In the vibrant city of Los Angeles, Kiara Reed, a passionate reader of romance novels and a talented dancer, embarks on a new chapter of her life after her family's recent move. Adjusting to her new surroundings, Kiara unexpectedly encounters a grou...
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As I grabbed my books for the day and shut my locker, I turned around and found myself face-to-face with Grayson. He was leaning casually against the lockers next to mine, arms crossed, eyes meeting mine. I pulled my headphones down so they hung around my neck.
"Hey," he said, eyebrows narrowed slightly.
Still taken aback by his sudden appearance, I finally managed to respond. "Hey."
"How's Kiara today?"
"She's okay, though she's quite shocked to see a certain boy so early in the morning," I replied with a smile.
His grin widened, causing me to blush and look down at the floor, trying to hide my reddening cheeks. When I looked back up, he was still watching me.
"You good?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.
I cleared my throat. "Yeah, I'm good."
He nodded slowly. "What were you listening to?" he asked.
"Some Taylor Swift—" I began, but my brother's voice interrupted.
"Kiara!" Jayden yelled.
"What do you want, Jayden?" I snapped, annoyed at the interruption.
"We've talked about this," he said, referring to my interactions with boys.
"And I've made it clear that I don't care what you think," I shot back.
Jayden huffed and approached, giving Grayson a friendly handshake. Turning back to me, he whispered, "It's hard being nice to him when he makes my sister blush like that."
"What are you gonna do?" I asked.
"Beat him up, maybe," Jayden shrugged, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"You? Beat him up?" I laughed. "Have you seen him? You wouldn't last a minute."
"Shut up," he muttered, walking away. I smiled in triumph.
"You know I'm right! I'll be cheering you on with every punch you take!" I teased, earning a middle finger from him.
Turning back to Grayson, I saw him grinning. "Sorry about that," I said.
"You're good," he replied.
I opened my mouth to speak, but another voice interrupted.
"Oh my god, Grayson!" Gemma's voice grated on my ears.
"What, Gemma?" he sighed, eyes closed before he reluctantly opened them again.
Gemma approached, eyeing me before wedging herself between us. I rolled my eyes at her childish behavior and softly laughed.
"Grayson baby, look at me," she demanded.
I cringed internally. "No, I'm good. She's more interesting and better looking than you," he said, glancing over her shoulder at me.
Gemma gasped. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, she's prettier than you," he clarified, smiling at me. My heart did a flip at his words, and I felt a surge of butterflies.
"She looks like a rat that crawled out of a sewer," Gemma spat.
"You sure that's not you?" Grayson shot back.
"Why are you so mean?" she whined.
"Guess we know where I get it from now," he retorted, clearly referring to her. I snickered, pretending to cough to cover my laugh.
Gemma stepped away, not sparing us another glance as she fast-walked down the hall, disappearing around a corner.
"What a funny girl," I said.
He hummed in agreement. "But I didn't know you had that in you."
"Guess you keep learning new things about me," he said, pushing off the lockers and stuffing his hands into his cargo jeans pockets.
"I guess so," I replied with a smile. We stood there, staring at each other, until I decided to break the silence.
"We have a few minutes left; we should get to class," I said, and he chuckled softly.
"Okay," he said, and we walked side by side to our first period.
Distracted Thoughts Throughout the entire lesson, I couldn't stop thinking about how many times Grayson had called me pretty. Normally, when someone complimented me, it made me feel good for a moment, but I rarely carried that happiness for the rest of the morning. This time, though, I replayed his words in my head over and over again.
I was confused by the new feelings Grayson was stirring in me. Even when I was with Aiden, I had never felt this way. The thoughts consumed me, and I didn't know what to make of them. I liked the feelings, but I wasn't sure if I should.
