Tessa's phone buzzed.
Once.
Then again.
She didn't check it immediately.
She was used to ignoring notificationsmost of them weren't important anyway.
But Lily noticed.
"Your phone," she said, glancing down.
"I know."
It buzzed again.
Lily raised a brow. "You're not going to check that?"
Tessa hesitated, then reached into her bag, pulling it out.
Her eyes dropped to the screen
And she froze.
Lily didn't miss it.
"…What?"
Tessa didn't answer right away.
Her thumb hovered over the screen for a second before she turned it slightly away.
Too late.
"Who is that?" Lily asked, already leaning in.
Tessa exhaled quietly.
"…Adrian."
That was all it took.
Lily straightened immediately. "Of course it is."
"Don't start," Tessa muttered, unlocking her phone.
"I didn't say anything."
"You're about to."
Lily smirked faintly. "Maybe."
Tessa opened the message.
Adrian:
You free later?
Her heart did that annoying thing again.
Fast. Unsteady.
Lily watched her face carefully. "What did he say?"
Tessa hesitated.
"…He asked if I'm free later."
Lily let out a quiet breath through her nose. "Of course he did."
Tessa glanced at her. "What does that mean?"
"It means," Lily said simply, "he didn't waste time."
Tessa looked back at her phone.
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard.
What was she even supposed to say?
"Don't overthink it," Lily added, watching her. "Just answer."
"That's easy for you to say."
"It is."
Tessa typed.
Paused.
Deleted it.
Typed again.
Lily sighed. "Tessa."
"I'm answering."
"Eventually."
Tessa ignored her and finally hit send.
Tessa:
Yeah. For the tutoring.
She stared at the screen after, like it might change.
Lily leaned over slightly. "You added 'for the tutoring.'"
Tessa didn't look at her. "So?"
"So nothing," Lily said, a hint of amusement in her voice. "Just… interesting."
Her phone buzzed again.
Too fast.
Tessa opened it.
Adrian:
Yeah. I know.
6?
She swallowed slightly.
"See?" Lily said quietly. "Not wasting time."
Tessa typed again.
Tessa:
Okay.
That was it.
Simple.
Done.
But it didn't feel simple.
Not at all.
Lily watched her for a second longer.
Then
"Public place," she reminded.
Tessa nodded. "I know."
"I mean it."
"I know."
But even as she said it
Something told her this wasn't going to stay that simple.
Adrian
He saw the message the second it came in.
Yeah. For the tutoring.
Adrian smirked slightly.
Of course she added that.
He leaned back against the wall, phone still in his hand.
She was careful.
That much was obvious.
Careful with her words.
Careful with how she responded.
Interesting.
Yeah. I know.
6?
He didn't hesitate before sending it.
Didn't need to.
A few seconds passed.
Then
Okay.
That was it.
Short.
Simple.
But enough.
Across the hallway, Jace glanced over. "That her?"
Adrian didn't look up. "Yeah."
"And?"
Adrian slipped his phone into his pocket.
"Later."
Jace smirked. "You're enjoying this more than you should."
Adrian didn't respond immediately.
Because the truth was
This wasn't going how he expected.
She wasn't like the others.
Didn't talk much.
Didn't try to impress him.
Didn't even seem like she wanted the attention.
And somehow
That made it harder to walk away.
"Don't forget what this is," Jace added lightly.
That got his attention.
Adrian glanced at him.
"I didn't."
But something about the way he said it—
Wasn't as certain as before.
Because now
It wasn't just about the dare anymore.
And that was where things started to change.