Liam's POV
Vanessa called my name the second I walked into the classroom.
"Liam! Come sit with me "
Half the room turned to look, as always.
I wanted to roll my eyes, but I didn't. I just sat, pretending to focus on my notebook while she leaned closer, whispering about how she'd missed talking to me. Am actually tolerating her because of my parent.
And then my eyes landed on her.
Aria.
Sitting a few rows away, her head tilted slightly as she scribbled something in her notebook. Her expression was calm, but every once in a while, I caught that small, unguarded smile the kind that made the noise of the classroom fade a little.
Then Noah walked in. He spotted her instantly, and that easy grin of his appeared. He said something I couldn't hear what but whatever it was made her laugh. Soft, genuine.
And for some reason, it bothered me.
I shouldn't care. I barely knew her. But the sight of her laughing with him twisted something in my chest. Maybe it was because I hadn't seen her laugh like that before. Not around me.
Vanessa said something beside me, and I realized I hadn't heard a word.
"Liam, are you even listening?" she snapped lightly, placing her hand on my arm.
I pulled away. "Yeah. Just tired."
She gave me that knowing smile the one she used when she wanted attention. But I didn't look at her again. My eyes were already back on Aria.
She caught me once just once. Our eyes met across the room, brief but steady. I didn't look away this time. Neither did she, not immediately.
Then Noah leaned closer to whisper something, and she turned her gaze back to him, smiling again.
I exhaled quietly, shutting my book just as the teacher walked in. For the rest of the period, I couldn't focus. Every time she laughed, every time Noah leaned close, it felt like I was watching something I didn't want to admit I cared about.
__
When the bell rang, the room filled with the sound of scraping chairs and chatter. I gathered my books slower than usual, pretending to check my bag even though I had nothing to check.
From the corner of my eye, I saw her, Aria standing by the doorway. Noah was beside her, smiling about something, hands moving as he talked. She laughed softly, her hair catching the light as she turned toward him.
I don't know why I kept watching. Maybe I wanted to see if she'd glance back.
She didn't.
He said something else, and she nodded. Then they walked out together, side by side, disappearing into the hallway crowd.
I looked down at my notebook. For a second, the lines blurred.
It shouldn't matter.
But it did.
"Hey, man!" Caleb's voice snapped me back. He clapped a hand on my shoulder as he passed. "You coming or what? We're grabbing something before heading to the dorm."
"Yeah, in a sec."
He shrugged and left, still talking to Ethan about some football nonsense. I followed a few minutes later, taking the longer way to the dorms.
As we reached our room, Caleb sprawled on his bed, tossing a ball in the air, rambling about a new student challenge the school was planning. Something about a literature-history trip coming up teachers mixing classes, group assignments, all that.
I nodded in the right places, but my mind was somewhere else entirely.
Aria's laugh. The way she'd looked at Noah. The way she hadn't even noticed me leave.
"Liam?" Caleb said suddenly, pausing mid-throw. "You good, bro? You've been zoning out since class."
I forced a faint smirk. "Yeah. Just tired."
He stared for a moment, like he didn't believe me, then shrugged and went back to talking.
But the truth was I wasn't tired.
I was just thinking.
Thinking about a girl who probably didn't even realize she'd gotten under my skin.
Noah walked in just as Caleb missed another shot at the trash can. The paper ball hit the wall and rolled back toward him. Typical.
"Finally," Caleb said, grinning. "You look suspiciously happy for someone who just came from class."
Noah laughed, brushing his hand through his hair. "Do I?"
"Yeah," Caleb leaned forward, studying him. "Don't tell me you managed to escape History without getting caught."
He shook his head. "Nothing like that. Just… met a new friend."
Caleb's grin widened. "A friend? Let me guess, a girl?"
He didn't reply. He just smiled, that quiet kind of smile that gave him away more than any words could.
I didn't mean to look up. But I did.
That same smile from earlier when I saw them talking in the hallway.
Caleb groaned. "Ha! I knew it. That's the smile of a man who just met a lady friend."
He chuckled, not denying it, and started filling his cup with water.
Ethan glanced up from his book. "Leave him alone, Caleb."
"Oh, come on," Caleb said, throwing the paper ball at him. "You can't tell me you're not curious. Look at him he's practically glowing."
Noah just shook his head, still smiling. "You think too much."
"Maybe," Caleb said, smirking. "But I'm usually right."
I kept my eyes on my phone, pretending not to listen. My thumb scrolled over the same screen for a minute straight, not reading a word. Their voices faded in and out, their laughter, Caleb's teasing, Noah's easy tone.
I should've ignored it. I really should've.
But the thought slipped in anyway her laugh, her voice, her face turning toward him during class. That same easy comfort she never seemed to have with me.
"Anyway," Ethan said after a while, shutting his book, "you guys ready for tomorrow's history trip? Heard it's gonna be a long one."
Caleb groaned. "Don't remind me. I still haven't finished the reading."
They kept talking, the room filling with chatter again. I leaned back in my chair, trying to drown them out, but my mind refused to quiet down.
I didn't know why it bothered me so much.
Maybe because I already knew who that "new friend" was.
And maybe because I wished she hadn't smiled at him that way.