ed in a h

r shoulder, and the next - bam - she slammed into someone so hard it

laring out like startled birds. She gasped, arms pinwheeling, and her foot caught

o hands closed around her waist, st

e saw the shape of him - broad should

the universe had a

n a stray page. She felt herself tilt forward - straight

she blurted,

Her lips brushed his. Barely. A whisper. More of an accident than a ki

tbeat, Rhea's b

ste of peppermint gum, the tiny spark that zip

a small, traitorous thought bloo

artled but not angry. There was a flicker of something else - amusemen

ugh that she felt it more than hea

k to the tips of her ears. She lurched backward, nearly slipping again. His gr

ees, scrambling for her scattered books. Her hands sho

- raised her phone just high enough to catch the moment, eyes narrowed like she'd just stru

pencil, his fingers grazing hers. "You okay?" he asked, his mouth tugg

'm good. I'm

er heart was pounding so hard sh

der - bent, ink smudged. "Hey, relax. It's n

eath. "It wasn't - I

p close, his hair was a little messy at the crown, his eyes crinkled when he smiled.

er chest like a shield. "I'm so

y on her feet, stumbling away, head down, b

t shot: Rhea's flushed face inches from Jace's, his hands still hoverin

it was pressing in on her from all sides. Her lungs burned, her

near the art wing, where the fluorescent light buzzed like

he sink. Her reflection in the cracked mirror looked like someone else: hair tang

she whispered

e. The moment replayed on an endless loop: the slip, the forehea

s shut. It was nothi

r stomach flip. Accidents didn'

d in protest; the water bit at her overheated skin. Go

. Two girls drifted in, giggling, high-pi

," one of them squealed. "Jace Rivera!

heart clanged

Did you see her? She looked like - like some

one said. "He's so dead. And that

chin. She felt the rumor circling her like a shark

loss, fluffed their hair, and drifted out again, giggling

ove the truth back down her throat. Invisibility was

like plastic wrap - s

oodie pocket. She dragged

sage. Naomi

pped i

Hello?? Babe??

ough. Her face inches from Jace's. His hands on he

ainst the stall door, phone trembling in her han

in crowds. But now the rumor was al

e, there was nowh