KAI'S POV
The whispers started the second I pulled into the Crestwood parking lot.
"There's that delinquent."
"Why do they even let him go here?"
"My mom said he's dangerous."
I killed the engine on my motorcycle and pulled off my helmet. Let them talk. Let them think whatever they wanted. Being the bad boy meant people left me alone, and alone was exactly how I needed to be.
Except for one person.
Aria Chen.
I spotted her immediately—she had this way of moving through crowds like she was trying not to take up space. Small steps. Head down. Everything about her screamed don't notice me even though she was the only person in this entire school worth noticing.
She was walking toward the main building with that bright, loud girl Maya who actually had the guts to say what everyone else was thinking. I liked Maya. She didn't pretend to be something she wasn't.
But Aria... Aria was different.
I watched her stop by the lockers where Ethan Park held court like some kind of king. His crowd of rich kids surrounded him, laughing too loud at jokes that probably weren't funny. Aria stood at the edge of the circle, holding papers.
His essay. Had to be.
I was too far away to hear what they said, but I didn't need to. I'd seen this scene play out a hundred times in the past two years. Aria would hand over whatever work she'd done for him. Ethan would smile that fake smile. Maybe he'd call her "babe" or touch her shoulder. Then he'd turn back to his friends like she didn't exist.
And Aria would stand there for just a second too long, waiting for something more that would never come.
My hands tightened on my helmet until my knuckles went white.
"Yo, Winters!"
I turned to see Marcus Chen—no relation to Aria—jogging over. He was one of the few people who actually talked to me, mostly because I'd helped him pass chemistry last year.
"You coming to the assembly third period?" he asked.
"Do I have a choice?"
"Nah, man. Mandatory. Some new girl from France or something." Marcus grinned. "Bet she's hot."
I didn't care about some new student. I cared about the girl currently watching Ethan Park walk away from her like she was nothing.
"Whatever," I muttered, heading toward the building.
The problem with Crestwood Academy was that everyone here thought money meant they were better than everyone else. They didn't know that half of them would be nothing without their parents' bank accounts. They didn't know what it meant to actually work for something.
But Aria knew.
I'd done my research—okay, maybe I'd paid attention when she talked in class or when I overheard her conversations. She was a scholarship student. Her mom was a nurse. She took an hour-long bus ride every morning to get here. She worked twice as hard as everyone else and got half the credit.
And she wasted it all on Ethan Park.
Two years. I'd been watching her waste herself on him for two years.
It started sophomore year. I'd been having the worst day of my life—just came from the hospital where Lily was having another surgery. The doctors said it went well, but Lily looked so small in that bed, hooked up to machines, and I couldn't stop thinking about our parents. How they'd died and left me to take care of everything. How I was failing.
I went to the music room because nobody ever went there after school. I could fall apart in private.
Except someone was already there.
Aria sat at the piano, playing something soft and sad. I must have made a noise because she stopped and turned around. Saw me with red eyes and a face that probably looked like my world was ending.
Because it was.
"Sorry," I said, backing toward the door. "Didn't know anyone was here."
"Wait."
That one word stopped me.
Aria didn't ask what was wrong. Didn't try to talk about feelings or fix anything. She just patted the bench next to her and said, "Sometimes music helps."
I sat down. She played. And for twenty minutes, I didn't think about hospitals or bills or the fact that I was eighteen and responsible for keeping my little sister alive.
When she finished, she looked at me with these warm, understanding eyes and said, "Whatever you're dealing with... you're stronger than it. I can tell."
Then she left.
She never mentioned it again. Never told anyone. Probably didn't even remember.
But I did. I remembered everything about that moment. How her kindness felt like cool water when I was drowning. How she saw me breaking and didn't run away.
That's when I fell in love with her.
Stupid, right? Falling for someone because they were nice to you once. Except it wasn't just once. I started watching her after that—not in a creepy way, just... noticing. And the more I noticed, the more I saw.
She was brilliant. Top of our class. She helped everyone who asked and never expected anything back. She smiled even when she was tired. She was genuine in a school full of fakes.
And Ethan Park treated her like a convenience store—only showing up when he needed something.
It made me want to punch walls.
The morning bell rang. Students flooded inside. I saw Aria again, walking with Maya toward homeroom. She looked exhausted. Because of course she did. She'd probably been up since five editing Park's essay.
I wanted to go over there. Tell her she deserved better. Ask her why she kept giving pieces of herself to someone who didn't even see her.
But I couldn't.
Because I was Kai Winters—the delinquent with a motorcycle and a bad reputation. She was Aria Chen—the perfect student who'd never look at someone like me.
At least, that's what I told myself.
Third period came too fast. The whole school crammed into the auditorium for this big announcement. I slid into a seat in the back, away from everyone. From here, I could see the whole room.
I found Aria sitting in the middle section with Maya. She was chewing her bottom lip—something she did when she was nervous. Why was she nervous about a transfer student?
Then I saw Ethan. He was sitting with his crew a few rows behind Aria, but he wasn't looking at her. He was looking at his phone, smiling like he'd won the lottery.
Something was wrong. I felt it in my gut—that same instinct that kept me alive when I was living on the streets at sixteen, before I got the scholarship here.
Principal Hart walked onto the stage and tapped the microphone.
"Good morning, students. Today we're welcoming a very special addition to our Crestwood family..."
The auditorium doors opened.
A girl walked in, and the entire room went silent.
She was beautiful—I'd give her that. Blonde hair, expensive clothes, the kind of face that belonged in magazines. But that wasn't what made my blood run cold.
It was the way Ethan looked at her.
Like he'd been waiting his whole life for this moment.
And the way Aria's shoulders tensed, like she knew exactly what was about to happen.
"Please welcome Isabella Laurent," Principal Hart announced. "She's transferred here from Paris and will be joining the senior class."
Applause erupted. Isabella smiled sweetly, doing a little wave.
I didn't clap. I was too busy watching Ethan stand up and actually whisper to his friend, "She's even more perfect in person."
In person?
He knew her already. This wasn't a random transfer.
This was planned.
And Aria... Aria looked like someone had just told her the world was ending.
Because maybe it was.