under his control

Signals, Secrets, and Seriously What the Hell

Kale POV

I didn’t sleep at all. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw that message again, playing on repeat in my head like a bad song I couldn’t turn off. Who the hell sends something like that to someone they don’t even know, and more importantly, how did they even get my number in the first place?

I turned over in bed for what felt like the hundredth time and groaned into my pillow. By morning, I looked like I had personally fought sleep all night and lost really badly.

School was loud and normal, which somehow made everything in my head feel even worse than before.

I sat in class, staring at absolutely nothing on my desk while my brain kept running in circles about Jace and the studio and that message.

“Kale.”

“Kale.”

“KALE.”

I flinched and jumped in my seat, then snapped, “What?” as I turned to Molly, who was already staring at me like I’d completely lost my mind.

“Thank you,” she said dryly. “Nice to know you’re still alive and not a zombie.”

“Barely,” I muttered.

Her eyes narrowed immediately. “Okay… what’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing,” I responded too fast.

“Liar.”

I sighed and leaned back on my chair. “Can we not do this right now?”

“No,” she said, folding her arms like she meant business. “We’re doing it now. You’ve been staring into space like you’re about to either cry or commit a crime.”

“…That’s dramatic.”

“You like dramatic,” she shot back. “Talk.”

I hesitated for a second, then I leaned closer to her desk and muttered, “Fine, but if you scream, I’m disowning you as my friend.”

She perked up right away. “Oh, this is good. I can feel it already.”

I rolled my eyes. “I went to the studio last night.”

Her jaw dropped instantly. “You WHAT...”

I grabbed her arm fast. “Quiet!”

She slapped her hand over her mouth, eyes wide like I just told her the biggest secret ever, and whispered, “Continue.”

I exhaled, “It was… insane. Like, actually insane. Big. Expensive. Everyone there knew what they were doing. And Jace...”

“And Jace?” Molly leaned in closer.

I shook my head. “He’s… I don’t know... intense, annoying, really good at what he does.”

“Hot,” she added.

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to.”

I ignored her because she was right but I wasn’t going to admit it. “We worked a bit. He wants to help me with CGT,” I said.

Molly’s face lit up. “Oh my God, you’re actually living my dream right now.”

“Yeah, well, your dream didn’t come with creepy messages from strangers,” I said.

Her smile dropped right away. “…What?”

I pulled out my phone and showed her the message. She read it once and looked up at me with worried eyes. “Okay,” she said carefully, “that’s… not normal. Like, at all. That’s straight-up serial killer intro message.”

“Great,” I muttered. “Love that for me.”

“Did you tell Jace about it?”

“Hell no.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “It felt… weird to bring up.”

Molly studied me for a second. “Do you think it’s someone from the studio?” she asked.

My stomach tightened when she said that. “I don’t know,” I admitted. “That’s the problem. It could be anyone.”

“Or someone watching you,” she added.

My chest felt tight all of a sudden and I couldn’t breathe right. Before I could respond to her, a voice cut through the room.

“What is going on back there?”

We both froze and slowly turned around. Mr. Ralph stood at the front of the class, arms crossed, eyes locked directly on us.

Shit.

“Nothing, sir,” I said quickly, trying to sound innocent.

“Really?” he replied. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re running your own private conversation instead of paying attention.”

I opened my mouth, but he continued, “Since you’re so engaged, Kale, maybe you’d like to answer this.”

Oh, I was finished. Absolutely finished.

“What’s the primary function of...”

“I can answer that, sir!” I blinked because Molly’s hand shot up like her life depended on it.

Mr. Ralph paused, then said, “…Go ahead.”

She launched into an answer so confident that I almost believed she actually knew what she was talking about. I exhaled slowly, leaning back in my seat.

“You’re welcome,” she whispered without looking at me.

“I owe you,” I muttered.

“Yes,” she said. “Yes, you do.”

A few minutes later, I raised my hand. “Sir, may I be excused?”

Mr. Ralph looked at me for a long second, then nodded. “Make it quick.”

I didn’t wait. I was already out the door. The bathroom was empty, or at least I thought it was. I walked in, splashed some water on my face, gripping the sink as I stared at my reflection in the mirror and muttered to myself that I was fine and not being stalked, but a soft, muffled sound from one of the stalls cut me off.

I frowned. “…Hello?”

No answer, just movement, then a quiet laugh.

“Yeah, I’m gonna... leave,” I said, already turning to go. But then I heard a moan, soft... coming from the stall. Oh damn... WTF was happening in there. I took slow steps toward the stall, too careful not to make a noise and f**k my curiosity.

My eyes perfectly fitted a small hole on the door and immediately I froze. My hands slapped my mouth shut. I could not believe what I was seeing.

Noah? TF is he doing. His d**k was perfectly thrusting in and out of someone with a steady rhythm. Fuck.. my d**k almost got hard so I pressed my hand over it. His body was so perfect. Sweet sweaty fair skin and well built muscles.

I was too focused on my crush. I forgot to check who was the lucky motherfucker. I peered closer. My blood drained immediately as Perry looked straight toward me but he didn't notice I was there.

Noah was having s*x with a guy, and he was enjoying every bit of it. But god damn it, hot Noah is gay?