Chapter 3 — Unwanted Spotlight
701 Words
The second Lena stepped into the hallway, she knew something had shifted.
The air felt heavier, charged, like the seconds before a summer storm. Heads turned. Whispers followed. A few people smiled too sweetly to be genuine.
Her gut told her exactly whose fault it was.
And sure enough, there he was. Nate Reynolds, leaning against his locker like he owned the place. One hand shoved in his hoodie pocket, the other lazily spinning his keys. His gaze found her instantly, and the faint, satisfied curl of his mouth confirmed it,he knew exactly what he’d done.
She shot him a glare as she passed. He didn’t move, but his voice slid after her, low and taunting.
“Morning, princess. Heard you’re famous now.”
She didn’t look back. Not giving him the satisfaction.
Of course, the school wasn’t going to let her get away that easily.
“Hey, princess!” Jessica’s voice rang out from near the trophy case. The tall, glossy-haired cheerleader sauntered up, her friends flanking her like a pack of wolves. “How’s your boyfriend?”
Lena froze. “Excuse me?”
Jessica tilted her head in mock innocence. “Oh sorry. I mean stepbrother. Do you two always ride in together?”
A ripple of laughter from the pack.
“That’s none of your business,” Lena said, keeping her tone even though her pulse thudded in her ears.
Jessica’s smile sharpened. “Around here? Everything’s everyone’s business.”
The bell cut through the tension, but the sting stayed with her all the way to first period.
By lunchtime, the whispers had evolved into outright fabrications. Someone had apparently decided she and Nate shared a bedroom. She didn’t even want to imagine who came up with that or why.
She scanned the cafeteria, debating whether to just eat in the library. But then she spotted him, center table, surrounded by friends, laughing like the rumors didn’t just start a wildfire in her life.
“Lena!” he called out, waving with exaggerated enthusiasm. “Over here!”
Her first instinct was to ignore him. The smarter choice would’ve been to walk away. But sitting alone while everyone stared felt like painting a target on her back, so she forced herself toward him.
“This is my step-sister,” Nate announced the second she sat down, his voice carrying far enough to reach three tables over. “And no, you can’t have her number. Don’t even think about it.”
More laughter. She wanted to melt through the floor.
“Can you not?” she hissed under her breath.
“I’m protecting you,” he said, lips twitching like he knew exactly how much he was getting under her skin.
“From what? People liking me?”
“From people liking you too much,” he shot back, eyes glinting with something she couldn’t read.
Before she could fire off a reply, Riley, one of Nate’s football buddies, bumped past her “accidentally,” jostling her tray so hard her apple rolled across the table.
“Oops,” Riley said, not sounding sorry at all.
Nate snatched the apple mid-roll, but instead of returning it, he took a slow, deliberate bite. Juice dripped down his knuckle. He licked it away.
Her glare could’ve cut glass. “You’re disgusting.”
He grinned. “You’re welcome.”
When the bell finally rang, she made a break for the door, but he caught up easily, falling into step beside her.
“Don’t take Jessica and Riley too seriously,” he said, as if he hadn’t been egging them on all day.
“Why not?” she asked sharply.
“Because they’re jealous,” he said without hesitation.
She laughed, short and disbelieving. “Of what?”
He glanced down at her, smirk, curling slow and lazy. “Of you being in my house. And maybe… of me paying attention to you.”
The words hit harder than she wanted them to. She rolled her eyes and walked faster, refusing to give him the satisfaction of a reaction. But she could feel him watching her the whole way down the hall, like he already knew she wasn’t as unaffected as she pretended.
- Writer
