Worth the Fall

Chapter 10

Of course.

Because misery loved company and apparently her company was me.

She stood with her arms crossed, her blonde hair perfectly styled and her expression sharpened into something almost pretty if it weren’t so unpleasant.

“Well,” she said, looking me up and down. “That didn’t take long.”

I stiffened.

“What didn’t?”

She laughed lightly.

“The scholarship girl act.”

My stomach tightened.

Ah.

There it was.

I should’ve known.

I should’ve known exactly what this would look like.

I should’ve known girls like her would decide who I was before I ever got the chance to show them.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said evenly.

Kasey tilted her head.

“No? Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you figured out pretty quickly how to climb.”

Before I could respond, Landon’s door shut behind me.

And suddenly his presence was there.

Solid.

Sharp.

Dangerous.

“Kasey,” he said flatly.

Just her name.

Nothing else.

But whatever was in his tone made her expression flicker.

“What?” she asked, suddenly all innocence. “I’m just saying—”

“No,” he said. “You’re not.”

Silence.

Students around us had definitely started noticing.

Perfect.

Again.

Kasey looked between the two of us, clearly trying to decide whether this was worth the public loss.

Apparently, it wasn’t.

She gave me one last look.

Then smiled.

A fake, polished, expensive smile.

“See you around, Nessa.”

And then she walked away.

I stood there for a second, trying to unclench every muscle in my body.

Landon stepped closer.

“Are you okay?”

I laughed once, humorless.

“Your school is exhausting.”

His mouth twitched.

“That’s fair.”

I looked at him.

“Do you always defend girls from your ex-hookups?”

He blinked.

Then, to my satisfaction, actually looked caught off guard.

“She’s not—”

“Alexis and Jasmine talk.”

He exhaled through a laugh and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck.

“Okay, first of all, rude.”

“Second of all?”

“She’s just… Kasey.”

That somehow told me everything and absolutely nothing.

I shook my head.

“I’m going to class before your presence causes another public incident.”

He smiled slowly.

“So I’ll see you later?”

I started walking backward toward the building.

“Depends. Are you planning on emotionally terrorizing me again today?”

His grin widened.

“Definitely.”

I rolled my eyes and turned away before he could see me smiling.

By lunch, everyone was absolutely pretending not to know that I’d arrived with Landon Baxter.

Which, of course, meant everyone knew.

Alexis nearly inhaled a French fry when I sat down.

Jasmine dropped her fork.

“No,” Alexis said immediately. “No. Absolutely not. Tell me that was not you getting out of Landon Baxter’s car this morning.”

I set my tray down with all the dignity I could gather.

“It was not my finest moment.”

Jasmine stared at me.

“You came to school with him.”

“I was ambushed.”

“By what?” Alexis asked. “His jawline?”

I glared at her.

“By circumstance.”

They looked at each other.

Then back at me.

Then both of them started grinning like escaped asylum patients.

“Oh my God,” Jasmine said. “He likes you.”

“He does not.”

“He absolutely does,” Alexis argued. “Landon doesn’t pick girls up for school.”

I sat down heavily.

“Well, now he does, and I’d appreciate if everyone could stop acting like I’m starring in some teen soap opera.”

Neither of them looked even slightly interested in helping.

“So what happened?” Jasmine demanded.

I sighed.

And once again, against all self-preserving instincts, I told them everything.

The surprise pickup.

Nathan being insufferable.

Kasey being a demon.

Landon stepping in.

By the time I finished, Alexis looked ready to write a screenplay.

“Oh, he is down horrendous,” she announced.

“Please never say that again.”

Jasmine leaned in.

“Nessa.”

I groaned.

“What?”

“That boy is not being subtle.”

And the problem was—

I knew she was right.

The rest of the school day passed without catastrophe, which honestly felt suspicious.

By the time debate rolled around, I was almost grateful to disappear into something that didn’t involve my social life imploding.

Almost.

I slipped into the auditorium and found Ricky already there, leaning back in his chair with a notebook in one hand and a bag of sour

candy in the other.

He looked up when I approached and smiled.

