LINES THAT SHOULDN'T BE CROSSED
1093 Words
Maya’s POV
The courtyard didn’t return to normal after Lucas left.
Even hours later, the whispers still followed me.
I could feel them everywhere—in the hallway, outside the lecture hall, even inside the library where silence was supposed to swallow gossip. But gossip at Westbridge University had a way of surviving anything.
“Did you see the way Adrian looked at her?”
“Lucas Hart came back and the first person he talked to was Maya.”
“She must be really bold…”
“No, she must be stupid.”
I kept walking.
Head forward. Shoulders straight. Eyes focused on the lecture notes in my hand even though I wasn’t reading a single word.
I had promised myself something when I entered this university as a scholarship student.
Stay invisible. Graduate. Leave.
Simple
But somehow, in less than two weeks, I had managed to anger the most powerful student on campus, attract the attention of his rival, and become the center of the most ridiculous rumors the school had probably seen all semester.
I pushed open the door to my afternoon lecture hall and froze.
Adrian was already inside.
Of course he was.
He sat in the same seat as always—back row, corner, like a king observing his kingdom. A few of his usual circle sat nearby, laughing quietly, but the moment I walked in, several heads turned.
And then Adrian looked up.
His gaze landed on me instantly.
It wasn’t cold.
It wasn’t warm either.
It was… focused.
Like I had just walked into a battlefield he had already been preparing for.
I ignored him.
Or at least I tried to.
I walked down the aisle and chose a seat near the middle, placing my bag down and pulling out my notebook.
Two minutes later, the whispers started again.
“He’s looking at her.”
“Again?”
“He hasn’t stopped.”
I refused to turn around.
But my fingers tightened slightly around my pen.
******
Adrian’s POV
She was pretending not to notice me.
Interesting.
Most people at this university reacted in one of two ways when they realized I was watching them—either nervous obedience or desperate attention seeking.
Maya Bennett did neither.
She simply ignored me.
I leaned back slightly in my chair, studying her from across the lecture hall.
Lucas had appeared yesterday like a ghost from the past, stirring up old rivalries I had no intention of reliving.
But the real problem wasn’t Lucas.
The real problem was the way his eyes had lingered on her.
I didn’t like it.
Not one bit.
Beside me, Ethan nudged my arm.
“Bro,” he murmured quietly, “you’re staring again.”
I didn't’ look at him.
“Am I?”
“Yes.”
Silence stretched for a moment.
Then he sighed. “You know the whole school is talking about you two now, right?”
Of course they were.
Whispers were inevitable when someone like Maya stepped into my orbit.
“She’s handling it better than most,” Ethan added.
That, I had noticed.
Even now, while half the lecture hall watched her like a piece of entertainment, Maya sat straight, calm, writing in her notebook as if none of it mattered.
But I noticed something else.
Her bag.
Old. Worn at the corners.
The zipper looked like it might break any second.
And when she opened it to pull out another notebook, I saw the stack of part-time job flyers inside.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Maya’s POV
Halfway through the lecture, my phone vibrated quietly inside my bag.
I frowned.
No one usually texted me during class.
Carefully, I slipped the phone out under the desk and glanced at the screen.
Unknown Number.
The message read:
“Check the student portal.”
My eyebrows pulled together.
What?
I quickly opened the university portal app.
And then I froze.
A notification blinked on the screen.
Tuition Balance Update: Paid.
My heart skipped.
Paid?
That couldn’t be right.
My scholarship covered most of my tuition, but there was always a small remaining balance I had to handle myself each semester. I had been planning to take extra weekend shifts to deal with it.
But now the balance showed zero.
Paid in full.
I stared at the screen in confusion.
Who would—
Slowly, my head lifted.
Across the lecture hall, Adrian was still leaning back in his chair.
Watching me.
Not smiling.
Not explaining.
Just watching.
My chest tightened slightly.
No.
No way.
******
Adrian’s POV
She noticed.
Good.
Her eyes flicked toward me across the room, confusion written clearly across her face.
I didn’t react.
Didn’t smile.
Didn’t confirm anything.
Helping her publicly would only make things worse.
Lucas was already sniffing around like a wolf, and Serena was bound to stir trouble sooner or later.
But quietly?
Silently?
No one needed to know.
Ethan leaned closer again.
“What did you do?”
I glanced at him.
“Nothing.”
He snorted softly.
“Sure.”
Across the room, Maya was still staring at her phone.
Her expression has changed now.
Less confusion.
More suspicion.
Smart girl.
******
Maya’s POV
After class ended, I packed my bag slowly.
Students filed out of the lecture hall, their conversations buzzing around me like flies.
I was halfway to the door when a voice stopped me.
“Leaving already?”
I turned.
Lucas Hart leaned casually against the hallway wall.
Like he had been waiting.
My stomach dropped slightly.
He pushed away from the wall and walked toward me slowly.
“I was wondering when I’d run into you again,” he said.
I crossed my arms slightly. “Do you wait outside lecture halls often?”
He laughed softly.
“I make exceptions for interesting people.”
Behind him, I noticed something else.
Adrian had stopped in the hallway.
Watching.
Lucas noticed too.
And the smile that spread across his face this time was sharper.
More deliberate.
He leaned slightly closer to me and said quietly:
“You know…”
His voice dropped just enough for Adrian to hear the tone but not the words.
“…you’ve caused quite a storm between old enemies.”
I held his gaze.
“Sounds like your problem.”
Lucas chuckled.
Then he straightened.
“But storms can be fun,” he said.
And then he walked away.
Leaving me standing there.
With Adrian’s eyes still locked on mine.
The war between them had clearly started again.
And somehow…
I was the center of it.
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