Chapter 5:spill
1327 Words
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*HATE FLOATS TOGETHER WITH LOVE*
*PART 1: THE REVENGE*
*CHAPTER 5: THE SPILL*
Justin Sterling has a new problem.
Me.
He doesn’t say it. He _compiles_ it. In stammers and blushes and 2am texts that say `u up?` and then `nvm sry` three seconds later.
I don’t reply. I let him buffer.
*Tuesday. North Ridge High. 12:03pm.*
Victoria Lane cornered me by the lockers. No lacrosse girls this time. Just her phone. Screen up. Video playing.
Grainy. Green night vision. B2. Sterling Tech. Timestamp: 11:07pm.
Me. Him. Against the server rack. His hands in my sweater. My mouth on his neck.
“You’re trending,” she said. Smile like a knife. “_Secret Sterling Hookup. B2 Edition._ Anonymous account. 20k views.”
I watched 3 seconds. Then looked at her. “Your camera work sucks. Can’t even see his blush.”
Her smile cracked. “You think this is funny? Ethan’s gonna see this. He’s gonna _end_ him.”
“He doesn’t even know who I am.” True. Ethan walked past me yesterday in the hall. Looked right through me. New hair. New glasses. New Chloe. Chloe Banks died at Prep. I made sure.
“Justin’s gonna get disinherited,” she hissed. “Daddy Sterling hates scandals. And girls like _you_ are a scandal.”
“Girls like me?” I stepped closer. She stepped back. “You mean smart girls? Girls who code? Girls who don’t Venmo your boyfriend?”
“You—”
“Lane!” Coach from down the hall. “Office. Now. Principal wants you.”
She paled. Flipped me off and left.
I pulled out my phone. The video was everywhere. @HChainTea. Caption: _Guess the reclusive Sterling likes Prep rejects after all_ 😏
Prep. Not North Ridge. Not Chloe. _Reject_.
Good. Let Ethan think I’m just some girl. Let him not recognize the bug in his system.
---
*3:20pm. Library. Our table.*
Justin wasn’t there.
First time since Day 1.
I sat. Waited. 3:25. 3:30.
3:37. The doors slammed.
Ethan Sterling.
He wasn’t supposed to be here. Prep kids don’t come to North Ridge unless it’s a charity photo op.
He was in a suit. No backpack. Just anger. He scanned the library. Looked right at me.
And kept scanning.
He didn’t know. New contacts. No braces. I’d gained 5 pounds and lost 1,095 days of stupid. To him, I was furniture.
“Where is he,” he said to Ms. Patel. Not a question. A command.
Ms. Patel pointed. Shaking. “Back table. But he’s not—”
Ethan was already moving.
I stood. Slow. Blocked the aisle. “Can I help you?”
He stopped. Finally _saw_ me. Or, saw a girl in his way. “Move.”
“Library rules,” I said. Sweet. Fake. “No loud talking. No Prep boys. No Sterling brothers throwing tantrums.”
His eyes narrowed. “Do I know you?”
“Nope.” I smiled. All teeth. “I’m nobody.”
He studied me. One second. Two. Looking for Chloe Banks. She wasn’t there.
“Out of my way, _nobody_,” he said.
“No.”
He blinked. People don’t say no to Ethan Sterling.
“Justin!” he yelled. “Get out here! Now!”
The back door opened.
Justin. Hoodie up. Face white. He saw Ethan. Saw me between them.
His hands fisted. “What are you doing here?”
“Rescuing you,” Ethan said. “From _her_.” He jerked his chin at me. “Dad saw the video. You’re trending with a gold digger from Prep. He’s pulling your trust.”
Justin flinched. Like Ethan hit him.
“That’s not— she’s not—” He looked at me. Panic. Static. “Chloe, I—”
“It’s fine,” I said. Loud enough for the whole library. “Let him talk. Ethan loves talking. It’s all he’s good at.”
Ethan’s head snapped to me. “What did you say?”
“I said you talk a lot for a guy who can’t code FizzBuzz without StackOverflow.” I stepped forward. Out from the table. Into his space. “You want to rescue him? From what? A girl who fixes his buffer overflows? A girl who doesn’t laugh when he stutters?”
“I don’t know who you think you are—”
“She’s my _partner_,” Justin said.
Quiet. But it cut the room in half.
Ethan laughed. “Partner? Justin, she’s playing you. She’s from Prep. She got expelled for stalking me. Did she tell you that? She’s _obsessed_.”
The library went silent. Ms. Patel gasped.
Justin looked at me. Just me. Gray eyes, searching. Not for Chloe Banks. For _me_.
“Is that true?” he whispered.
I could lie. I should lie.
I didn’t. “Yeah.” I tilted my head. “I was obsessed with your brother for three years. Wrote his code. Bought his coffee. Took photos of him cheating.” I stepped closer to Justin. Took his hand. He didn’t pull away. “Then I got expelled. And I met you. And now I’m obsessed with _you_.”
Justin’s breath hitched.
Ethan’s face did a thing. Confusion. Then rage. “You… you’re…”
“Still nobody,” I said to Ethan. Then to Justin, softer: “To him.”
Ethan stared. At my hand in Justin’s. At Justin’s face — not scared. Not angry. _Calm_. Because I was there.
“You’re making a mistake,” Ethan told his brother. “She’ll ruin you.”
Justin finally looked at him. No blush. No stammer. Just flat. “You already did.”
Then he did something Ethan never expected.
He laced his fingers with mine. Held on. Tight.
“She stays,” Justin said. “I stay. You leave.”
Ethan’s jaw ticked. He looked at me again. Really looked. Still nothing. No recognition. Just a girl who took his brother.
“This isn’t over,” he said. Pointed at Justin. “Dad will—”
“Dad can compile _this_.” Justin raised our joined hands. Flipped Ethan off with his other one.
Ethan left. Slammed the door. The whole library exhaled.
Ms. Patel: “Detention. Both of you. Now.”
Worth it.
---
*Detention. 4:30pm. Empty classroom.*
Justin was quiet. Chewing his hoodie string down to nothing.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I said.
“Yeah, I did.” He wasn’t blushing. He was… steady. “He’s wrong. You’re not obsessed. You’re _accurate_.”
I laughed. “Accurate?”
“You see bugs. In code. In people. You see _me_.” He looked up. “No one’s ever… compiled me before.”
I went to him. Sat on his desk. “You picked me. In front of him. Why?”
“Because when I’m with you, the static stops.” He reached up. Tucked my hair behind my ear. Fingers shaking, but he did it anyway. “You said I was full. Of tabs and bugs and… feelings. You were right. But when you’re here, it’s just… one tab. You.”
God. Nerdy boys will kill you.
“So,” I said. “No more boundaries?”
He thought about it. Serious. Like it was a system update.
“New rule,” he said. “Rule 4: Only you.”
I leaned down. Kissed him. Soft. No malware. Just… him.
He kissed back. No stammer. No panic. Just Justin.
When we broke apart, he was smiling. Dumb and blushy and _mine_.
“Ethan doesn’t know who you are,” he whispered.
“Nope.” I booped his nose. “And he won’t. Until it’s too late.”
“Good.” He pulled me into his lap. Buried his face in my neck. Mumbled: “Keep it that way. I like you being nobody. My nobody.”
Ethan Sterling expelled Chloe Banks.
He has no idea Chloe is about to delete _him_.
---
- Writer
