Aria's POV
By the time break ended, my appetite was completely gone.
I followed Mia back to class, my tray long forgotten, my thoughts louder than the hallway around me. Everywhere felt brighter, noisier, tighter like the school had suddenly decided to pay attention to me.
"You're quiet," Mia said, glancing at me.
"I'm fine," I replied automatically.
She didn't look convinced.
We took our seats, and I tried to focus on the lesson, but Noah's voice kept replaying in my head.
Welcome to the school.
You're handling it well.
Simple words. Too simple to be affecting me this much.
I told myself it was nothing. He was just confident. Just used to talking to girls.
So why did it feel different?
I stared at my notebook, pretending to write, when I felt it again that strange sensation of being watched. Slowly, against my better judgment, I lifted my eyes.
Noah was leaning back in his chair across the room.
And he was looking straight at me.
My breath caught.
Our eyes met for half a second just long enough for my heart to jump before I looked away, heat flooding my face.
Get a grip, Aria.
I shifted in my seat, suddenly hyper-aware of everything: the way my hair fell over my shoulder, the way my hands rested on the desk, the steady thump in my chest that refused to calm down.
I wasn't used to this.
I wasn't used to being noticed.
---
When the final bell rang, relief washed over me but it didn't last.
Students flooded out of the classroom, filling the hallway with noise and movement. Mia stayed close, talking about homework, but I barely heard her.
Then
"Aria."
My name.
I turned before I could stop myself.
Noah stood a few steps away, hands in his pockets, expression unreadable.
Mia stopped walking.
"Oh," she said flatly. "It's you."
He ignored her.
"Hey," he said to me. "You okay? You seemed… distracted earlier."
I swallowed. "I'm fine."
He smiled slightly, like he found that answer amusing.
"Good," he said. "First days can be rough."
Mia stepped in front of me just a little. "She's busy."
Noah glanced at her, then back at me. "I won't keep you."
For a moment, it felt like time slowed.
"You don't talk much," he added. "I like that."
My heart skipped annoyed and flustered all at once.
"I do," I said. "Just not to everyone."
Something flickered in his eyes.
"Fair enough," he said.
He stepped aside, letting us pass, but as I walked by, I felt his gaze linger not heavy, not possessive. Curious.
And that scared me more than anything.
---
Outside, Mia grabbed my arm the second we were far enough away.
"Okay," she said, eyes wide. "That was not okay."
"I didn't do anything!" I protested.
"I know," she said. "That's the problem."
I frowned. "What do you mean?"
"They don't chase girls who are obvious," she said seriously. "They chase mystery."
I laughed nervously. "I'm not mysterious."
She gave me a look. "You are to him."
I stopped walking.
The idea settled uncomfortably in my chest.
I wasn't trying to attract anyone. I wasn't trying to be interesting.
But somehow, just by being myself, I had stepped into something I didn't understand yet.
And deep down, a quiet thought surfaced one I didn't want to admit.
I wasn't just nervous.
I was curious.
---
By the time school ended, my head was already pounding.
I walked home slowly, my bag heavier than it should have been, my thoughts replaying the same moments on a loop. Noah sitting across from me. His voice. The way the room had seemed to pause when he spoke. The way people stared like they were watching something unfold.
It was my first day.
I hadn't even learned all my teachers' names.
So why did it already feel like I'd stepped into something dangerous?
When I reached home, I dropped my bag by the door and slipped off my shoes, the quiet of the house wrapping around me. Normally, that would calm me. Today, it didn't.
"Aria?" my mom called from the kitchen. "You're back."
I walked in slowly. She was standing by the stove, stirring a pot, her movements relaxed and familiar. The smell of food filled the room, grounding and warm.
"So," she said, glancing at me over her shoulder, "how was school?"
I hesitated.
"It was… fine," I said.
She turned fully this time, studying my face the way she always did when she knew I wasn't telling the whole truth.
"Just fine?" she asked gently.
I shrugged. "Mia helped a lot. She stayed with me during break and showed me around."
My mom nodded, visibly relieved. "I'm glad you have her. You seemed comfortable with her when I met her."
"She's really nice," I said, and for once, that part was completely true.
My mom smiled, then gestured toward the hallway. "Go wash up. We'll talk more later."
I nodded and escaped to my room before she could ask anything else.
---
The moment my door closed behind me, the tension I'd been holding in finally slipped free.
I dropped onto my bed, staring at the ceiling, my heart beating too fast for no reason that made sense. My phone lay beside me, silent but heavy with expectation.
Why did Noah talk to me?
That question kept circling my thoughts like it refused to land. I hadn't done anything to catch his attention. I hadn't smiled too much or tried to be interesting.
And yet
He had sat with me.
He had said my name like it mattered.
I grabbed my phone, hoping distraction would help.
It didn't.
---
A message popped up almost immediately.
Mia:
Are you home?
Me:
Yes.
There was a pause.
Then the typing dots appeared. Disappeared. Appeared again.
My stomach tightened.
Mia:
Please don't panic.
My chest sank.
Please don't panic never came before something good.
Me:
Why would I panic?
Instead of replying, she sent a link.
My fingers hesitated before tapping it.
The page loaded slowly, each second stretching painfully long.
Then the video appeared.
At first, I didn't recognize it just the cafeteria, noisy and crowded. Then the camera shifted slightly.
And there I was.
Sitting at the table. My hands folded around my fork. Noah across from me, relaxed, leaning back like he belonged there.
The video caught the exact moment he leaned forward.
The exact moment I looked up.
My breath hitched.
Underneath the video, bold and unapologetic, was the caption:
"Looks like Noah has found his next victim."
My hands began to shake.
Comments poured in beneath it, endless and merciless.
Another new girl thinking she's special.
She doesn't even know what she's walking into.
He really never changes.
Give it a week.
I dropped the phone onto the bed like it burned.
My heart was racing now, loud in my ears, my throat tight.
Victim?
I hadn't asked for his attention. I hadn't even wanted it.
I sat there, frozen, trying to understand how a single moment something that meant nothing to me had already turned into a story everyone else felt entitled to tell.
My phone buzzed again.
Mia:
I'm so sorry, Aria.
This always happens when one of them talks to a girl.
Always.
That word made my chest ache.
So this wasn't new.
This wasn't special.
This was a pattern.
I lay back on my bed, staring at the ceiling, tears blurring my vision.
Why me?
Why today?
Why couldn't he have just walked past?
Outside my room, I could hear my mom moving around the house, unaware that my first day of school had already changed into something heavy and complicated.
I picked up my phone again, staring at the paused image on the screen.
Me. Him. A moment taken out of context.
And suddenly, I wasn't just the new girl anymore.
I was a headline.
And deep down, something cold settled in my chest
This was only the beginning.