Elena’s POV

Ryan’s hand is warm around my wrist.. firm but not rough and my heart is pounding like it’s trying to break out of my chest.

“Let me go,” I whisper, trying to pull free.

He looks at me... really looks at me with those blue eyes sharp but calm.

“I’ve never seen you before,” he says with voice low and even. “You new here?”

His question catches me off guard.

“Uh… no,” I stammer. “I mean, yes...no. Kind of.” I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore.

Ryan’s lips twitch like he’s holding back a smile.

“No one ever sits next to me.”

“Yeah, no kidding. I wonder why,” I mumble, still tugging at my wrist.

Before he can say anything else, the classroom door opens and Professor Alden Crane strides in with his long coat flapping behind him.

Crap.

I freeze while veryone scrambles into their seats pretending like they weren’t whispering about me seconds ago. Ryan finally lets go of my hand and I drop into my chair beside him trying to look invisible.

“Good morning everyone,” Professor Crane says, setting his briefcase on the desk. His eyes sweep across the room until...oh no...he spots me and his brows pull together. “You. I don’t recall seeing you before. Are you new to this class?”

My stomach drops. Great. I’m dead. Cara’s name, Cara’s attendance and Cara’s everything... this was a horrible idea.

I open my mouth to lie my way out but no words come out.

“I...uh…”

The professor tilts his head, waiting then,m from beside me, Ryan speaks... calmly but with a strange authority.

“She’s with me, Professor.”

The room goes silent and Professor Crane blinks, looking slightly thrown off.

“With you?”

Ryan’s gaze stays steady.

“Yes.”

Something in the professor’s face shifts and whatever tension was building just… disappears.

“Very well,” he mutters after a pause. “Let’s continue.”

And that’s it. Just like that, he lets it go.

I stare at Ryan, completely dumbfounded. How the hell did that work? Even the other students look confused. No one ever talks to Professor Crane like that.. no one dares to.

Ryan just leans back in his seat with arms folded and his attention already fixed on the board as if nothing happened.

Throughout the lecture, I try not to move or breathe too loudly and my brain keeps replaying what just happened. Who the hell is this guy that even the professor listens to him?

Ryan doesn’t talk again during class. He doesn’t look at me either. He just sits there... calmly focused, scribbling something in his notebook like he doesn’t have half the school whispering about him every other second.

When the class finally ends, I almost sag with relief. The students start filing out, talking in low voices. I grab the attendance sheet, quickly find Cara’s name and sign it with trembling fingers.

There. Done. Mission accomplished. I stuff my pen into my bag and practically bolt for the door.

The hallway is packed... students chatting, laughing and gossiping. A few of them glance at me, whispering something I can’t catch. It’s definitely about what happened in class.

I push through the crowd, desperate to escape. Almost there. Just a few more steps and I’m out...

A hand catches my wrist again.

Seriously?!

I turn and there he is. Ryan Blackwood.. Again…

He’s taller than I realized up close. His sleeves are rolled up now showing glimpses of those tattoos that everyone talks about.

“You owe me one,” he says simply.

I blink.

“Excuse me?”

He looks at me like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“You would’ve been in trouble if I hadn’t stopped Crane.”

I frown.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean,” he says slowly, “you’re not in that class. I could tell.”

My heart jumps.

“W-what? I...”

“Relax,” he interrupts with his tone softer now. “I’m not stupid. You were signing attendance for someone else.”

I gape at him.

“How could you possibly know that?”

“Because no one new joins Crane’s class mid-semester,” he says with one corner of his mouth lifting. “And because you looked like you were about to faint when he called on you.”

Okay, he’s not wrong.

I cross my arms, trying to sound braver than I feel.

“Fine. So you figured it out. What do you want, a medal?”

He leans in slightly and his voice drops low enough that I can feel the words against my ear.

“I don’t want anything. Just remember...I kept your secret.”

For a second, I forget how to breathe and then just as suddenly, he straightens up, shoves his hands into his pockets and turns around.

Before I can even respond, a girl walks up to him... tall, flawless, and definitely confident. She links her arm through his like she’s claiming him.

“Tasha,” someone whispers nearby. Oh great. The Tasha.. the cheer captain.

“Come on, Ry,” she says sweetly, pulling him toward the courtyard. “We’re going to be late for practice.”

He glances back at me once... just once... with that unreadable expression then lets her drag him away.

I stand there for a moment, frozen. What the hell just happened?

When I finally remember that I’m supposed to be leaving, I make my way toward the restroom planning to splash some water on my face before I head out. Maybe calm down before I start shaking again.

The restroom is quiet. I drop my bag on the counter and sigh.

“Never again,” I mutter to myself. “Never ever again.”

That’s when I hear it. Soft at first.. a sound that doesn’t belong here.

There comes a muffled laugh and then… a moan of pleasure and I freeze. It’s coming from one of the stalls.

“Oh my God,” I whisper with disgust curling in my stomach.

The moans get louder with the laughter mixed in. Someone’s clearly enjoying themselves. I’m about to turn and run when the door suddenly bursts open and out steps...

Cara!

My jaw drops.

Her hair’s a mess, her lipstick smeared and her shirt halfway buttoned. She’s giggling like she’s just won the lottery and ehind her a tall guy zips up his pants smirking.

“Cara?” I gasp.

She stops laughing the second she sees me.

“Elena?”

For a few seconds no one says anything. Just silence then it hits me... while I was panicking, nearly getting caught and covering her stupid attendance... she was here. Hooking up and fucking some random guy in the restroom…!