IVY POV
For the past two weeks, Hale had been on his best behavior.
And that alone was terrifying.
He was… nice. Shockingly nice. Polite. No snapping. No attitude. No bossy commands.
Just calm answers and actual effort during our tutoring sessions. All of it started after I helped him bake that strawberry pie for the NHL scout… which was still one of the weirdest things I did ever thought I would do in my life… baking for Hale.
Nice Ronan Hale didn't sit right with me.
Classes that day were the usual kind of chaos. Professors rushing through lectures, deadlines piling up, my brain juggling too many things at once. I barely made it to my last class on time and had to sprint across campus just to submit an assignment before the deadline.
By the time I was done, my legs ached and my head throbbed.
I checked the time and groaned. I was late.
Stuffing my notebook into my bag, I hurried toward the cafeteria to meet Zoe and Max, hoping food and familiar faces would calm the restless feeling in my chest.
Because as much as I didn't want to admit it…
Nice Ronan Hale was somehow more unsettling than the rude one.
The cafeteria doors swung open as I rushed inside, the noise hitting me all at once…. voices overlapping, trays clattering, chairs scraping against the floor. The smell of fries and coffee filled the air, and my stomach growled like it hadn't eaten in days.
I scanned the room, spotting Zoe first. She was already seated, waving one hand dramatically like she was directing traffic. Max sat across from her, scrolling on his phone, completely unbothered.
I weaved through tables and dropped my bag beside them with a tired sigh. "I swear this place gets louder every semester."
"You're late," Zoe said, eyes narrowing. "Which means you were either buried in books… or with Hale."
I stiffened. "I was turning in an assignment," I said quickly, grabbing a chair. "Don't start."
Max looked up, smirking. "You're defensive. Every time Hale comes up."
"I'm hungry," I said, reaching for a fry off his tray.
"Get yours," he muttered, but pushed the tray closer anyway.
I leaned back in my chair, letting the familiar chaos of them settle me. For a moment, everything felt normal again… school stress, bad cafeteria food, my best friends teasing me.
Still… somewhere in the back of my mind, Hale lingered.
And I hated that he did.
I was mid-bite, halfway through stealing another fry from Max, when a voice stopped me cold.
"Hey, Ivy."
The sound of my name made my heart stop.
I looked up slowly, already knowing who it was, and there he stood… Hale. Relaxed. Hands in his pockets. Looking way too comfortable in my space.
Max nearly spat his drink all over the table. He started coughing, eyes wide, pounding his chest.
Zoe's jaw dropped. Like… fully dropped.
I, on the other hand, almost choked on the fry in my mouth.
Did he just call me Ivy?
Not Cross.
Not tutor girl.
Ivy.
He didn't wait for a response… just nodded once, like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Then he walked off.
Just… walked away and joined his friends at a nearby table.
"What in the mother-fucking heck is going on?" Max blurted out, staring straight at me like I'd committed some kind of crime.
Zoe leaned forward, eyes bouncing between us. "Did he just… did I just hear him call you Ivy?"
I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry. My face felt hot, my heart racing way too fast for something that meant absolutely nothing.
I forced a laugh that came out weak. "It's… It's not a big deal."
I dropped the fry back onto the tray like it had burned my fingers.
"I swear, it's nothing," I said, way too quickly.
Max's eyes narrowed. "You're lying."
Zoe folded her arms, her whole body turning toward me. "Ivy, Hale does not call people by their names. Especially not in public. And definitely not you."
"We're… cool now," I muttered, lowering my voice. "More like friends."
"Friends?" Max repeated, almost choking. He jerked his head toward Ronan's table. "You said two weeks ago you wanted to murder him. What happened to that Ivy?"
I followed his gaze without meaning to.
Ronan was laughing with his teammates, relaxed and careless, like he hadn't just messed with my head by saying my name. Then…just once… his eyes lifted and met mine across the cafeteria.
My stomach dropped hard.
He didn't smile.
He didn't wave.
He just looked at me.
Then he turned back to his friends like nothing had happened.
I let out a slow breath I didn't realize I was holding, my hands clenched tightly in my lap.
Zoe leaned closer, her voice soft now. "Ivy?"
I nodded, even though my heart was still racing. "Yeah… um. I just changed my mind."
Max stared at me like I'd completely lost it, then went back to chewing his fries, shaking his head.
Max chewed for a second, then swallowed. "You know this is how horror movies start, right? Girl ignores all the red flags and ends up emotionally wrecked."
"Max," I sighed. "It's not like that."
Zoe tilted her head, studying me. "Then what is it like?"
I opened my mouth to answer… and closed it again.
Because I didn't know.
"We just get along better now," I said finally. "He's been trying. With tutoring. With… not being a jerk."
Max snorted. "Ronan Hale and the word trying do not belong in the same sentence."
"I'm serious," I said, a little defensive. "He's been focused. Respectful. Almost… normal."
Zoe raised a brow. "That's somehow worse."
I groaned and dropped my head onto the table. "Can you both please stop psychoanalyzing my life?"
They laughed, but I could feel their eyes still on me, still curious.
Across the cafeteria, Ronan stood up with his friends, grabbing his bag. As he walked past, he didn't look at me again.
And that shouldn't have mattered.
But it did.
Because for the rest of lunch, I couldn't stop thinking about the way he'd said my name…like it meant something.