No matter how much she runs, Laura is stuck in an endless loop of her past. With a transfer of school and a curly-haired boy who seems to be wherever she goes, it's a matter of time she realizes that her universe ceases at the sight of him-and runni...
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THE DEVIL WORKED HARD, BUT CHLOE WORKED HARDER. She shouted something along the lines of, "hello, boys!" and invited them right over. Xavier had spotted us long ago, it seemed. He had waved and smiled and Stella was frozen beside me. I had looked at her to gauge her face, but she was already gesturing at them.
And Evan—he had paused. He'd paused as if he were unsure he was seeing right. As if he'd made me up, fragments of imagination into pieces of truth, just like how I thought I might've. But he was here, and now. There was a bag slinging on his shoulders. Was he returning from practices? There were none we had today. Not like that had made him come to school in the past five days.
My chest squeezed. It was a mix of absolute panic, dread, and longing—of wanting to do nothing and so much at once—and so much so, I couldn't breathe when our eyes met.
The apparent annoyance dissipated from his face, and he stared at me as if it had never even been there. It was replaced by devastating gentleness.
Stella cleared her throat. I hadn't fathomed that they'd walked close until I heard her utter, "What are you guys doing here?"
"I need a couple of art books for my project and just dragged him along." Xavier grinned. It made me smile, almost, since that explained the look on Evan's face. "Looks like you guys are busy."
Stella motioned to all the mess laid out. "You think?"
Xavier winced, but plucked the book out of her hand regardless. "I could use a group study session too, you know."
"You should've told us earlier, then." Stella snatched the book right back. Her voice was soft when she added, "Maybe next time."
Something flashed in his eyes. Something fleeting and whimsical, but it did pass and it made all the difference, because now, Stella's face was flushed.
I grinned. Xavier was biting back a smile, too. "Maybe."
He was gone, then. Evan was left behind, in his glory of curses and sharp eyes. He pulled a chair from the table adjacent to ours and seated himself across me, arms folded. The action unfolded in a mere second. Our eyes met again.
Oh, I thought. So he isn't leaving.
I fiddled with a pencil whilst he continued to stare, eyes determined yet deterred. "Sorry for crashing your group study." He wouldn't stop looking at me. Stella was barely holding her laugh. "By all means, put the blame on Xavier."
"It's fine, we were leaving anyway. We've been here for more than four hours."
He titled his head before muttering, "Really?"
Chloe nodded. I did, too, in an attempt to not act entirely silly, but he did not acknowledge me. His eyes were on the table now, long fingers drumming lightly on the wood. Great. I had no idea what was happening. The coldness before was unbearable in its own right; it now felt like it had stooped a hundred degrees lower.
