Chloe’s reading my note.

And she’s smiling.

The coarse rope that’s been binding my heart ever since sliding the note into her locker starts to unravel.

I rub my cheek, remembering the soft brush of her lips against my skin.

No one ever dares to get close enough to kiss me…to let me in.

I usually like it that way. My scowling glare and on-the-edge temper provides protection on both sides. People can’t afford to get close to me and my insane family, which is why I push them all away. And keeping them at arm’s length stops me from forming any kind of bond that will inevitably get broken.

But this morning as I was getting ready for school…thinking about the kind of night Chloe must have had, I couldn’t not do something.

It’s only a note.

It can’t do any harm, but the fact that she’s reading it while she’s walking to class fills me with something I don’t even recognize.

I like this feeling, and I want it to stick around, even though I know it won’t.

Good things don’t happen to people like me.

Pure things like Chloe shouldn’t even come near me.

But at least she knows she’s safe. I just wanted to offer a little comfort. And I think I did, which makes me feel like a million bucks.

I’m actually in a good mood when I slip into homeroom. As usual, I take my seat in the back of the room and warn people off with a stony-faced glare. That shit really unnerves people.

I keep my scowl in place, only softening it slightly when Chloe’s eyes brush across mine in Biology class. She keeps glancing at me, and as much as I love those blue-green eyes, it makes me twitchy.

Twitchy with longing.

Twitchy with the truth that this yearning can never be satisfied.

By lunchtime my good mood has disappeared and been replaced with that standard charcoal cloud that seems to swirl in my chest on a regular basis.

I skip lunch the way I always do. I hate being in the cafeteria. Pulling a squished piece of bread from the bottom of my bag, I tear a mouthful off and slowly chew the plain, boring meal while shuffling through the hallways.

This is standard operating procedure for me.

Sometimes I head downstairs and loiter near the music room so I can hear Velocity rehearse. Other times, I roam the halls. And occasionally, I’ll head to the library. Today I go for hall roaming, and by the time I’ve finished my piece of bread, I’m at my locker.

The bell’s not due to ring for another fifteen minutes, but I decide to get prepped for afternoon classes anyway.

Reaching for the lock, I feel that uneasy vibe shudder through me. Ever since Luke Frost planted that mitt and those drugs in my locker, I’ve been nervous of what I’ll find. It’s only been a couple of days since returning to school, but I’m still cautious. Being set up sucks. I should find Luke and beat the shit out of him, but I guess I understand why he picked me as his scapegoat. Thanks to my family’s reputation, I’m the perfect fall guy.

Pushing the lock up and then down, I give it a little rattle and it pops open. It took me weeks to come up with that technique. My locker got a fair share of abuse in those early days, until I could figure out the damn lock.

No wonder people avoid me. There are still dent marks in the metal from my boots.

Licking the edge of my mouth, I pull the door back and freeze when I spot a white sheet of paper folded in half.

My heart starts pounding as I slowly reach for it, and with my breath on hold, I open it up and read…

You’re right…I didn’t sleep well. I hope the nightmares don’t last too long.

I still haven’t found the courage to tell anybody, which makes me feel kind of bad. Like I’m a coward. But I just can’t seem to form the words.

I wish I had your strength. To just step up and beat those guys the way you did… You don’t even know me and you ran into a fight to save me from something hideous.

You’re an honorable warrior.

I wish more people knew that, but somehow I sense you don’t want them to.

Thanks again for what you did. It’s a privilege to know the truth.

C

I scan the note again, rereading her words until they’re memorized.

I’m not even aware of the shuffling in the corridor around me until the bell rings and I’m brought back to earth.

An honorable warrior.

Holy shit. That’s a title right there.

It’s not really one I deserve, and I should tell Chloe that.

Snatching a pen from the bottom of my bag, I quickly rip a sheet of paper from the back of my English notebook and write her back.

I’m no warrior. And you are no coward.

I was just in the right place at the right time.

You have no idea how good it felt to pound those guys. What they were trying to do to you made me sick to my core.

No girl deserves that.

Especially a girl with a heart like yours.

You deserve only respect, because you are one of the nicest human beings I’ve ever seen. Watching you at school…the way you are with people, I

“Mancini, move it! The bell rang five minutes ago!” Principal Sheehan barks at me.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m going,” I mutter under my breath, grabbing my stuff and haphazardly folding the note in half.

I race down the corridor, passing Chloe’s locker on my way. I shouldn’t put my note in yet. I haven’t even proofread it. It’s not finished. But before I can stop myself, I slide the paper through the vent and run to class.

It’s not until I’m walking in late on Mr. Moreno’s lesson that I suddenly regret what I did. My mind is scrambling for what I put in that note. Was my tone right? What the hell did I say? How the fuck did I end it?

Shit! I think I’ve just totally screwed this up.

Slumping into my seat, I grip my pen, nearly snapping it in half as I can do nothing but sweat it out and hope like hell the note spontaneously combusts before Chloe finds it and thinks I’m some kind of creepy stalker.