love me at my worst

CHAPTER FOUR

Emily’s POV

The bell rang, sharp and final. Emily shoved her trig textbook into her bag, the pages crinkling under her grip. She could still feel it the phantom burn of Adam’s gaze, the way his eyes had locked onto hers like an accident he couldn’t look away from.

five seconds. That’s all it had been.

five seconds, and now her hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

"Emily!”

She jumped, nearly dropping her bag. Sarah Carter, her lab partner, sidled up beside her, grinning. “You coming to Jake’s party tonight?”

Emily forced a smile. “Maybe. I’ve got that trig test tomorrow.”

Sarah rolled her eyes. “You’ve been acing trig since, like, birth. Live a little.”

Live a little. As if it were that simple. As if she could just walk into a room full of people who barely knew her name and belong .

Her phone buzzed. A text from her mom: "Don’t forget therapy at 4".

Right. Because "that" was exactly what she needed an hour of dissecting why she couldn’t hold a conversation without planning it out in her head first. She exhaled, slow and steady, and headed for the door.

And then

Leather and wintergreen.

Adam stood just outside the classroom, one shoulder propped against the lockers, scrolling through his phone like he hadn’t just upended her entire nervous system.

Adam stood just outside the classroom, one shoulder propped against the lockers, scrolling through his phone like he hadn’t just upended her entire nervous system.

Her throat went dry.

She could walk past him. She should walk past him. Twelve years of invisibility couldn’t be undone by seconds of eye contact. But then

His head lifted.

Their eyes met again.

And this time, he didn’t look away.

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Adam’s POV

Fuck ,f**k,

She was right there. Emily. Standing frozen in the hallway like she’d just seen a ghost.

Say something.She took a step forward. Then another. Closer. Closer

And then she walked right past him.

Of course she did.

He exhaled, sharp and frustrated, and shoved his phone into his pocket.

This was pathetic. He’d spent twelve years pretending not to notice her, and now,what? He was just supposed to talk to her?

As if it were that simple.

As if he even knew how.