the courtyard a

, but mostly replaying Ryan's words on

asked, sliding into th

d. "Could

red, watching me carefully.

"No one worth

hing about him felt like the quiet side of a st

said. "They talk. Then they

ally scanda

"You are now. Y

"Why would

Because people here love labels. And being close to me? T

ou wear?" I asked, c

illionaire's son. Perfect grades, perfect image

sound pro

m n

eneath his polish. Not weakness-j

as quickly,

ifferent,

t a goo

dang

e chance to ask

t then, Rya

oo close-close enough that I caught the edge

ent, Alex's sho

and unreadable, then kept w

t with him

worked. "

not an

one you want t

y n

of si

d it-low, clipped: "We

ze. "

efore everyth

happ

ike he wanted to tell me something

A girl. A lie. A night

e that, the

ands in his pockets. "Co

ut my mind wa

uck on tw

's e

talk about it like the words

e walked toward the cafeteria, but my mind kept circling back to what he had said about Ryan-best friends. That

d cautiously, "

sion unreadable. "We used to b

happ

f searching for the right words. "You've heard the stories

. "Yeah,

an and I both grew up in this world. His fat

, my curiosity gett

eighing whether or not to say more. "There was

blinked, confu

er. "Not like you. She was his

. "Disa

ath the surface. "She vanished. No one knows what happened that night. All we know is that the two o

he words. "You both had

g buried pressing down on him. "No. But we were b

them made sense now-this wasn't just petty teenage

the words got caught in my throat. How d

slid open, and Alex seemed to snap bac

y, not missing a beat. "L

couldn't shake the feeling that the more I un

Their eyes flicked toward me, curiosity etched on their faces. I c

looked across the room at Ryan, who was sitting with a group of people too, his eyes

n, it h

aught

rain. His face remained cool, but there was a flic

rned back to Alex, my

d, his voice soft. "You l

d, forcing a smile. "

us. As we ate, I couldn't stop thinking about what Alex had said.

of lunch, and I stood up, sudde

mall, reassuring smile, but there was something in his eyes that fe

said quietly. "I won'

ey" really were. Was it just the stude

d out of the building, ready to retreat into my little world. My feet were he

mi

nd, and there

ored him. But something about the way h

nt?" I asked, c

eyes. "I thought we could talk. You

aid, but even to my own e

ckled. "

y, but his voice st

, his tone low and serious. "You d

ed into the sea of students, leaving m