Chapter 2

Ivy Williams, 16 years old...

I darted around my room, a whirlwind of chestnut waves and half-hearted attempts at tidiness.

My backpack, slumped by the door, seemed to sigh in anticipation of the day ahead. Hurriedly, I zipped it up, my phone clutched in my other hand. No new messages lit up the screen, so I shoved it into my pocket.

"Sweetheart, you'll miss breakfast at this rate!" Mom's voice, musical even in urgency, floated up from downstairs.

"Coming, Mom!" I hollered back, snagging my jacket and leaping down the stairs two at a time.

My mother, Eileen Williams, stood in the kitchen, regal as always in her tailored robe, smiling brightly.

"Morning, Ivy," she said, her tone laced with amusement as she handed me a travel mug filled with steaming hot chocolate, her knowing gaze suggesting she'd anticipated my usual morning scramble.

"Thanks, Mom." I took a grateful sip, the rich chocolate warming me from the inside out. "You're a lifesaver."

"Only for my favorite daughter," she teased, winking playfully.

I laughed as this was our little joke since I was her only daughter!

I leaned in for a quick hug, her embrace a fortress of safety. "Love you, Mom," I murmured.

"Love you more," she whispered back, her words wrapping around me like a protective shawl.

Pulling away, I caught the gleam of pride in her eyes. "Have a great day, Ivy. Remember, no one gets to make you feel small."

"Got it, Mom. You too." Her advice lingered in my thoughts as I stepped onto the porch, the cool air nipping at my cheeks.

"Be careful!" she called after me, her concern etched into the lines of her face.

"Always am!" I called back.

The cool air was starting to seep through my sweater as I continued my walk alone. I didn't have many friends since I kept myself buried in a book most of my life. My only best friend was Lila, who didn't live near me, so I had no one to walk with.

I never really complained about not having a car since the school was within walking distance. I happened to love the walk.

As I approached the school, the change in energy was noticeable. The chatter grew louder, the movements more frantic. Bikes whizzed by, narrowly missing a group of kids huddled around a phone, while someone's car stereo pumped bass-heavy music into the already saturated air.

My heart thumped with excitement. This was the first day of my sophomore year in high school school, and I was ready to take on any challenges!

I guess I was daydreaming too much and wasn't paying attention because suddenly, the world tilted on its axis.

I had bumped into someone, which sent my backpack swinging wildly off one shoulder, and my books spilled out onto the ground like leaves in a storm.

Oops!

My breath hitched, time slowing as I watched pages flutter and scatter.

"Watch it!" A voice growled in my ear.

I lifted my gaze from the chaos at my feet to meet a pair of intense blue eyes—narrowed not in concern but in blatant annoyance.

"Sorry," I murmured instinctively, though the apology caught in my throat as he barely spared me a second glance before sidestepping the pile of textbooks and notes now spread across the pavement.

As he walked away, I felt an odd twinge in my chest.

That was Aiden Blackwood, one of the scariest kids in school. I still remember the first time I saw him. I was in ninth grade, and he was in eleventh.

This year, he was supposed to be a senior, but rumor has it that he is going to be repeating his junior year because he failed. He was the type of guy Ira would call a 'black sheep.'

I knelt down, my fingers grazing the cool ground as I gathered my belongings.

"Hey, Ivy, are you okay?" Lila's voice, warm with concern, cut through the hum of gathering students. She crouched beside me, her brown eyes scanning my face for injury.

I nodded, still flustered, clutching my books against my chest like a shield. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just... Aidan..."

"Ugh, that guy," Lila huffed, helping me stack the last of my notes. "You gotta watch out for him. He's got a streak meaner than a hornet and twice as nasty." Her words were light, but her furrowed brow betrayed deeper worries.

I tried to smile, to shake off the lingering unease, but Aidan's cold dismissal hung over me like a storm cloud. "Thanks, Lila. I'll... I'll be careful."

"Promise me, Ivy." Lila stood, offering me a hand up. Her grip was firm, grounding. "People like him, they're just looking for someone to hurt. Don't let it be you."

"Is he really that bad?" My voice was a whisper, a mix of curiosity and concern threading through it.

"Bad?" Lila snorted. "He's the worst. Remember Melissa from sophomore year? She was all smiles and sunshine until she crossed paths with him. Now, she barely speaks above a murmur. It's like he sucked the joy right out of her."

My chest tightened at the thought. Everyone had noticed the change in Melissa, but no one knew why. Until now.

"Thanks for the heads-up." I forced a smile, though it felt as real as a cardboard cutout. "It's just... there's something about him. Something more than the rumors."

"Girl, you're too sweet for your own good. But sweetness won't stop Aidan Blackwood." Lila's tone softened, her usual brightness dimming with sincerity. "Promise me you'll steer clear?"

"Okay, Lila. I promise," I said.

But Alas, I couldn't keep my promise.

The bell had just rung, signaling the beginning of another monotonous lecture in English class when Mr. Carter dropped the bombshell. "Pair up for the group project," he announced, and my stomach did a somersault.

I could feel Aidan Blackwood's glare from across the room before our gazes even met.

"Alright, let's see," Mr. Carter mused, scanning his list. "Ivy Williams and Aidan Blackwood."

There it was, my name linked with his like some kind of cruel joke. I caught him rolling his eyes so hard I thought they might get stuck that way. When he finally looked at me, his lips twisted into a sneer. "What's a sophomore doing in a junior class anyway?"

