Worth the Fall

Chapter 24

Debate that afternoon was the first time all day I could actually breathe.

Or at least, it should have been.

But then Ricky sat beside me and immediately ruined that peace.

“So,” he said casually, dropping into the chair next to mine.

I didn’t even look up from my notes.

“No.”

He blinked.

“I didn’t ask anything.”

“You were going to.”

He considered that.

Then nodded once.

“Fair.”

I smiled despite myself and kept writing.

Ricky leaned back in his chair and watched me for a second.

“You know they’re all losing their minds, right?”

I sighed.

“Yes. I’m painfully aware.”

“I mean it.”

I looked over at him then.

He didn’t seem amused.

Just honest.

“People talk about Landon all the time,” Ricky said. “But this?”

He shook his head.

“I’ve never seen him like this.”

That got my attention.

I set my pen down slowly.

“Like what?”

Ricky gave me a look.

“Focused.”

I frowned.

“That’s not a bad thing.”

“It’s not,” he said quickly. “I’m just saying… usually Landon’s around people, but he’s never really with them, if that makes sense.”

And weirdly—

It did.

Because even in the short time I’d known him, I had started to notice it too.

The difference between the version of Landon everyone else got—

and the one I got when no one was looking.

Ricky looked toward the stage where Mr. Jackson was setting up papers.

Then back at me.

“I’m not trying to freak you out or anything,” he said. “I just think whatever this is… it’s real for him.”

My chest tightened in a way I didn’t know how to explain.

Because that should have made me feel better.

Safer.

More secure.

And maybe part of me did.

But another part—

the smart part—

immediately whispered:

And what happens if real still isn’t enough?

I hated that thought.

Hated that it had shown up at all.

So I shoved it away and forced a small smile.

“Well,” I said lightly, “that’s not terrifying at all.”

Ricky laughed.

Then leaned forward onto his elbows.

“For what it’s worth?”

I looked at him.

“He’s lucky you even looked twice.”

And that one—

that one caught me completely off guard.

I smiled before I could stop myself.

“Thanks, Ricky.”

He grinned.

“Don’t tell him I said that. He’s already insufferable.”

That made me laugh.

And for a second, everything felt normal again.

Until the doors at the back of the auditorium opened.

I looked up instinctively.

And there he was.

Landon.

Standing in the doorway.

Hands in his pockets.

Eyes already on me.

Like he had walked into a room full of people and somehow still only seen one.

Mr. Jackson frowned.

“Can I help you, Baxter?”

Landon barely looked away from me.

“I’m here for James.”

Every single head in the room turned.

I wanted to pass away.

Immediately.

Mr. Jackson looked between us slowly, already irritated.

“Debate is still in session.”

Landon nodded once.

“I’ll wait.”

And then—

because apparently he had no interest in preserving my dignity—

he walked to the back wall and leaned there like some kind of emotionally devastating gargoyle.

Watching me.

Waiting.

Like this was normal.

Like I was normal.

Like my life was not actively spiraling into a teen drama against my will.

Ricky looked at me.

Then at Landon.

Then back at me.

And with the most annoying grin imaginable, he whispered:

“Obsessed.”

I kicked his chair.

Hard.

By the time debate ended, I was emotionally exhausted.

Academically intact.

Socially unstable.

Romantically doomed.

Basically, the usual.

I packed my things as slowly as possible, mostly because I knew the second I stood up, I’d have to face him.

And the problem with Landon lately was that every time I looked at him, I felt myself losing a little more of whatever common sense I had left.

Which was dangerous.

Because I needed my common sense.

It was one of my better qualities.

Ricky slung his bag over one shoulder and paused beside me before leaving.

“Try not to marry him before midterms,” he said.

I stared at him.

“You are so dramatic.”

He grinned.

“And you’re blushing.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but he was already gone.

Coward.

I exhaled and finally stood.

Landon pushed off the wall immediately.

Like he had been waiting for that exact moment.

Of course he had.

“You’re insane,” I said the second I reached him.

His mouth twitched.

“Hi to you too.”

(Chapter Theme Song: This Love by Taylor Swift)