"Go away, Noah." Emma's voice wavered slightly. A lack of distance was evident between Emma and a smirking guy.

"Just give me a chance. It won't hurt you..." He leaned in, making Emma recoil.

Emma tried again. "Noah, I said-"

"She told you to back off, idiot." A furious voice startled the pair.

"Ivy." Emma let out a breath of relief while peering into the space Ivy's voice had come from. Ivy stepped forward, her green eyes flashing.

"Sorry, did that hurt your feelings? I thought enough people would've told you that by now." Ivy walked forward and twisted Noah's extended arm. She stepped in front of Emma as he shifted back.

Noah snorted. "You know what your problem is?" He continued before Ivy could respond. "You don't know when to shut up. Someone has to put you two in your place."

He glared venomously at Emma. As his body tensed, Ivy reacted immediately. She shoved Emma out of Noah's reach, just as his fist swung. Ivy moved to block the hit when she heard it.

An echoing thud that turned almost every head in the hall. The cause was a hand gripping Noah's fist, stopping it just in front of Ivy's face. Tensed at the sound, Ivy looked at the person in front of her.

James was coldly regarding Noah, whose face had paled.

"A broken arm might teach you a lesson." Noah stepped backward at James' words.

"I was just-" He stammered.

"Leave." At James's dangerous tone, Noah almost ran in the opposite direction. There was a silence, as James looked at Ivy, then Emma.

"I was handling it fine." Ivy eventually spoke. James slowly nodded, then with one last glance at the two of them, he left as quickly as he came.

Helping Emma up, Ivy searched her for injuries. "You okay, Em?" Emma looked at her with wide eyes.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Ivy... you could've gotten hurt." Emma looked at her despairingly.

Ivy smiled. "I would've been fine. At most, I would've just had a bruise." Emma nodded but looked unconvinced.

"Come on. Let's get to class."

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First period flew by, as Ivy waited nervously for her class with James.
When she walked in, she found she and James were one of the only people in the classroom.

Sitting down, they both remained silent. "Thank you." Ivy abruptly said. James turned to face her.

"If before, I seemed rude, I just-"

James interrupted. "I get it." His voice was understanding, and Ivy let out a breath of relief.

She nodded. "Okay. Thanks." She smiled hesitantly, and he returned the look.

The teacher arrived, as the rest of the students trickled in, leaving Ivy and James in a comfortable silence.

—————————————————

As class finished, the last of the students hurriedly left their classrooms to get their food. Outside the cafeteria, Emma stopped.

"Ivy?" Emma asked, her eyes wide.

Ivy looked up. "Yeah?"

With a grimace, Emma explained. "I'm so sorry, I just remembered. I have a really quick choir meeting."

Ivy nodded, "Okay, no problem." With a nod, Emma departed, leaving Ivy at the mouth of the cafeteria.

Finding a table at the back, Ivy started on her food, patiently waiting for Emma.

The buzz of the cafeteria developed into a background track, as Ivy watched the scene around her, lost in her thoughts.

"Hi." Minutes later, a familiar voice pulled Ivy out of her thoughts and made her put down her food.

"James." She turned around, to catch a flicker of a smile pass on James's face. "Do you need something?"

He cleared his throat. "Not exactly. I was wondering if I could sit here?"

Ivy was surprised for a moment. "Sure." Taking the spot next to her, they started on their food.

James paused and studied Ivy. "Where's your friend? Emma."

Ivy swallowed her food, then answered. "Choir rehearsal. She should be here soon." James nodded.

"Right." James hesitated but continued. "So, what was this morning about?" Ivy stiffened. "You don't have to-"

Ivy interrupted. "No, it's fine. Emma's always been pretty popular, but since a year or two ago, she started to attract the... unwanted type of guys. So, I guess I started driving off the guys who couldn't take a hint." Something passed over her features, and James noticed this.

"You seem to have a reputation for..." He looked for the right words.

"Yeah. I once punched a guy, and the rumors escalated. Unsurprisingly. Plus some self-defense classes." Ivy finished.

"I also know a few things. Maybe we could practice one day?" James asked.

Ivy smiled, the look softening her face. "Yeah. That'd be great."

"What would be great?"

Ivy straightened. "Emma. How was practice?"

"Good. Actually, we-" Emma stopped, apparently just realizing James was there. Opening her mouth, she stared at James then Ivy.

Fighting back a laugh, Ivy, introduced them. "Emma, this is James Doyle. James, this is Emma Johnson."

———————————————————

"James is pretty nice, hey?" Emma asked, kicking a twig on the path.

"Emma..." Ivy warned.

Emma sighed. "I know, I know. Don't make a move on James. But that aside, he's actually pretty nice."

Ivy relaxed. "Yeah, he is. But we need to hurry up, or we'll be late for school."  Emma nodded.

They approached the school, Emma greeting others, while Ivy stood to the side, observing everyone around her.

Her eyes focused on a set of blue eyes and brown hair eyes that came around the corner. A smile tugged at her mouth.

"Hey." James greeted.

Nodding back to him, she pulled Emma's arm. "Let's get to class."

"What do you have in fourth period?" James asked Ivy.

"Both of us have Science." She replied. "You?"

"Science," James replies stiffly, then began to walk off.

"Wait," Emma called out. "I don't think I've seen you in Science before. Were you there?"

Ivy pulled Emma's arm warningly. as James tensed. "He wasn't." She murmured.

She raised her voice slightly, speaking to James. "Class?" At her words, he relaxed and nodded.

He walked ahead of them, to avoid the studying look Ivy watched him with for the rest of the day.

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Hi!
I actually made about 3 versions of this chapter, because each one didn't seem right. Trying to develop characters is harder than I thought it would be. 🤔

Anyway, hope you enjoyed it!
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