The next morning, school buzzed with noise that had nothing to do with lessons.
"Did you see Ann last night?"
"Adrian really walked out, I swear."
Blue slid into her seat as Elise leaned over. "So?" she whispered. "Details."
Blue shrugged. "It was… a lot."
Alan passed by, tapping her desk. "Best party of the year.''
"Debatable," Mavin added from behind. "I almost lost my voice."
Students who hadn't gone hovered close, hungry for stories.
"Was it fun?"
"Who danced the most?"
"Is it true there was a fight?"
Blue listened more than she spoke, letting the noise wash over her. The party already felt distant, like something half-dreamed.
But the energy lingered—alive in whispers, glances, and the way everyone seemed just a little more awake.
And as the bell rang, Blue realized that whatever had started that night hadn't ended at all. It had simply followed them back to school.
The classroom slowly settled as students drifted to their seats, voices lowering into tired murmurs. Blue flipped through her notebook absentmindedly, only half-aware of the room around her.
"Hey."
She looked up.
Drake stood beside her desk, his backpack slung over one shoulder. He hesitated slightly, then gestured to the empty chair next to her. "Mind if I sit?"
Blue blinked, surprised. "Oh—sure."
He pulled the chair closer and sat, resting his arms on the desk. For a moment, neither of them spoke. It wasn't awkward—just quiet, the kind that felt deliberate.
"I wanted to say," Drake began, glancing toward the window before looking back at her, "you looked beautiful at the party."
Blue froze.
"The party?" she asked. "You were there?"
He smiled faintly. "For a bit. Didn't stay long."
"I didn't see you," she admitted.
"That's probably because I didn't want to be seen," he said lightly, then added, more honestly, "I just wanted to tell you."
The sincerity in his voice caught her off guard. "Thank you," she said softly. "I didn't expect that."
They talked after that—about the music, about how loud it was, about how school suddenly felt smaller after a night like that. Drake was easy to talk to, thoughtful in a way she hadn't noticed before.
For a moment, the noise of the room faded.
The bell rang suddenly, sharp and final.
Drake stood, slinging his bag back over his shoulder. "Guess that's my cue."
"Yeah," Blue said, smiling.
He paused. "See you around, Blue."
"See you."
As he left the room, Blue stared at her notebook for a moment longer, her thoughts unusually still.
Drake stepped away from Blue's desk just as the room began to fill again with noise. A few heads turned—not in curiosity, more in passing. Alan, leaning against a desk near the window, noticed. He raised an eyebrow slightly, meeting Blue's eyes for a brief second before looking away, already distracted by someone calling his name.
Chairs scraped, bags were shifted, notebooks opened. The moment dissolved as quickly as it had formed.
Elise slid into the seat beside Blue and leaned in. "Okay," she whispered, "what was that?"
Blue blinked. "What was what?"
Asha joined them from the other side. "Drake. Sitting. Talking''
Blue shrugged, opening her book. "He just wanted to sit. That's all."
Elise studied her face. "You're calm."
"Because it was calm," Blue said simply.
''Your becoming a celeb without even trying '' Ashe said looking out the window for a second.
Before either of them could push further, the classroom door opened.
"Books out," the teacher said, already heading toward the board.
Groans rippled through the room as conversations died down. Blue focused on the lesson, the quiet returning to her thoughts as chalk scraped across the board.
By the time the bell rang, the earlier moment already felt distant—something soft and fleeting.
The walk home was slow and familiar.
Lola kicked a small stone along the pavement, hands tucked into her jacket pockets. "School feels loud lately," she said.
Blue nodded. "Yeah. Like everyone's trying to say something at once."
They walked in comfortable silence after that, the late afternoon light stretching shadows across the road. Blue felt steady, grounded in the simple rhythm of walking beside her sister.
****************
The rain came down fast, cold and unrelenting, turning the school grounds into a slick, slippery mess. Blue hurried behind Asha and Elise, her backpack clutched tightly, but she wasn't paying close attention to the crowd—or the ground.
A sudden shove sent her tumbling forward. The wet pavement hit her knees first, and the rain soaked through her jacket almost instantly.
"Oops… didn't see you there," Ann said, stifling a laugh, her voice dripping with mock innocence.
Blue's head shot up, blinking through the rain. Her eyes met the girl next to Ann, who shook her head mockingly. "Yeah… some people just can't be seen," she said, her tone sharp.
Blue tried to push herself up, but her hands slipped on the slick concrete. She swallowed, anger bubbling despite the chill.
"I know you did that on purpose. Don't try your excuses with me." Her glare cut through the rain like a knife.
The girl next to Ann stepped forward, hands raised, but Ann grabbed her arm, stopping her. "She's always acting like a victim," Ann sneered. "Even with other people's partners."
Blue froze for a moment as a shadow fell over her. "Are you okay?" Adrian's voice was calm, but firm. He stepped beside her, equally soaked, his jacket clinging to him from the rain.
Blue blinked, caught off guard by his presence. "Y-yeah… yeah, I'm fine," she managed, her voice tight as she tried to pull herself up.
Adrian's eyes scanned the group, narrowing. "I don't know what's happening here," he said, voice low but sharp, "but I'm disappointed in you, Ann. All of you."
He extended his hand to Blue. For a moment, she hesitated, aware of the nasty looks cutting across her, but she took it. His grip was steady and sure, and together they moved past the group. The others parted reluctantly, muttering under their breaths.
Adrian led her down a corridor, away from the chaos, into the lower, empty classrooms.
The sound of rain pounding the roof made the silence feel both comforting and isolating.
"Wait here," he said, glancing toward the door before disappearing down the hallway. Blue shivered, hugging herself. How long would he be gone?