“There she is. Team Muse’s newest legal genius.”

I snorted.

“That feels like a lot of pressure for a Wednesday.”

He held out the bag.

“Peace offering.”

I took one.

“Bribery before trial prep? Bold.”

He grinned.

“I believe in building trust.”

I sat down beside him and pulled out my notebook.

Ricky was easy to talk to.

In a golden retriever, rich-boy-with-surprisingly-good-vibes kind of way.

He didn’t make me feel like I had to prove myself every five seconds, which already put him above at least seventy percent of this school.

We spent the first half of practice bouncing ideas back and forth for mock trial prep, and I had to admit, he was smarter than I’d originally given him credit for.

Annoyingly so.

“Okay,” he said at one point, tapping his pen against his notebook, “you are either terrifyingly prepared or secretly forty years old.”

“Why not both?”

He laughed.

“I’m serious. You’re good at this.”

The compliment landed warmly.

“Thanks.”

He looked at me for a second.

Then, way too casually, said, “So… what’s going on with you and Landon?”

I looked up slowly.

“There it is.”

He held up both hands.

“Look, in my defense, I held out way longer than Alexis would’ve.”

I groaned.

“Do I even want to know how much people are talking?”

“Honestly?” he said. “A lot.”

I dropped my forehead into my hand.

“Fantastic.”

“But not in a bad way,” he added quickly.

I looked up.

Ricky’s expression had gone more thoughtful now.

More serious.

“I’ve known Landon basically my whole life,” he said. “And I’ve never seen him act like this with a girl before.”

My heart did a small, inconvenient somersault.

I tried to keep my face neutral.

“Act like what?”

“Like he actually cares.”

The room suddenly felt too warm.

Ricky leaned back in his seat, watching me carefully.

“He flirts with girls all the time,” he said. “That’s not new. But this?” He shrugged. “Showing up for you. Defending you. Looking at you like he’s trying to figure out how you got under his skin in three days?”

He shook his head.

“No. That’s new.”

I swallowed.

And for some reason, I didn’t know what to do with that.

Because part of me wanted to hear it.

Wanted to believe it.

Wanted to think maybe this thing between Landon and me wasn’t just in my head.

But the smarter part of me knew better.

Things like this didn’t happen to girls like me.

Not without consequences.

Ricky must’ve seen something shift in my face, because his voice softened.

“Hey,” he said. “I’m not saying it has to mean anything huge.”

I looked over at him.

“I’m just saying… whatever this is? It’s real.”

And that—

For some reason—

Scared me more than if he’d said it was nothing.

By the time debate ended, the sky outside had already started to fade into dusky blue.

I packed my bag slowly, trying not to think too hard about the fact that Landon’s name had somehow managed to follow me into every single part of my life now.

Hallways.

Lunch.

Car rides.

Debate.

My sleep schedule.

My sanity.

I was officially in too deep.

When I stepped outside, I was halfway expecting to see him.

Which was exactly why it annoyed me so much when he was actually there.

Leaning against his car like he had all the time in the world.

Like waiting for me had become routine.

Like I was.

My steps slowed.

And for one stupid, traitorous second—

I smiled.

He noticed immediately.

And of course, his own mouth curved like he’d just won something.

“You’re smiling,” he said as I got closer.

“I’m not.”

“You are.”

“I’m not.”

He tilted his head.

“You literally are.”

I stopped in front of him and crossed my arms.

“You’re very annoying.”

“And yet,” he said, “you keep walking toward me.”

I opened my mouth.

Closed it.

Hated that.

Landon smiled like he was enjoying this far too much.

Then, for the first time all day, his expression shifted into something quieter.

Something a little more serious.

And suddenly I could feel my pulse in my throat.

He pushed off the car and stepped closer.

Not too close.

Just enough.

Enough for the air to change.

Enough for my heart to panic.

“Nessa,” he said softly.

And the way he said my name should’ve come with a warning label.

I looked up at him.

“What?”

He held my gaze for one long, impossible second.

Then asked:

“Will you go out with me?”

And just like that—

Everything stopped.

(Chapter Theme song: Electric Love by BORNS)