The final bell rings and my stomach drops like I'm falling off a cliff. I take forever packing my bag, arranging my pens by color, straightening papers that don't need straightening, anything to delay walking out there where he's waiting.
Mia ambushes me at my locker, eyes practically shooting sparks. "Okay, so everyone's talking about you and Caleb making out in the hallway during Peterson's class. Stacy's telling literally everyone. The virgin valedictorian is officially a bad girl."
Before I can respond, she pulls something from her bag—a piece of black fabric that can't possibly be a whole skirt. "You need to wear this. Right now. No arguments."
I stare at it like it might bite me. "Mia, that's not a skirt, it's a belt. My father would literally have a heart attack—"
"Your father isn't here." She grabs my arm with surprising strength. "But Caleb is, waiting for you by the main entrance, and half the school is watching to see what happens. Time to show him—show everyone—that you're not some little girl playing dress-up."
She drags me into the bathroom before I can protest. The skirt barely reaches mid-thigh. I keep tugging at the hem while Mia works on my hair like she's preparing me for war.
"Oh shit, before I forget," she says suddenly, pulling out her phone. "We need to study for the Calculus Death Match. Tomorrow night, six o'clock, that cafe on Maple Street. No excuses."
I freeze, one hand still pulling at the obscenely short skirt. "What?"
Mia's hands stop moving. She stares at me in the mirror like I've grown a second head. "Are you seriously telling me you forgot about the annual calculus exam? The one that counts for thirty percent of our final grade? The one Mrs. Harrison has been threatening us with since September?"
The floor tilts. How did I forget? I never forget tests. Never.
"Evie, this is bad." Mia's voice goes from excited to worried in seconds. "This Caleb thing has officially gone too far if you're forgetting the most important test of the semester. If you fail this, there's no retake. Your GPA will tank. Yale will—"
"I know." My voice comes out strangled. "I know, okay? I'll be there. Six o'clock."
She turns me toward the mirror, worry replaced with satisfaction. "But for now, look at yourself."
I don't recognize the girl staring back. The skirt makes my legs look miles long, and with my blouse tucked in, I actually have curves. I look like one of those girls Caleb usually—
"You look hot enough to make him forget every other girl exists," Mia declares. "Ready to claim your man?"
We walk into the hallway together, me wobbling in Mia's borrowed heels that feel like stilts. The main entrance is crowded with students lingering after school, and I spot him immediately.
But he's not alone.
Amber Brown from the dance team is pressed against him, so close they're sharing air. Her hand traces patterns on his chest while she laughs at something he said, her perfect hair catching the afternoon light. He doesn't push her away. Doesn't even look uncomfortable. Just watches her with that lazy half-smile that makes girls lose their minds.
My chest cracks open. Physical pain, like someone reached in and squeezed.
"Go get what's yours," Mia whispers, giving me a push that nearly sends me sprawling in these death traps she calls shoes.
I walk toward them, trying not to fall, trying to look confident. Caleb's eyes find me immediately and his entire expression changes. His gaze travels from my legs up—slow, deliberate, burning—and his jaw actually tightens. The lazy smile disappears, replaced by something raw and hungry that makes my skin feel too tight.
"Well," he says, voice rougher than usual. "Look at you."
Amber turns, her perfect face shifting from flirty to predatory in seconds. She looks me up and down like I'm a knockoff purse someone brought to school.
"Wow, V4L got a makeover." Her laugh tinkles like breaking glass. "Trying to keep up with the competition? That's... brave."
She presses closer to Caleb, her breast deliberately brushing his arm. "I was just inviting Cal to my party tomorrow night. My parents are in Cabo, so things are going to get... intense."
Her fingers trail down his chest, nails catching on his shirt. "Remember what happened last time in my hot tub? When you and I—"
"Maybe I'll stop by," Caleb cuts her off, but his eyes never leave me. Never stop burning paths along my exposed legs.
Something hot and violent explodes in my chest. After everything—after making me beg on my knees, after that grateful kiss in the hallway, after making me feel things I've never felt—he's still playing these games. Still letting other girls touch him right in front of me.
"You ready to go?" he asks me, finally stepping away from Amber. But the damage is done. Everyone saw her touching him. Everyone saw him not stopping her.
I force my voice to stay steady even though I'm dying inside. "You know what? I just remembered I have other things to do."
I turn on these stupid heels and start walking away, hearing Amber's delighted laugh behind me. I make it halfway down the hallway, past the trophy cases and around the corner by the science labs, before Caleb catches my arm, his grip firm but not painful.
"What are you doing?" His voice is low, confused, maybe even hurt. We're far enough from Amber now that she can't hear us, just the two of us in this emptier hallway. "I'm not going anywhere with her. You know that."
"You can do whatever you want." I pull my arm free, the words tasting like glass. "We're not a real couple, remember? Your words, not mine."
Something shifts in his face. Goes from confused to cold in a heartbeat. That cruel smile I hate slides into place.
"You're right."
He turns and walks back toward the main entrance, back to where Amber is still waiting, probably checking her makeup in her phone camera. I follow despite myself, drawn like watching a car crash. He stops directly in front of her, voice carrying down the hallway deliberately.
"Actually, Amber, I changed my mind. I'll definitely be at your party."
Amber squeals—actually squeals—and throws her arms around his neck. "Perfect! Wear those swim trunks I like. The black ones that sit really low."
She kisses his cheek, lipstick leaving a mark, and shoots me a look of pure triumph before sauntering away, hips swaying.
I try not to look destroyed. Try to keep my face neutral even though something inside my chest is breaking into pieces. This is what I signed up for—a fake relationship with someone who doesn't care. Someone who can switch from kissing me gratefully to making plans with another girl in the span of five minutes.
So why does it hurt so much I can't breathe?
"Have fun at the party," I manage, voice only slightly cracking.
"Evie—" He reaches for me again but I'm already walking away, these borrowed heels clicking against the floor like a countdown to my humiliation.
The too-short skirt rides up with each step and I've never felt more exposed, more stupid, more completely out of my depth. I dressed up for him. Changed myself for him. And he chose Amber and her hot tub without even hesitating.
Behind me, I hear Marcus say something to Caleb, followed by male laughter. They're probably already planning what bikinis will be at the party, which girls will be drunk enough to make mistakes.
My eyes burn but I won't cry. Not here. Not where everyone can see V4L got dressed up and rejected by the bad boy she's supposedly dating.
The worst part isn't the humiliation. It's that I know exactly what I'll do tomorrow—I'll still look for him in the hallways. Still feel my heart race when I smell leather and cigarettes.
I dressed up for someone who was never really mine. And somehow, that makes me his more than ever.