If I had a dollar for every time Ethyn Moralez managed to insert himself into a perfectly normal situation and blow it up with the subtlety of a firecracker in a library, I'd have enough money to buy an escape route out of Truman Woods.

Because, really—was it too much to ask for one uneventful day?

Apparently, yes.

After the whole Ethyn-Pierre drama bomb in the courtyard yesterday, I was half-convinced that Pierre was done with me. Who wouldn't be? There's nothing like a smirking bad boy showing up at the worst possible moment to ruin a perfectly nice hangout. Especially when said bad boy looks at you like he knows every secret you've ever had, including what you texted your crush in seventh grade.

But Pierre... oh, Pierre was still in the picture. I could tell he was thrown by Ethyn's little stunt, but he wasn't backing off. Which, frankly, I found both flattering and terrifying. Now I had to navigate this weird, tangled web of interest from Pierre, interference from Ethyn, and the looming presence of Franklin Butt, waiting to swoop in and declare victory.

How did my life get this complicated?

"Lee." A voice snapped me out of my spiraling thoughts.

I blinked and looked up to see Savannah Chung, one of my classmates, standing over my desk. She was holding a bright pink notebook, her eyebrows raised in question. I realized she'd been talking to me while I was busy zoning out.

"Uh, sorry," I said, shaking my head to clear the fog. "What's up?"

"I asked if you had the notes from yesterday's class," Savannah repeated, her tone polite but clearly wondering if I had lost my mind. Fair question, to be honest.

"Oh! Yeah, totally," I said, rummaging through my backpack like I was trying to find the Ark of the Covenant. "Give me a second..."

I dug out my notebook and handed it to her, trying not to look as flustered as I felt. Savannah took it with a smile, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear. She had that perfect, polished look—like she stepped straight out of a teen drama where no one ever has bad hair days or forgets their homework.

"Thanks," she said. "By the way, I heard about the courtyard yesterday. Pretty wild."

I froze, my stomach doing a little flip. "You... heard about that?"

She gave me a sympathetic look. "Yeah. Ethyn's not exactly known for staying out of people's business. I don't know how you deal with it."

"Well," I said, forcing a laugh, "I wouldn't say I'm dealing with it, so much as surviving it."

Savannah chuckled. "That sounds about right. Just be careful with him. He's not the kind of guy who backs down once he's decided you're worth messing with."

"Oh, believe me," I muttered under my breath, "I've noticed."

Savannah gave me a quick smile before heading back to her desk, leaving me alone with my swirling thoughts.

The bell rang, and the rest of the day passed in a blur of textbooks, lectures, and that constant, gnawing feeling that I was teetering on the edge of something I couldn't control. By the time the final bell rang, I was ready to bolt, but, naturally, life had other plans.

As I made my way out of the classroom and down the hall, I spotted Pierre leaning casually against a locker, chatting with one of his teammates. My heart did that stupid little flutter again, and I steeled myself, taking a deep breath before walking over.

"Hey," I said, trying to sound cool and not like I'd spent the entire day overthinking everything.

Pierre glanced up, his expression instantly brightening. "Lee. Hey."

His smile was easy, but there was something in his eyes that told me he hadn't forgotten what happened yesterday. Great.

"You free to hang out today?" he asked, pushing off the locker and standing a little closer to me. Too close. Like, close enough that I could smell his cologne, which—by the way—was annoyingly perfect.

"Uh, yeah," I said, my brain struggling to keep up with his proximity. "Sure. What did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking we could grab a coffee or something," Pierre said, flashing that million-dollar smile again. "Unless you've got other plans?"

"No plans," I said quickly. "Coffee sounds great."

We started walking toward the parking lot, the conversation flowing easily between us. Pierre was charming in a way that made you forget everything else, like the world around us didn't exist. For a brief moment, I almost forgot about Ethyn and the bet and the entire mess I had gotten myself into.

Almost.

"So," Pierre said as we reached his car, a sleek, black SUV that probably cost more than my college tuition, "about yesterday..."

And there it was. The elephant in the room.

I plastered on a smile. "Yeah, uh... sorry about that. Ethyn just kind of... appears sometimes."

Pierre raised an eyebrow, clearly not satisfied with my half-baked explanation. "You two know each other?"

"Not really," I said quickly, maybe too quickly. "We've crossed paths a few times. He's... complicated."

