Ivey's Pov
The next morning before school I saw Josh. He was waiting for me outside my house.
He leaned against his car with his arms crossed. My heart sank the second I saw his face. He is definitely angry at me.
"Hey," I said, trying to sound normal, but my tone still had fear.
He didn't answer right away. Just looked past me, toward the street. That was where Lucas's car had parked last night. Did Josh know about what happened with Lucas?
"You got a ride?" he finally asked.
"Yeah, How did you know?" I said, brushing hair from my face.
"I was there last night, when he dropped you off, but you just didn't notice me. So I left."
"It started raining. Lucas offered—"
"Lucas," he repeated. "Of course it was Lucas."
I shifted uncomfortably. "It wasn't a big deal."
He stepped closer, lowering his voice like that made the anger more intimate. "You could've called me. I would've picked you up. But instead you let him drive you home?"
I blinked. "Josh, he's my project partner. He was just being nice."
He scoffed. "He's not just being nice. Guys like that don't do anything without a reason."
Something inside me started to stir, discomfort, frustration, maybe even guilt. But mostly? I was tired.
"You're being ridiculous," I said, trying to push past him.
He grabbed my wrist. Not hard, but enough. Enough to make me freeze.
"Don't walk away from me."
I yanked my hand free. "Don't touch me like that."
We stared at each other, the silence charged with things neither of us had the courage to say. Finally, he looked away.
"I just don't want to lose you," he muttered.
I didn't say what I was thinking but 'maybe you already are.'
Lucas's Pov
We had another project session this afternoon. This time at my house.
Ivey sat across from me at the dining table, tapping her pen against her notebook. She looked… distracted. Not the usual calm, perfect Ivey. There were cracks in the picture.
I wanted to ask her what was going on, and why she looked so stressed but I couldn't.
Or maybe I shouldn't.
Still, I couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Ivey," I said carefully, "I'm not trying to cause problems between you and Josh."
Her eyes flicked to mine.
"But I don't think he's good for you."
"You don't even know him." She said with a tone that might have been slightly annoyed at me for even saying such a thing.
"I know enough," I said. "The way he looks at you. The way he talks about you. He's not protective, he's possessive. And even though I haven't been in the school for so long, I have noticed unusual things about him. Like the way when he sees you his attitude suddenly changes, it is like, he is a different person around everyone else except for you."
She went quiet.
I didn't push her. I just let the silence sit there, like a truth neither of us wanted to admit out loud.
Ivey's Pov
He parked in front of my house again.
The same spot as before. Same quiet tension.
I hesitated with my hand on the door. "Thanks for the ride," I said, though my voice came out smaller than I expected.
Lucas looked at me, really looked at me.
"I meant what I said," he murmured. His voice was low, but it cut straight through me. "You deserve better than a guy who makes you feel small."
Something broke open in my chest.
The ache I'd been carrying all day, the confusion, the guilt, the way Josh's words clung to me like smoke , all of it suddenly felt so far away.
Lucas wasn't trying to fix me.
He just saw me.
And then, without thinking, or maybe thinking too much, I leaned in.
So did he.
Our lips met, soft at first, like we were both afraid the moment might shatter if we touched it too hard. But it didn't shatter. It deepened.
His hand touched the side of my face, fingers brushing against my jaw like I was something delicate. And for the first time in what felt like forever, I wanted to feel delicate. Wanted to be held, not handled.
The kiss wasn't perfect. It was hesitant, full of unsaid things and unspoken truths , but it was real. It was the most real thing in my world right now.
And when we pulled apart, the world didn't feel the same.
Not because something exploded, but because something clicked into place.
I opened my mouth to say something, anything really, but no words came.
Neither of us spoke.
We didn't need to.
Because for once, silence didn't mean emptiness.
It meant understanding.
I stepped inside, the front door shut behind me, and just stood there for a second.
Still. Quiet.
Everything felt louder in my chest , my heartbeat, my breath, I didn't understand what just happened.
I touched my lips. They still tingled.
That kiss… it wasn't supposed to happen. Not like that. Not now. And definitely not with Lucas.
But it did. And for some reason, I didn't regret it. Not even a little. That scared me more than anything.
Because I was still with Josh.
And yet, when Lucas kissed me, or when I kissed him, it felt like something right, not wrong.
Like the version of me I forgot I used to be was coming back to life. The old me that laughed more. The one that didn't flinch at her boyfriend's temper.
I knew I had to deal with it. All of it.
But right now, I just stood in the hallway, pressed my forehead against the wall, and let the guilt and electricity fight for space in my chest.
I didn't sleep that night.
I couldn't stop thinking about how amazing the kiss was. And… Josh.
The Next Day – Josh's Pov
I am not stupid. I noticed everything.
Especially when it came to my girl.
So when I saw Ivey walk past me in the hallway that morning, distracted, quiet, a different kind of glow in her face, I felt the anger start to simmer.
And when I saw Lucas a few steps behind her, laughing at something some kid said, my anger started to boil.
I cornered Ivey by her locker between the third and fourth period.
"What the hell is going on with you and that guy?" he said, in a low tone trying to keep my anger from taking over me but it was still sharp.
Ivey blinked. "Nothing. We're just working on a project."
I stepped closer. "Don't play dumb. I saw the way he looked at you. And the way you looked at him. You're mine, Ivey."
She looked around, trying to keep her voice calm. "You don't get to say that like you own me."
"I'm not gonna let some loser steal you from me." I said with a cracked voice. "You think he's better than me?"
She swallowed hard. Her heart was pounding, but not from fear this time, from frustration. From realization.
"You don't trust me," she said. "And you don't listen to me. All you do is control me."
My jaw tightened. "I just don't want you doing anything stupid."
"Too late," she said quietly. And walked away before I could follow.