Chapter Six: Lines We Don't Cross
811 Words
(Dual POV: Mila & Xavier)
Writer’s POV
By Tuesday morning, Manchester High was a jungle of whispers.
News of “the hacker pair” had spread faster than wildfire.
Every hallway, every group chat, every stare carried the same unspoken question — Did Mila and Xavier really do it?
For most students, it was entertainment.
For Mila Miller, it was war.
---
Mila’s POV
Someone had drawn on my locker.
A big, sloppy red marker scrawl:
> “CODE QUEEN ❤️ XAVIER THE MENACE = CRIME DUO”
I stared at it for a long second, lips pressed tight.
Then I pulled out a tissue and wiped it clean — steady, calm, no reaction.
That’s what they wanted.
To see her flinch.
And she was done giving people that satisfaction.
“Nice art,” came Xavier’s voice from behind me. “You should keep it.”
“Don’t start,” I muttered. “I’m not in the mood.”
He leaned on the locker beside hers, hands in pockets, a grin tugging at the edge of his mouth. “Relax, Miller. I didn’t write it.”
“Wouldn’t surprise me if you did.”
He laughed softly, the kind that got under your skin. “You think I’d use a red marker? Please. I have better taste.”
She shot him a look, one eyebrow raised. “Like hacking into the school board’s page?”
His grin faded. “Not funny.”
“Neither is detention with you,” she said, slamming her locker shut.
“Then stop getting caught with me,” he replied coolly.
Their eyes met — irritation, challenge, fire.
Same storm, new lightning.
*****
Xavier’s POV
The computer lab had become their battleground.
Every afternoon, same time, same tension.
Mila typing fast, sharp, focused — him watching, teasing, helping only when absolutely necessary.
Today was no different.
“Stop hovering,” she said without looking up.
“Stop typing like the keyboard owes you money.”
She exhaled hard, ignoring him.
He leaned against the desk, folding his arms. “You always this fun under pressure?”
She didn’t respond. Instead, she clicked a file and frowned. “Hold on… this isn’t ours.”
He leaned in. “What is it?”
“A system log,” she muttered, opening it. “It shows the time of the hack. But look—someone accessed our project folder five minutes before the upload.”
“Which means whoever it was had your login.”
She turned to him. “Or yours.”
“Cute,” he said. “But if I wanted to pull something off, you’d never catch me.”
“Confidence doesn’t equal innocence,” she replied.
He grinned. “Neither does paranoia.”
*****
Writer’s POV
Before she could respond, the lights flickered. The monitors blinked — once, twice — then every screen filled with white.
A new message appeared in bold, black letters:
> “STOP DIGGING.”
The room went still.
Mila’s heart thudded in her chest.
“Is this supposed to be a joke?” she whispered.
“Not mine,” Xavier said quietly. “And whoever sent it knows what we’re doing.”
The message vanished. The screens went black.
They sat there, frozen in the dim hum of the room, eyes meeting through the flicker of emergency light.
Someone was watching.
Someone who didn’t want them to find out the truth.
Mila exhaled slowly, forcing herself to stay calm. “They’re trying to scare us.”
Xavier’s expression hardened. “Then it’s working.”
*****
Later That Night — Mila’s POV
The house was quiet when she opened her laptop.
Her notifications were filled with messages from classmates — taunts, jokes, fake sympathy. She ignored them all.
Then, in the middle of the noise, one email caught her eye.
No name. No subject. Just an attachment:
> library_camFootage.zip
She hesitated — then clicked.
The video loaded, grainy and dark. The school library.
Her computer.
A figure slipping in wearing a hoodie, plugging a flash drive into her laptop.
Her blood ran cold.
The time stamp matched perfectly — 3:42 p.m. The exact moment she’d left her desk to grab a book.
She paused the frame, zooming in.
The figure’s sleeve pulled back slightly, revealing a wristband — black leather, silver studs.
Her mind raced.
That bracelet looked familiar.
*****
Writer’s POV
Mila grabbed her phone and typed quickly.
> MILA: Meet me. Tomorrow. Behind the library.
XAVIER: Didn’t think you’d miss me already.
MILA: I found something.
XAVIER: …On my way.
She shut her laptop, her reflection faint against the dark screen.
This wasn’t just a prank anymore.
It was a setup.
And someone wanted them to burn for it.
But they’d just made a mistake.
Because Mila Miller didn’t back down.
And Xavier Reed? He loved a challenge.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD