Chapter 2- War in the Hallways

Aria tried very hard to pretend Noah’s return didn’t bother her.

She told herself she was calm.

She told herself she didn’t care.

She told herself nothing about him affected her.

All lies. And her brain knew it.

By the second day of school, Northbridge High already felt like it had been dunked into a pot of gossip soup. Everywhere Aria walked, the whispers followed.

“Aria’s not #1 anymore?”

“Noah came back and immediately took her spot — savage.”

“Are they gonna fight again?”

“Fight? They’re probably plotting each other’s downfall as we speak.”

Aria wanted to scream. Instead, she walked faster.

Her best friend, Lanie, struggled to keep up with her speed. “Can you slow down? I have shorter legs than you, emotionally and physically.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Aria hissed without slowing.

“Perfect,” Lanie said. “I was totally not planning to bring up Noah Kingsley at all.”

Aria shot her a warning glare.

Lanie zipped her lips shut dramatically — then opened them again one second later.

“Okay, but—”

“No.”

“Aria—”

“No.”

“He literally breathed near you—”

“Lanie!”

Lanie smirked. “So you noticed him breathing?”

Aria stopped walking and pressed her face into her hands. “Why are you like this?”

“Because your suffering is entertaining,” Lanie said cheerfully.

Before Aria could argue, a familiar voice drifted from behind them like a cold breeze wrapped in arrogance.

“So I heard someone talking about me.”

Aria stiffened. Slowly, she turned.

Noah casually leaned against a locker, arms crossed, hoodie sleeves pushed up to his elbows. He looked infuriatingly comfortable, like the hallway was his natural habitat and the stares of half the school were his background music.

His eyes met hers immediately.

And he smiled.

A slow, satisfied, borderline dangerous kind of smile.

Aria felt her stomach twist — not in a good way, she assured herself.

Lanie whispered under her breath, “Oh lord. Drama has arrived.”

Aria forced her voice to stay steady. “Nobody was talking about you.”

“Really?” Noah stepped closer, his gaze too steady, too knowing. “Because I could’ve sworn I heard my name.”

“You hear things wrong.”

“Mm. Maybe.” His eyes flicked to Lanie. “Or maybe someone talks too loudly.”

Lanie gasped. “Excuse you, I am a whispering queen—”

“Sure you are,” Noah said with a short laugh before returning his attention to Aria.

He always did that.

Always focused on her.

Always made her feel like the room narrowed into a single spotlight.

It was infuriating.

“So,” Noah said, tilting his head slightly. “How’s your ego?”

“It’s fine,” Aria snapped.

“Really? Because it looked a little… bruised yesterday.”

Lanie pressed a hand over her mouth to contain a shriek.

Aria stepped closer, eyes blazing. “You think you can just come back and take my spot like it’s nothing?”

“It wasn’t nothing,” Noah said simply. “It took work.”

“Please. You probably cheated.”

That made Noah laugh — an honest, amused laugh that sent several people down the hall turning to watch.

“You think I cheated just to beat you?”

“I wouldn’t put it past you.”

He leaned forward, lowering his voice. “I don’t need to cheat to beat you.”

Her jaw dropped.

Lanie nearly screamed.

The hallway went silent — just enough for the tension to thicken into something electric.

Aria’s heartbeat pounded in her chest like a drum. “You’re unbelievable.”

“And you’re predictable,” Noah said, straightening. “I knew you wouldn’t take it well.”

“I took it fine.”

“You didn’t.”

“I did.”

“Velasquez, you glared at the ranking board for a full thirty seconds—”

“I WAS THINKING.”

“Sure.” His lips curved upward. “Thinking about me?”

Her face burned instantly. “Absolutely not!”

Noah smirked again — a soft, devastating smirk that made her want to throw her textbooks at him.

“Well,” he said, stepping backward, “I look forward to watching you try to catch up.”

“I don’t catch up,” Aria said. “I surpass.”

“We’ll see.”

Noah turned and walked away, hands in his hoodie pockets, schoolbag slung over one shoulder like he had nothing to worry about.

Aria stared at his back with the intensity of a thousand suns.

Lanie exhaled loudly. “Wow. The sexual tension—”

“LA-NIE!” Aria blurted, face flaming.

“—is off the charts,” Lanie finished.

Aria groaned. “I hate him.”

Lanie looped an arm through hers. “Yeah. Sure. That’s totally what that was.”

“It is!”

Lanie smirked. “Then why do you look like you want to either punch him or kiss him?”

“I— WHAT?!”

Students around them snickered.

Aria pressed her palms to her face. “I’m going home.”

“You can’t,” Lanie said. “We have calculus.”

Aria groaned even louder.

This year was going to kill her.

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