"Um, I tested into it," I managed to say, my voice barely above a whisper. My cheeks heated up, knowing full well that my academic enthusiasm wasn't exactly considered cool.

"Of course you did, nerd," Aidan snorted, tossing his dark hair out of his eyes. His blue gaze was icy enough to freeze the blood in my veins.

As we shuffled our desks together with all the enthusiasm of convicts headed to the gallows, I heard Aidan mutter something under his breath. It sounded like a curse word followed by 'group projects.'

"Have you given any thought to what books we should cover?" I ventured, trying to break the ice that was rapidly forming between us.

"Whatever you want, Ivy," he drawled sarcastically. "I'm sure your choices will be perfect, as usual."

The words stung, the sarcasm dripping from each syllable like acid. I felt my hands clench into fists beneath the table, but I forced myself to remember that this was just a project. Just a few weeks and it would be over.

"Great," I said, mustering a smile that felt more like a grimace. "We'll make a great team, then."

Aidan scoffed, leaning back in his chair and staring at the ceiling as if it held the secret to getting out of working with me.

I took a deep breath, trying not to let the chill of Aidan's words get to me. "Okay," I said, voice steady despite the tremor I felt inside. "I'd really like to hear any ideas you might have for the project. Maybe we can find something that interests us both?"

Aidan didn't answer right away. He just gave me a long look as if weighing whether I was worth his time at all. Before he could speak, the scrape of chairs against the linoleum floor announced new company.

"Hey, what's this? Aidan got paired with Ivy?" Mason's voice cut in, his tone teasing as he dropped into the chair beside Aidan, brown eyes flicking between us with poorly veiled amusement.

"Looks like it," Mia chimed in, her smirk mirroring Mason's as she slid into the seat next to me. Her presence was like a cold shadow falling over the desk, and I could feel the air shift, thick with the anticipation of further mockery.

"Got yourself a little sidekick now, huh, Blackwood?" Mason nudged Aidan, who shot him a glare that would've sent shivers down anyone else's spine. But Mason only laughed his loyalty to Aidan apparently immune to such looks.

"More like a ball and chain," Aidan muttered, and the smirk on Mia's lips widened.

"Aw, come on, don't be so hard on her. Maybe Ivy will surprise you," Mia said, the honeyed sarcasm in her voice more stinging than sweet.

I shifted in my chair. "We should meet up after class to talk about the project?"

"Oh, look, she is already trying to get you to be alone with her," Mason comments, making my neck feel hotter with embarrassment.

Mia snorted, her laughter sharp and piercing.

My chest tightened, the weight of their attention like stones in my stomach. "I just...I just want to get this project done."

"Guess some people have nothing better to do than study," Mason continued, his tone suggesting that there was a world of difference between Ivy the bookworm and the rest of them.

"Or no one better to do it with," Mia added, her laugh a hyena's cackle that clawed at my composure.

Heat crept up my neck, settling into my cheeks as I forced my gaze down at the notebook before me.

"Hey, Ivy, maybe if you spent less time with your nose stuck in those books, you'd actually have some friends," Aidan quipped, the harshness of his voice betraying no sign of the vulnerability I'd glimpsed moments before.

My fingers tightened around my pen, the plastic threatening to crack beneath the pressure. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep the hurt from spilling over, to stop the tears that pricked the corners of my eyes. The urge to flee battled with the need to stay grounded, to not let them see how deep their words cut.

"Anytime you want to join the real world, let us know," Mia taunted, tossing her hair over her shoulder as if she'd issued the greatest invitation.

"Or just keep being a nerd. It's working so well for you," Mason chimed in, his smirk audible.

"What's going on over there? Mason, Mia, stop bothering Aiden and discuss your own project!" Mr. Carter yelled out from across the room, rescuing me.

I don't need them to define who I am or what I'm capable of. My thoughts raced, aligning like soldiers ready for battle. They see a quiet girl, too timid to stand up for herself. But I know my worth. I've climbed mountains they can't even imagine. This... this is just another hill to conquer.

"Look," I began, my voice steady despite the storm of nerves raging inside me. "I think there's a way we can both be happy with this project."

"Sure, Ivy," Aidan drawled, leaning back in his chair with a smirk. "And what? You want to sprinkle in your fairy dust and unicorn dreams?"

The laughter that erupted from his friends felt like pinpricks on my skin, but I held my ground. "Not quite," I said, forcing a smile. "We can blend our ideas—my analysis of the themes with your modern twist. It's a compromise."

"Compromise," Mason echoed mockingly, exaggerating the word as if it were foreign and ridiculous on his tongue. Mia's laughter joined his, a high-pitched sound that bounced off the walls.

My heart sank, their dismissal stinging more than I cared to admit. But I wasn't done yet—not by a long shot. As the laughter continued, I gathered my notes, sliding them into my folder with precise movements. The sound of paper shuffling filled the silence that had settled over our part of the room.

"Fine," I said quietly, my voice barely above a whisper but drenched in resolve. "Laugh all you want, but this project is happening, with or without your cooperation."

"See you tomorrow, Aidan," I called over my shoulder after the bell rang, my voice clear and unbroken. "Ready to work or not, I'll be here."

As the door closed behind me, shutting out their laughter, a quiet strength settled in my chest. Tomorrow was another day, and I was ready for it.