I stepped out of the bathroom with my heart pounding so hard it felt like it might crack my ribs. My hair clung to my damp cheeks, my shirt was streaked with sweat and dust, and humiliation still pulsed in my veins from the dodgeball disaster.
Kelvin stood right outside the door like a wall—steady, tall, unshaken. His hands were shoved deep into his pockets, but his eyes… his eyes were sharp enough to slice through the hallway noise.
"You ready?" he asked quietly.
I tried to swallow the lump in my throat. "I… I think so."
Kelvin nodded once, purposeful. "Good. Let's get you to the clinic before anyone else stares too much."
But it was already too late.
The whispers began like sparks.
Then spread like wildfire.
"Did you see Lizzy? She's with Kelvin."
"No, shut up, she's with James!"
"She was in the bathroom forever—James totally followed her."
Heat rushed up my neck. My chest tightened. I wished I could fold myself into air. Kelvin glanced at me, irritation flashing in his eyes.
"Ignore them," he muttered. "They want attention."
I hugged my phone against my chest, clinging to it like a shield.
Then I saw him.
James.
Leaning against the lockers like he owned the space around him. His arms were crossed, his posture effortless, but his eyes—God—his eyes were locked right on me and Kelvin. Steady. Piercing. Unreadable.
My breath trembled.
"H-He's watching us."
Kelvin didn't even look. "Good for him. Keep walking."
But how was I supposed to move when James's gaze felt like hands closing around my lungs?
As we got closer to the clinic, the hallway erupted again.
"Lizzy's with James!"
"Isn't her brother his best friend?"
"Are they dating?"
"No, she's with Kelvin now!"
Every word hit like a slap.
Then Kelvin did the most unbelievable thing.
He lifted me.
In front of everyone.
My breath stopped. For a moment, all I could register was how warm he was. How he smelled faintly of chocolate and something clean, something steady.
And then reality crashed back.
What the actual hell was happening to me today?
"We're almost there," he said, voice steady as steel.
The clinic door swung open—and my blood froze.
Ariana.
James's girlfriend.
Beautiful, furious, and headed straight for me.
"So THIS is where you've been hiding," she snapped, her voice slicing through the room. "Sneaking around with him and pretending you're innocent?"
My throat closed. "I—I didn't—"
"Don't speak." She pointed at me like I was filth. "You little opportunist. Trying to take what's mine?"
Kelvin stepped in front of me so fast the air shifted. His whole body tensed, his voice low and dangerous.
"She didn't do anything. Back. Off."
Ariana gave him a slow once-over. "And who are you? Her guard dog?"
"No," Kelvin said, jaw tightening. "Just the person who won't let you bully her."
The word bully hit Ariana like a slap.
"Oh, so the new guy wants to play hero?" she barked. "How adorable."
Kelvin took a deliberate step forward. "I'm not trying to be her hero. I'm stopping you from harassing her in the middle of the hallway."
Ariana scoffed, then turned on James like a storm.
"And YOU? You're just standing there? You're letting him talk to me like that? You're letting her—" She jabbed a finger in my direction, voice dropping to a venomous hiss. "—get away with this?"
James just watched.
Silent.
Motionless.
Expression unreadable.
That hurt more than Ariana's yelling.
"You're unbelievable!" Ariana shrieked. "She's embarrassing you! Do something!"
James didn't move.
Something inside me shriveled.
Ariana spun back toward me, fury twisting her face.
"You're pathetic, Elizabeth. Trying to get his attention. You think you could ever be anything more than nothing?"
The words stabbed straight through me.
"I didn't ask for any of this!" I choked, tears burning my eyes.
"Exactly!" she screamed. "And yet you're ALWAYS in the middle of everything!"
Kelvin stepped forward again, voice dropping into something lethal.
"Walk away. Now."
Ariana scoffed. "Or what? You'll hit me? Please. You're as weak as she is."
"I won't hit you," Kelvin said quietly. "But you need to leave. Before this gets worse."
My vision blurred. My hands trembled. The hallway felt too bright, too loud, too suffocating.
"I can't—" I whispered, breath shaking. "I can't do this anymore."
Kelvin's hand brushed my back gently.
"Then come with me. Let's go."
He guided me away while Ariana's voice followed like poison.
"You're NOTHING, Elizabeth! He's mine! Don't forget that!"
Students stared. Pointed. Whispered.
Rumors twisted behind us like a storm.
"Lizzy was with James—"
"No, Kelvin carried her—"
"Wait, is she dating both?!"
Kelvin didn't care.
He just walked, shielding me from the chaos like it was instinct.
Finally, inside the nurse's office, the world stopped spinning.
"You're okay," he murmured, voice soft. "They're all noise. Nothing more."
I nodded shakily, breathing for what felt like the first time in hours.
But the whispers still scratched at the back of my mind.
Ariana's words clung to my skin.
James's silence stabbed the deepest.
And Kelvin…
Kelvin was still there. Solid. Steady. Unmoving.
Maybe… it was time to let go of James.
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