Pierre nodded slowly, but I could tell he wasn't buying it. "Seems like he's got a thing for you."

I laughed, but it came out awkward and forced. "No. Definitely not. Ethyn's just... Ethyn. He likes messing with people."

Pierre frowned, his jaw tightening just a little. "Well, if he keeps bothering you, let me know. He's not exactly the kind of guy I want around my friends."

Friends. Okay. That was... progress, I guess?

"Thanks," I said, feeling a weird mix of relief and guilt. "But I can handle it. Ethyn's harmless."

Pierre didn't look convinced, but he let it drop as we climbed into his car. I tried to focus on the conversation, but my mind kept wandering back to the look in Ethyn's eyes when he'd seen me with Pierre yesterday. The way he'd smirked, like he knew something I didn't.

And then, as if the universe wanted to remind me just how not in control I was, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

I pulled it out and glanced at the screen, my stomach sinking when I saw the name.

Ethyn: Coffee date, huh? Didn't know you were that desperate for Pierre's attention. Cute.

I stared at the message, my pulse quickening. How did he even know we were going for coffee? Was he following me?

"What's up?" Pierre asked, glancing over as he backed out of the parking lot.

"Nothing," I said, quickly shoving my phone back into my pocket. "Just a stupid text."

Pierre didn't press the issue, but I could feel the weight of the phone in my pocket, like it was a ticking time bomb waiting to go off.

We pulled into the parking lot of a small coffee shop not far from school, and Pierre parked the car, giving me one of those easy smiles again. "Ready?"

I nodded, forcing a smile as I followed him inside. The smell of coffee and baked goods hit me instantly, and for a second, I allowed myself to relax. This was fine. I could handle this. Ethyn wasn't going to ruin my day.

We grabbed our drinks and found a small table near the window, settling in as the conversation drifted back to safer topics—school, sports, plans for the weekend. Pierre was effortlessly charming, and for a moment, I let myself enjoy his company. He was exactly what I needed: stable, safe, and completely out of the whole bad-boy drama.

But just as I was starting to feel like I could actually pull this off, my phone buzzed again. I glanced down, my heart sinking when I saw the notification.

Ethyn: So, when's the part where you stop pretending Pierre's the one you want?

I nearly dropped my coffee.

"What's wrong?" Pierre asked, frowning as he noticed my reaction.

"Nothing," I said quickly, shoving my phone away again. "Just... distracted."

He didn't look convinced, but before he could say anything else, the bell above the coffee shop door chimed, and I looked up to see Brandon Carter, one of the football team guys, walk in with a group of his friends. Brandon wasn't exactly my favorite person, mostly because he was a loud, obnoxious jock who thought the world revolved around him.

"Pierre! Dude!" Brandon called out, spotting us and making a beeline for our table.

Great. Just what I needed.

Pierre smiled, though I could tell he wasn't thrilled to see Brandon. "Hey, man. What's up?"

Brandon plopped down in the seat next to Pierre, completely ignoring me. "Not much. Just grabbing some coffee before practice. You coming by later?"

"Nah," Pierre said, glancing at me. "I'm hanging with Lee today."

Brandon's eyes finally flicked over to me, and he gave me a once-over, clearly unimpressed. "Oh, hey. You're... what's your name again?"

"Lee," I said, trying not to grit my teeth.

"Right. Lee." Brandon leaned back in his chair, looking completely disinterested. "You still playing soccer?"

"Yeah," I said, forcing a smile. "Still playing."

"Cool," Brandon said, though his tone made it clear he didn't actually care. "Anyway, Pierre, you should totally come to the game tomorrow. We're playing Riverton, and it's gonna be sick."

"I'll see," Pierre said, glancing at me again. "Depends on what we're doing."

Brandon smirked, clearly picking up on the fact that Pierre wasn't ditching me to hang out with him. "Right. Well, I'll catch you later, man."

He gave me one last glance before standing up and heading back to his friends, leaving me feeling weirdly unsettled.

"Sorry about that," Pierre said, looking a little embarrassed. "Brandon's... Brandon."

"No worries," I said, though my mind was still racing.

And then, because the universe apparently hated me, my phone buzzed again. I didn't need to check it to know who it was.

Ethyn: You're making this too easy, Singh.

I clenched my jaw, shoving my phone deeper into my bag. This was going to get ugly. Fast.