Elena’s POV

I learned something important before first period even started.

Being Blake Thornton meant people expected access to my body.

Not respect. Not conversation. Access.

The way girls looked at me now wasn’t curiosity or interest — it was ownership. Like I was something already paid for. Already claimed. And apparently, Joey Taylor believed she had the receipt.

I saw her before she saw me. Standing near the lockers, surrounded by her little echo chamber, laughing too loudly at ...