[JASMINE – POV]
I wasn't scared of Ayo.
Not really.
But I was tired. Tired of the tension, the flashbacks, the feeling like I had to watch my back in my own school.
So when I opened my locker that afternoon and a folded note fluttered out, my stomach twisted before I even read it.
"Be careful who you trust. Not everyone is on your side. – A Friend."
No name. No clue who wrote it. No explanation.
"What's that?" Zara asked, peering over my shoulder.
I crumpled it quickly. "Nothing. Probably some prank."
But it wasn't.
I could feel it. The way it was folded perfectly, the handwriting neat and deliberate—this wasn't a joke. It was a warning.
I glanced down the hallway, and for the first time in weeks, I felt genuinely… unsettled.
Was Ayo messing with me?
Or was someone else watching me too?
[LUCAS – POV]
Jasmine was quiet during our walk home. Her fingers were cold in mine, her mind clearly spinning.
"You good?" I asked, nudging her softly.
"Yeah," she said too quickly. "Just tired."
Lie.
I knew her "tired" voice now. I knew when she was lying to protect me. And I hated it.
When we reached her house, she didn't invite me in. Just kissed me on the cheek and said, "Text me later, okay?"
I watched her go in and close the door.
Then I turned.
Ayo stood at the corner of the street, hoodie up, pretending to scroll through his phone.
But his eyes?
Locked on Jasmine's front door.
Something snapped in me.
I stormed toward him. "You think this is a game?"
He looked up, calm as ever. "Just taking a walk."
"You show up, she gets a note in her locker, and now you're stalking her house?"
He shrugged. "I never said I was the only one watching her."
That stopped me cold.
"What?"
Ayo smirked, then walked away.
He knew something. And I had a feeling it wasn't just about him anymore.