The Bad boy's Secret Tutor

The Fallout

By first period, the whole school knew.

"They were in there ALL NIGHT??"

"Alone?"

"Jake Bennett and the library girl??"

Mia felt it the second she stepped through the doors. Phones up. Stares. Snickers.

Even her teachers looked at her different.

Ashley didn’t wait. She cornered Mia by the bathrooms before homeroom.

"What the hell, Mia?" Her voice was sharp. "You think you can just trap him overnight and now he’s yours?"

Mia clutched her books. "We were stuck. The storm. The doors were locked."

"Right. Convenient." Ashley laughed, but it was ugly. "You’re nothing to him. You know that, right? You’re just a project."

The bell rang. Mia walked away before she could cry.

---

At lunch, it got worse.

Someone had posted a picture. Blurry, from the window.

Jake asleep on the floor with his hoodie over Mia.

Caption: _“Bennett finally found someone who’ll do his homework AND keep him warm 😏”_

It had 200 likes in an hour.

Jake slammed his tray down across from her. He looked furious.

"You see this?"

Mia nodded, staring at her fries. "I’m sorry. I didn’t—"

"Don’t apologize." He cut her off. "You didn’t do anything wrong. WE didn’t do anything wrong."

"Tell that to them." She gestured at the cafeteria. Everyone was watching.

Jake leaned in. "Then let me."

He stood up.

The room went quiet.

"Yeah, we got stuck in the library," he said, loud. "Because of the storm. Because the doors were locked. Because we were finishing a project that’s due Friday. If you have a problem with that, come talk to me. But leave her out of it."

He sat back down.

Silence. Then someone coughed.

Mia stared at him. "You didn’t have to do that."

"Yeah, I did." He bumped her shoulder. "You’re my partner. Remember?"

---

After school. Principal’s office.

Mr. Reyes, Coach Daniels, and both their moms were there.

Mia’s mom was worried. "Is she okay? She’s never stayed out—"

Jake’s mom looked tired. "Jake, are you in trouble?"

Coach crossed his arms. "Bennett, this better not affect the game."

Mr. Reyes held up the project. It was perfect. Graphs, data, real-world examples. A+.

"They did the work," he said. "And they did it under... unusual circumstances. I’m not punishing them. But I am moving tutoring to the open study hall. No more closed library."

Jake and Mia looked at each other.

Open study hall meant everyone would be there. No quiet. No rain. No 3:15 PM just-them.

Walking out, Jake’s mom hugged him. Mia’s mom hugged her too.

"You’re in a lot of drama now, huh?" her mom whispered.

Mia just nodded.

Outside, Jake waited for her.

"Open study hall sucks," he said.

"Yeah."

"But we’ll still do the work."

"Yeah."

He paused. "And Mia? I meant what I said in there. You’re not just my partner."

He didn’t say what else.

But he didn’t have to.

The whispers were still there.

But for the first time, Mia wasn’t hiding from them.