UNDERNEATH THE MASK

CHAPTER:4

THE WALLS BEGIN TO FALL

Jessica tried to keep her distance from Kevin after that encounter at her locker, but it was harder than she expected. It wasn’t just that he seemed to appear everywhere—leaning against the lockers, cutting through the halls with his usual effortless confidence, or sitting in the back of class, twirling a pen between his fingers. It was the way she felt when he looked at her. Like he knew something she didn’t.

She told herself she wasn’t interested. That she didn’t care. But she was lying.

One afternoon, after school, Jessica found herself at the park again. It had become a quiet escape, a place where she could clear her head before heading home. She sat on her usual bench, watching the sky shift from blue to soft pink as the sun dipped lower. The air was crisp, the wind brushing against her skin.

Then she heard it—the familiar, low rumble of a motorcycle.

Jessica didn’t have to look to know who it was. Still, she turned her head just in time to see Kevin pull up beside her, his black motorcycle gleaming in the fading sunlight. He swung a leg over and slid off effortlessly, his leather jacket shifting with the movement.

“You’re always here,” he said, his voice carrying that usual mix of amusement and curiosity.

Jessica crossed her arms, tilting her head slightly. “Maybe you’re always here.”

Kevin smirked. “Touché.” He took a step closer, looking down at her. “So what’s the deal, Anderson? You trying to figure me out?”

Jessica scoffed. “You think I sit here every day just to analyze you?”

He shrugged, stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets. “Wouldn’t be the first time someone tried.”

Jessica studied him for a moment, the teasing edge to his voice, the way his expression was unreadable. He made it seem like he didn’t care about anything, like nothing could get under his skin. But she didn’t buy it.

“Maybe I just like the quiet,” she said finally, turning her gaze back to the sky. “Not everything is about you, Kevin.”

He chuckled, sitting down on the bench beside her—closer than she expected. Not touching, but close enough that she could feel the warmth of him next to her.

For a few moments, they sat in silence. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but it wasn’t easy either. It was charged, heavy with the weight of words neither of them were saying.

Then Kevin broke it.

“You ever get tired of it?” he asked, his voice quieter now.

Jessica glanced at him. “Tired of what?”

He looked straight ahead, eyes fixed on something in the distance. “Being the person everyone expects you to be.”

The question caught her off guard. She wasn’t sure how to answer. Was she tired of it? Being the responsible one, the girl who always did what she was supposed to, who never broke the rules?

“I don’t know,” she admitted.

Kevin exhaled, running a hand through his hair. “I do.”

Jessica turned her body slightly toward him, watching his profile. For the first time, he looked... tired. Not in the physical sense, but in a way that made her chest ache a little.

“You think people only see one side of you,” she said softly.

Kevin let out a short laugh. “I know they do. And I let them. It’s easier that way.”

Jessica frowned. “Why?”

He finally looked at her, his blue eyes dark with something she couldn’t quite place. “Because if you let people see the real you, they can hurt you.”

Jessica swallowed hard, her heart tightening in her chest. She hadn’t expected that answer. Hadn’t expected that underneath the confidence, the smirks, the troublemaker persona, there was someone who was afraid of being seen.

She hesitated, then said, “Not everyone wants to hurt you.”

Kevin held her gaze for a long moment, like he was trying to figure out if she meant it. Then, almost imperceptibly, he smiled. A real one this time. Small, barely there. But real.

Jessica didn’t know what it meant. But she knew one thing.

Kevin Carmichael wasn’t just a bad boy. He was more. And for the first time, she wanted to know exactly who he was underneath the mask.