The classroom buzzed with a low hum of speculation, but Louisa felt like she was underwater. Jayden's abrupt command echoed in her ears: "Wren, meet me in the basketball court after school hours."
Her mind raced, trying to decipher the meaning behind his sudden, possessive tone. One minute he was part of the untouchable elite, the next he was… what? Her protector? Her boss?
Ellie's hand gripped her arm tightly. "Louisa! What was that all about?" Her eyes were wide with a mixture of shock and concern. "Jayden King Walton just… ordered you to meet him?"
Scarlett leaned closer. "And why the sudden interest in paying off Cassia? That was… intense. Especially the way he looked at Mateo."
Louisa shook her head, feeling completely disoriented. "I… I don't know. It was like… he just flipped a switch. One second he was detached, and the next…" She trailed off, unable to articulate the possessive undercurrent in his voice.
"Do you think he's actually going to help with Cassia?" Ellie asked, a sliver of hope in her tone.
Scarlett snorted. "Help? Jayden? There's gotta be a catch. He doesn't do anything without a reason, and it's usually a self-serving one."
She eyed Louisa skeptically. "And why the private meeting? What does he want?"
Louisa's stomach churned with a mixture of apprehension and a strange, unsettling curiosity. The memory of his hand on her neck at the party flickered in her mind. Was there something more to his interest than she had initially thought?
"Mateo seemed pretty ticked off," Ellie observed, a worried frown creasing her forehead. "He was definitely trying to… what was that? Offer you some kind of twisted help?"
"He's a creep," Scarlett stated flatly. "Jayden probably just shut him down because Mateo was stepping onto his territory, whatever that territory might be."
Louisa wrapped her arms around herself, feeling a sudden chill despite the warm classroom. "I don't like this. It feels… dangerous. Like I'm being pulled into something I don't understand."
"You don't have to go, you know," Ellie said fiercely. "Just ignore him."
Scarlett nodded in agreement. "Yeah. We'll stick with you. Whatever Jayden wants, it can't be good."
But a small, insistent voice in the back of Louisa's mind whispered a different possibility. What if Jayden's intervention was genuine? What if he actually wanted to help? And what was that strange intensity in his eyes when he looked at her? Despite her fear, a sliver of reluctant curiosity was growing.
The final bell shrieked, releasing the students into the late afternoon sun. The usual rush to escape Charterhouse felt different for Louisa. A knot of anxiety tightened in her chest, battling with a hesitant flicker of… something else. Curiosity? A desperate hope?
Ellie and Scarlett flanked her as they walked towards the main exit, their protective presence a silent reassurance.
"You're not really thinking of going, are you?" Ellie asked, her voice laced with disbelief.
Louisa hesitated, her gaze drifting towards the outdoor basketball courts visible through the gates. Jayden's figure was already there, a solitary silhouette against the fading light, bouncing a ball with a restless energy.
"I don't know," Louisa admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "He… he offered to help with Cassia. And he looked… angry when Mateo was talking to me."
"Angry because Mateo was muscling in on his game," Scarlett retorted, her tone sharp.
"Don't mistake that for caring, Louisa. Jayden King Walton doesn't care about people like us."
"But what if he does?" Louisa countered, the question hanging in the air. "What if… what if he actually wants to help?"
Ellie grabbed her arm, stopping her near the gates. "And what does he want in return, Lou? You think someone like him does anything for free?"
The logic in her friends' words was undeniable, a cold dose of reality. Jayden and she inhabited different universes. His sudden interest felt like a glitch in the matrix, something that couldn't possibly be genuine.
Yet, the image of his intense gaze, the possessive tone, lingered. It was unsettling, yes, but also… intriguing in a way she didn't fully understand.
"I just… I need to know," Louisa said finally, a stubborn set to her jaw. "I need to understand why. And if there's even a tiny chance he can make things right with Cassia…"
Ellie and Scarlett exchanged worried glances. "We'll go with you," Ellie said, her voice firm. "We're not letting you go there alone."
Louisa nodded, a small measure of comfort in their unwavering support. Together, the three friends made their way towards the basketball courts, the setting sun casting long, ominous shadows ahead.