ASHLEY’S POV
Jason and I had fallen into this strange new rhythm at school — a rhythm I never expected, one where he kept finding excuses to be around me.
He walked me to class every morning, even when it made him late for his own. He bought me lunch, sliding trays across the table with a grin that made everyone in the cafeteria assume we were a thing.
He teased me, nudged my shoulder when I zoned out, told stupid jokes that shouldn’t have made me laugh but somehow did. At first it felt light and simple… but then my mind betrayed me. I would be laughing one second, and the next my thoughts wandered off somewhere they shouldn’t.
Somewhere that looked suspiciously like Lucas.
Sometimes, during lunch, I caught myself scanning the cafeteria automatically. I pretended I was just looking
