Sitting in the library, with my focus drifting between practice tests and glimpses at Ethan, I felt a rare peace.
Ever since… well, everything, Ethan had become my unofficial bodyguard. Rather than spending his free periods at his company, he stayed with me, blending his study time with mine, even holding online meetings during study hall.
It was sweet, and maybe a little ridiculous, but I appreciated him more than I could say. Just knowing he was here, his steady presence beside me, added a sense of security I'd been missing lately.
It was like, in the midst of all the chaos and worry that had shadowed me since the… incident, Ethan was my calm in the storm.
As I flipped through a calculus practice test, my phone buzzed beside me. I glanced down at the screen and sighed.
Dante. Only Dante would text me something like this while I was supposed to be studying:
"Focus on your notes, not on staring at Ethan like a lovesick puppy."
