HER UNREQUITED LOVE

Glances♡

Olivia’s face flushed bright red with instant fury, her mouth opening to deliver a scorching, defensive retort, but I quickly caught her hand under the table, squeezing it tight. "Don't give them the satisfaction," my eyes pleaded with her silently. Keeping my head held high, I pulled Olivia past them, leaving the lab behind as we hurried toward our next class: Advanced Mathematics.

​We absolutely didn't want to be late for this one. Everyone at Oak Haven knew how Sir Clark was—the man was a terrifying disciplinarian who absolutely did not joke with time or tardiness. We slipped into the classroom just before the final chime echoed through the halls and sat together in our usual row near the center. As the teacher began writing on the board, I felt a strange, heavy sensation on the side of my face. I turned my head slightly. A few rows over, Vincent Vance was staring directly at me. The moment our eyes met, he didn't look away with his usual unbothered, detached expression; instead, a strange, conflicted look passed over his features before he quietly turned back to his desk.

​"What on earth is happening to him?" I asked myself, completely bewildered by his behavior. Shaking it off, I forced my focus back to Sir Clark, who was tapping the blackboard sharply with a piece of chalk.

​"Today, we are diving into advanced matrices and systems of linear equations," Sir Clark announced, his deep voice booming across the silent room. "Let's see who actually studied over the weekend. We are looking at a 3 times 3 matrix multiplication and finding its determinant using cofactor expansion."

​He rapidly chalked a highly complex problem on the board, the numbers stretching across the slate. "Miss Vanessa Vance!" Sir Clark barked suddenly, pointing his chalk directly at her. "Come to the board and solve for the determinant."

​Vanessa froze in her seat. She slowly stood up, smoothing down her designer skirt to buy time, and walked to the front of the room with a confident stride that quickly dissolved into pure panic as she stared at the numbers on the board. She picked up the chalk with a shaking hand, writing a few random, completely incorrect numbers before completely stalling.

​Sir Clark’s brow furrowed in deep disappointment. "Is this a joke to you, Miss Vance? Just because your wealthy family sponsors the school does not mean you are exempt from basic arithmetic. This is absolute garbage. Sit down and expect a failing participation grade for today!"

​A few students in the back choked back snickers as Vanessa marched back to her seat, her face burning with pure, unadulterated humiliation. As she sat down, she threw a venomous, lethal glare straight at me, as if her public failure was somehow my fault.

​"Who can actually solve this properly?" Sir Clark grumbled, looking around the room.

​To everyone's absolute shock, Vincent quietly raised his hand. He didn't wait to be called twice. He walked down the aisle, took the chalk from the teacher, and seamlessly began writing out the expansion along the second row to utilize the zero entry, making the calculation incredibly elegant. With absolute precision and a calm demeanor, he calculated the values rapidly, showcasing a brilliant mathematical mind.

​The entire classroom sat in stunned, dead silence. Vincent rarely spoke in class, let alone volunteered to conduct a math lesson. He handed the chalk back to a thoroughly impressed Sir Clark, and as he walked back to his desk, his dark eyes locked onto mine for a fraction of a second, holding a quiet, intense weight that I couldn't quite decipher. Before anyone could say a single word, the bell rang loudly for the midday break.

​The chaotic hum of the main cafeteria was overwhelming as students flooded the dining hall. I tried to pull Olivia toward an empty, secluded corner table near the back exit. "Let's just sit alone today, Olivia. I really don't want any attention after what happened in math class."

​"No way, girl. You are sitting with us," Olivia insisted fiercely, completely ignoring my protests as she grabbed my wrist and practically dragged me over to Felix Burtman’s usual table by the large glass windows.

​Felix looked up from his phone, his piercing sapphire blue eyes instantly lighting up with a brilliant, playful grin when he saw us. "Ah, the brilliant biologist returns! Pull up a chair, Aria."

​But before we could even sit down or exchange greetings, the cafeteria’s central PA system crackled to life with a loud, piercing electronic beep. The Headmaster's authoritative voice echoed clearly through the massive, high-ceilinged room.

​"Attention all Oak Haven Academy students. We are pleased to officially announce our annual mandatory luxury field trip. This year, the junior and senior classes will be traveling to the exclusive Echo Valley Resort at Silver Falls for a full week of wilderness exploration, team-building exercises, and formal social galas. Departure is scheduled for this coming Friday. Prepare your packing lists accordingly."

​The entire cafeteria instantly exploded into absolute chaos. Elite girls immediately started squealing with excitement, talking loudly about launching into massive shopping sprees for high-end hiking gear and designer resort wear, while the varsity boys started laughing and bragging about how much fun they were going to have away from parental supervision.

​My heart instantly sank into my stomach. I looked down at my hands, the familiar weight of financial reality crushing my fleeting happiness. "What... I can't go. There's no way my mom can afford a luxury resort fee right now."

​"Hey, don't worry about that at all. We are right here for you," Felix said smoothly, leaning forward across the table with a reassuring look. "We can easily cover it between the two of us."

​"No, Felix, I can't accept that. It's too much," I protested immediately, my pride stinging at the thought of taking handouts.

​Olivia suddenly burst into a loud, mischievous fit of laughter, shaking her head at my stubbornness. "Oh, please! I already anticipated this and paid for your entire trip fee while you were resting at home over the weekend."

​I gasped, my face flushing with a wild mix of shock and irritation. "Olivia! You didn't!"

​The warm laughter at our table continued, and Felix leaned back in his chair, a teasing, brilliant smirk spreading across his handsome face. He glanced over my shoulder before locking eyes with me again. "You know, Aria, you are always so incredibly cute when you're completely surprised or angry. No wonder Vincent Vance literally can't keep his eyes off you."

​"Felix, shut up!" I hissed, my face burning a deep crimson as I instinctively glanced across the crowded cafeteria—only to find Vincent staring right back at our table from across the room, his dark, turbulent eyes filled with an unreadable, storm-like emotion that sent a shiver straight down my spine. I shifted uncomfortably under the weight of Vincent’s intense gaze, but what I didn't realize was that he wasn't the only Vance tracking our table's every move. Just a few rows back, half-hidden by the shadow of a grand marble pillar, Colton sat perfectly still. His silver-gray eyes, sharp and piercing, were locked onto me with a fierce, burning intensity. While his friends laughed over the upcoming trip, Colton remained completely silent, his knuckles white as he gripped his glass.

​"Seriously, Aria, your face is practically a neon sign right now," Olivia teased, nudging my shoulder playfully to break my trance. "If you blush any harder, the entire cafeteria is going to think Felix just proposed to you."

​Felix chuckled, leaning in closer with a conspiratorial wink. "Oh, don't stop on my account. Let them stare. A little high-society drama keeps life interesting."

​I rolled my eyes, trying to ignore their relentless teasing, entirely oblivious to the dark, possessive storm brewing in the background. Colton’s piercing eyes never wavered, tracking the way I smiled at Felix, his jaw clenching tightly as a dangerous, silent tension rippled through him.