Morning sunlight filtered through the classroom windows, spilling across rows of desks and half-open notebooks. Flora walked down the corridor with a small smile she tried to hide one left over from last night's quiet conversation with Shane.
He was already there when she arrived, surrounded by the student council team, their voices clipped and serious. His tone was calm, distant, all authority until he noticed her passing by.
" You're early," he said lightly.
Flora blinked, caught off guard. "Trying to change my reputation."
His mouth curved, just slightly. "You? That'll take more than one morning."
She rolled her eyes, but her lips betrayed her with a faint smile. For a second, his cold expression melted only she ever saw that side of him.
---
By midmorning, the halls buzzed with excitement. Lists for the Everwood Hills trip were pinned to the noticeboard, surrounded by students eager to find their names. Flora squeezed through the crowd, heart thudding as her eyes scanned the page.
Group 3.
Her name sat neatly below Shane Andersom Assistant Supervisor.
Before she could even process it, a voice came from behind.
"Finally got yourself a bodyguard," Austin joked. Grace laughed beside him, the kind of laughter that always managed to sting.
Flora turned away, forcing a polite smile. But before she could move, Shane's voice cut through low and steady.
"Find someone else to joke about," he said.
The simple calm in his tone made both of them fall silent. He stepped beside Flora, his shoulder brushing hers.
"Ignore them," he murmured.
"I wasn't listening."
"You were."
The faintest smirk tugged at his lips, teasing but not unkind. She shook her head, her cheeks warming despite herself.
---
Lunch came quietly. The courtyard was half-empty, sunlight filtering through the trees in golden lines. Flora sat beneath one, sketchbook open on her knees, pencil gliding across paper. It was her small habit capturing things she couldn't say out loud.
"You don't eat?" a familiar voice asked.
She looked up. Shane stood there, hands in pockets, eyes scanning the half-finished drawing.
"I forgot," she said, closing the book.
He tilted his head. "You forget everything but sketch."
She smiled faintly. "You don't usually talk to people like this, do you?"
His gaze softened, the teasing fading for something quieter. "People don't usually make me want to."
The air between them stilled warm, unspoken, fragile. He looked away first, pretending to study the tree above them, but she could see the faint trace of a smile still playing on his lips.
---
By evening, the school had emptied into soft silence. Flora walked home beneath a fading sky, the sunset stretching long shadows across the road.
Her phone buzzed.
Shane: Finished checking the trip forms.
Flora: You mean my group's?
Shane: Yes.
Flora: Do I pass?
Shane: Barely. I'll supervise you personally.
She laughed under her breath, shaking her head. "You're impossible," she whispered to no one, her smile lasting all the way home.
The mansion was quiet when she arrived. Brandon wasn't back yet, and Liam's room door was shut. She unpacked her bag, humming softly, unaware of how still the world had gone outside her window.
---
On the other side, a dim room glowed faintly blue. The low hum of electronics filled the air the sound of something always running.
A laptop screen flickered to life, casting light over scattered photographs. Each image carried the same face Flora's.
Some were blurred, caught mid-motion in the hallway. Others were perfect her at the window, her beneath the tree, her in PE, her smiling when she thought no one was watching.
The cursor moved slowly, lingering over one photo sunlight in her hair, her eyes soft with laughter.
"Finally," a voice whispered, calm and reverent. "Perfect Pictures of her smiling."
Fingers brushed the screen, tracing her outline as though the image might breathe back. In the corner, a folder name pulsed faintly — COLLECTIONS.
One click, and the screen filled with more. Her moments. Her days. Every quiet second she thought belonged only to her.
The watcher leaned closer, shadows folding over his face.
"Now you look perfect," he murmured.
The monitor dimmed, leaving her frozen smile reflected in the dark glass bright, unknowing, endlessly watched.
---