Emma’s POV
Vanessa would do anything to make me suffer. She switched her game at once, glimpsing how happy I was with Caleb.
It began with her casual flirting, the kind that could be written off as harmless by anyone not paying attention.
I noticed the first time Vanessa sidled up to Caleb during lunch, making a whole show of it—walking past my table with an exaggerated sway to her hips before stopping right in front of him. Her voice was saccharine sweet.
“Caleb, right? I’ve heard so much about you.”
He leaned back in his chair. “All good things, I hope.”
“Of course,” she rested a perfectly manicured hand on his arm. “Though I have to say, you’re even more... intriguing in person.”
I glared at her from across the room. A knot of jealousy twisted in my stomach as she leaned in closer, her smile widening. Caleb glanced in my direction, his eyes flicking to mine for a brief moment before returning to Vanessa. His smirk didn’t falter, but the flicker of recognition in his gaze only made me angrier.
I tried to focus on my food, but my appetite was gone. Sarah, sitting across from me, raised an eyebrow. “Are you seriously going to let her get away with that?”
“She’s trying to provoke me. I’m not giving her the satisfaction.”
“Maybe, but she’s definitely crossing a line. You might want to remind Caleb which team he’s on.”
The encounters didn’t stop—they only got worse. I saw it for what it was: a performance designed to remind me that she could have Caleb if she wanted. Compliments on his clothes, playful touches on his arm and leaning too close when they talked, asking for “urgent” help and even showing up at his locker with a coffee she called “extra”—Vanessa found every excuse to get near Caleb. And she made sure I was always in the audience.
I kept noticing them in the courtyard. Vanessa tilted her head in that flirtatious way she always used when she wanted something.
Caleb, to his credit, didn’t look completely sold on whatever she was saying, but he wasn’t exactly pulling away either. He played along just enough to keep her hooked, which drove me crazy.
I froze a few feet away, the casualness of their exchange cutting into me like a blade. Vanessa glanced in my direction, her smile sharper than it needed to be.
The look in her eyes was clear, her unspoken message ringing louder than the bustling hallway: Try me.