Chapter 3:
Later – 10:18 a.m.
Lana walked alongside Noah as they slowly returned to the detention room. Their steps were quiet, but the space between them buzzed with something new—something unspoken.
Noah broke the silence.
"You're in Mr. Drayton's chem class, right?"
Lana looked at him, surprised. "Yeah… second period."
"You always finish the labs early."
He paused, then added, "I noticed."
Lana's breath caught. She didn't know what to say, but her heart seemed to say everything on its own. She smiled. "You… really pay attention."
He shrugged. "Only when someone's smarter than me."
"You're top of the class," she said, almost laughing.
He didn't smile. "That's not the same as being calm. You make it look easy."
She looked at him again, longer this time.
And just before they stepped into the classroom, she whispered, "It's not."
---
Meanwhile – Back in the room
Ethan sat slouched in his seat, earbuds out, but music still playing faintly in his head. Aiden returned first, grabbing a pencil from his bag and spinning it between his fingers again.
"You got something to say?" Ethan asked suddenly.
Aiden raised an eyebrow. "You always this friendly, or just with me?"
Ethan didn't answer. But his eyes said enough.
"Look," Aiden sighed, "if this is about your sister—"
Ethan cut him off. "It is."
Aiden stopped spinning the pencil.
"I didn't do anything."
Ethan leaned forward. "Yet."
They stared at each other, and for a moment, there was more than just warning in Ethan's eyes. There was fear. Not because he didn't trust Aria—but because he knew what someone like Aiden could do without meaning to.
Before either could speak again, the others returned.
---
That Evening – Aria's Room
The house was quiet. Her sketchbook was open, the same one she had closed so tightly earlier. The page she'd started in detention now lay fully finished.
It was Aiden.
Not just him standing. Not playing. But a version no one saw—sitting quietly, hands loose in his lap, eyes somewhere far off.
She hadn't drawn his smile. She'd drawn the way he looked when no one was watching.
And that scared her.
Because when she looked at it, she realized she might not be just crushing on him.
She might already be falling.