Chapter 2
Why Are You Looking at Me Like That?
I woke up late.
Okay, not late late — but five minutes behind my usual soul-crushing morning schedule, which meant everything was chaos. My ponytail was uneven, I couldn't find my left sock, and I spilled lotion on my skirt like I had beef with the universe.
By the time I got into the car, Mom was already honking like she was in a Fast & Furious movie.
"Sorry! My life fell apart!" I yelled, hopping in.
She didn't even blink. "That's the fifth time this week."
"It's Tuesday."
School felt the same. Boring. Repetitive. Exhausting. The usual.
Until it didn't.
It started small — barely anything. During homeroom, I caught Keifer staring at me.
Twice.
The first time, I thought maybe he was just zoning out. The second time, I knew it wasn't a coincidence.
I turned sharply to glare at him, only to catch him blinking like I just caught him committing a crime.
"What?" I hissed.
He shrugged. "Nothing. Your pen was leaking."
It wasn't.
I looked down. My pen was fine. My soul, however? Confused.
"Is it just me," I whispered to Fatima during History, "or is Keifer being weird?"
She didn't look up from her notes. "He's always weird."
"No, like…" I paused, unsure how to even explain it. "He's looking at me. Differently."
She raised a brow. "Differently as in 'I want to fight you behind the gym' or 'I secretly dream about you while brushing my teeth'?"
"Fatima!"
She giggled. "I'm just asking the important questions."
I rolled my eyes. "It's probably nothing."
Spoiler: it was not nothing.
At lunch, the AMNSE girls were already gathered around our usual table. Ashlee was complaining about the cafeteria chicken again, Bianca was touching up her lip tint with sniper-level precision, and Freya was scrolling through her phone like she hated everyone.
I sat down, unwrapped my lunch, and took a huge bite.
Then he appeared.
Keifer. Tray in hand. Trailing behind him — the ever-annoying Yuri, who made a grand show of fake-gagging at my tiffin.
"Are you seriously eating that?" he asked, nose wrinkling.
"It's food. Unlike your IQ," I said with a smile.
"Oof. She's spicy today," Keifer muttered, taking the seat across from me.
Wait. Why was he sitting across from me?
He never sat here. Not directly across. Not this close.
My chewing slowed.
And then it happened again. His eyes met mine — not a glare, not a smirk. Just a long, quiet stare like he was… watching me.
Not in a creepy way. Just—intense.
I blinked. "Do you want something?"
"Nope," he said smoothly, popping a fry into his mouth.
Liar.
By the end of the day, I was spiraling — just a little. My brain had a hundred tabs open and 99 of them were titled: WHAT IS WRONG WITH KEIFER.
Did he lose a bet?
Was he plotting something?
Was this some long con to get me to snap in front of a teacher?
"Mariano!" his voice called as I was walking toward the school gate.
I turned. "What now?"
He opened his mouth, then paused. Like he forgot what he was about to say.
"...You dropped this," he said finally, holding up a random pen that wasn't even mine.
I squinted. "That's not—"
"Too late," he said, tossing it at me and walking off with Yuri, who whispered something that made Keifer nudge him in the ribs.
I stood there, holding the pen, blinking.
I hated this. I hated this.
Because something was changing — I could feel it.
And whatever it was, it was definitely going to be messy.
End of Chapter 2.
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