said. “It was an accident. And she still finished her shift. She didn’t complain. She didn’t leave.”

Chloe opened her mouth, but Lucas kept going.

“What she didn’t deserve was to be embarrassed for it.”

The auditorium was dead quiet now.

Lucas looked at me again. “You can sit down, Mia.”

I moved, fast, and sat on the edge of the stage. My legs felt weak.

Lucas turned to Chloe. “Give me the jacket.”

Chloe blinked. “What?”

“The jacket,” Lucas said. “It’s mine.”

Chloe hesitated, then pulled it off my shoulders. It was still warm from my skin. She handed it to him, her nails digging into the fabric like she didn’t want to let go.

Lucas took it and draped it over my shoulders himself.

The fabric settled around me, heavy and familiar.

“Stay there,” he said quietly, just for me.

Then he turned back to the mic.

“I know some of you think this is funny,” he said to the auditorium. “It’s not. Mia’s new here. She doesn’t deserve to be made an example of.”

Chloe stepped forward. “Lucas, this isn’t your place—”

“It is now,” he said.

The principal stepped in at that point, clearing his throat. “Alright, thank you, Lucas. Let’s move on.”

Lucas nodded once, then stepped off the stage.

He didn’t sit back in his seat. He sat next to me, on the edge of the stage, like it was normal.

Like I wasn’t alone up there anymore.

---

The rest of the assembly was a blur.

The principal talked. Chloe smiled and said nothing else. Students whispered and glanced at us.

Lucas didn’t say anything to me. He just stayed there.

When it was over, the room emptied fast. People were talking, pointing, recording on their phones.

Lily appeared at my side immediately. “Are you okay?”

I nodded, still holding the certificate like it might fly away if I let go.

Lucas stood up and offered me his hand.

I took it.

He pulled me to my feet, and for a second, his thumb brushed over my knuckles.

“Come on,” he said. “I’ll walk you to your locker.”

Chloe was watching from the aisle. Her face was blank, but her eyes weren’t.

They were furious.

---

The hallway was chaos as everyone left the auditorium.

Lucas walked beside me, shielding me from the crowd without saying anything.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I said quietly.

“Yes, I did,” he said.

“Why?”

Lucas stopped walking. The hallway cleared around us for a second.

“Because it wasn’t fair,” he said simply. “And because I don’t like seeing you get treated like that.”

I didn’t know what to say to that.

So I just nodded.

We reached my locker. I opened it, shoved the certificate inside, and shut it again.

Lucas leaned against the locker next to mine, arms crossed.

“Are you gonna give the jacket back now?” he asked, half-joking.

I looked down at it. “Do I have to?”

Lucas smiled. “Not if you don’t want to.”

My face went hot. “Okay.”

He laughed softly. “Okay.”

Then his expression shifted. Serious again.

“Chloe’s gonna be worse now,” he said. “I’m sorry about that.”

“I can handle her,” I said.

Lucas looked like he didn’t believe me. “You shouldn’t have to.”

I didn’t know what to say to that either.

So I just said, “Thanks. For today.”

Lucas nodded. “Anytime, Mia.”

He started to walk away, then stopped.

“Oh,” he said, pulling something out of his pocket. “You left this in the pocket.”

It was the note. The one from Saturday.

He handed it to me.

I took it, folded it again, and put it in my sketchbook.

“See you tomorrow,” he said.

“See you,” I said.

He left, and I stood there holding the jacket, feeling like the whole school was watching me.

Because they were.

---

Lunch was worse than I expected.

Lily dragged me to our spot under the oak tree, but whispers followed us the whole way.

“Did you see that?”

“Lucas just put her on the stage.”

“She’s literally wearing his jacket again.”

I kept my eyes down and ate half my sandwich before my stomach twisted too tight to finish.

Lily noticed. “Ignore them. Chloe’s mad because she got called out. That’s it.”

“It doesn’t feel like ‘that’s it,’” I said quietly.

Lily sighed. “Yeah. It feels like round two.”

She was right.

After lunch, I went to my locker to drop off my bag before fifth period.

The second I opened it, pink and yellow sticky notes fell out onto the floor.

I froze.

_Lucas’s girl._

_Leave him alone._

_You don’t belong here._

_Go home._

Different handwriting. Same message.

My hands shook as I knelt to pick them up. Someone walked past and laughed.

“Chloe’s really not playing,” a girl muttered to her friend.

I didn’t look up. I just shoved the notes into my bag and slammed the locker shut.

When I stood, Chloe was down the hall.

She wasn’t looking at me.

She didn’t need to.

She was talking to her friends, laughing like nothing happened, but I saw the way her eyes flicked to my locker, to my bag, to me.

She knew.

And she was enjoying it.

---

The bell rang.

I grabbed my bag and walked to class, Lucas’s jacket heavy on my shoulders.

It was warm.

It was safe.

And for the first time since I got here, it felt like I wasn’t invisible.

Even if it meant everyone was watching now.

---

_Hook_

When I got home that night, Mom was waiting in the kitchen with tea and a tired smile.

“How was school?” she asked.

I set my bag down and looked at her.

“Chloe locked me in a room last week,” I said. “Today she put me on a stage in front of the whole school. And Lucas stopped her.”

Mom’s cup stopped halfway to her mouth.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

I thought about the sticky notes, the whispers, the way Lucas’s jacket felt around my shoulders.

“I’m not sure,” I said. “But I don’t feel alone anymore.”

Mom reached across the table and took my hand.

“Then that’s a start,” she said.