Chapter 2

When someone smeared glue all over my chair, I finally lost it. Standing up in front of everyone, I confronted Macey directly. "Didn't you say you didn't like Mauricio? Can you explain this?"

She burst into tears on the spot.

Running out of the classroom, she sobbed, "If you say I don't like him, then I don't, okay?"

To everyone else, it looked like I had bullied her.

That very day, a photo circulated on the school forum, Macey crying by the lake, Mauricio standing beside her awkwardly, his jacket draped over her shoulders.

People immediately decided she was just too shy to admit her feelings.

And my so-called crime of destroying their "love story" was cemented.

"Who's got such a filthy mouth?" Jaydon's voice cut in lazily as he walked into the room, scratching his ear. "Keep talking trash about her, and I'll deal with you myself."

The classroom fell silent.

Whispers followed. "Why is he even here today?"

"He looks pissed. Is he gonna start something?"

"Did he just smile at Amanda?"

"He's ridiculously hot. If he actually attended class, he'd be the real campus heartthrob."

I walked in and took my seat.

Jaydon followed and dropped into the chair beside me.

A clean, fresh scent surrounded him.

"I brought you breakfast," he said softly, all his earlier sharpness gone.

I glanced down at the bread and started eating.

Suddenly, Mauricio stormed over, fury written all over his face. He knocked on my desk. "Move. Sit behind me."

I froze.

He had never initiated a conversation with me before.

I could talk nonstop for an hour, and he wouldn't even respond.

Turning my head, I saw Macey Whitaker sitting next to Mauricio Jarvis, rummaging through his bag. "Where's the pad you bought for me?"

I just shrugged and shook my head, refusing Mauricio's request.

Looks like he forgot he once told me, "Only you get to be my desk mate."

Mauricio's body wavered, his eyes looking completely shattered.

Everyone around started feeling bad for him.

Someone yelled at me, "Why are you giving Mauricio a hard time? You're supposed to be his girlfriend. Why are you sitting with some other guy?"

I shot up from my seat.

I locked eyes with the person and said, "First off, Mauricio asked Macey to sit next to him. The other side of his desk is up against the wall, so it's not like I could sit with him even if I wanted to.

"Second, we're not together anymore."

That last line dropped like a bombshell.

Mauricio grabbed my hand, fury written all over his face. "When did I ever agree to break up?"

"Let go." I frowned.

Jaydon clamped down on Mauricio's wrist and shot to his feet.

He was so tall that when he stood up, his shadow cast a huge darkness over me.

Mauricio's lips tightened, clearly trying to hide the pain.

The bell rang, and that was that.

Our conversation came to an abrupt halt.

Mauricio grumpily went back to his seat, digging through his bag to help Macey find her sanitary pad.

I flipped through my book, zoning out since this class was basically a waste of time.

Back in high school, I chased after Mauricio for two whole years.

When he first transferred in, he was painfully skinny, with a face so pretty you couldn't even tell what gender he was, and he barely said a word. Naturally, a bunch of people loved picking on him, calling him the quiet freak.

One time, some guy shoved a gross wad of toilet paper straight from the trash can into Mauricio's mouth. "Bet you can't fit more than a couple in there!"

His cheeks bulged out, stuffed full of paper.

I just couldn't stand watching it anymore.

I ran over, yanked the wad of paper out of Mauricio's mouth, and stuffed it straight into that guy's mouth. "Go on, keep shoving! I'm telling you, this guy's under my protection now!"

My parents owned a martial arts studio, so I pretty much ruled the school with my fists.

In other words, I was the school's big shot.

Back then, Mauricio's eyes were shining as he looked at me.

But I never imagined that later on, just because he thought I talked too much, he'd stuff a wad of toilet paper into my mouth the exact same way.

And it was used. Someone had already blown their nose on it.

"Amanda, you'll answer this question," the teacher suddenly rapped the chalkboard and called out.

I shot up from my seat.

But my mind was totally blank.

He slammed the chalkboard eraser down. "Get out and stand in the hallway! Just because this is an elective, you think you can slack off?"

Head down, I zoned out and wandered out of the classroom.

"I got this one," Jaydon said, hands stuffed in his pockets as he stood up.

The teacher looked relieved for a second, but Jaydon announced to the whole class, "It's C."

With everyone cracking up, he strolled out and came over to stand right next to me.