The week passed in quiet chaos. Aria found herself slipping into a rhythm that she didn’t fully understand — mornings filled with tension, afternoons with quiet conversations, and evenings replaying moments she couldn’t seem to forget.
Damian had become a constant. Not in the loud, challenging way he used to be, but in smaller moments — a quick exchange in the hall, a shared glance during class, the subtle acknowledgment of something that neither of them could name.
And though she tried to convince herself it was harmless, Luca’s warning still echoed somewhere in the back of her mind.
It was Friday afternoon when everything came to a head.
Crescent High was buzzing with noise — the end of the week always brought that strange mix of energy and exhaustion. Aria had just finished her last
