Chapter 43 Light warning
Instead, three girls stood in front of her.
The one in the middle had striking dark hair that looked too perfect to be real shiny and curled at the ends. Her expression was sharp, like glass waiting to cut. The other two flanked her like backup singers in a music video, their arms crossed, identical smirks painted on their faces.
For a moment, none of them said anything.
The middle girl’s eyes scanned Lila slowly, head tilted slightly. No smile. Just judgment.
Lila blinked, confused. “Um… can I help you?”
The girl’s lips curved into a half-smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Help me?” she repeated softly, voice sweet and mocking.
Lila hesitated. “You tapped me. I thought maybe you wanted something.”
That made the girls behind her laugh, not a kind laugh, but the kind that had teeth.
One of them, the taller one with bleached hair, leaned forward. “She thought we wanted something,” she said, giggling. “That’s cute.”
Lila frowned, taking a small step back. She felt her pulse quicken, though she wasn’t sure why.
“I just asked if something was wrong,” Lila said quietly.
The lead girl’s smirk deepened. “Oh, something’s wrong, all right.”
Lila blinked, confused. “What do you mean?”
The taller girl stepped closer, close enough for Lila to smell her floral, strong perfume. “You really don’t know, do you?”
Lila looked from one face to another. “I don’t.”
The leader’s voice turned sharp, no longer sweet. “You were with Damian Reyes.”
The name landed between them like a dropped plate.
Lila’s breath caught. “What?”
“You heard me.” The girl’s eyes flashed. “You were talking to him. Laughing and acting like..like you know him.”
Lila blinked again, stunned by how ridiculous it sounded. “He just helped me pick up my notebook. That’s all.”
The other girls exchanged knowing looks, then burst into laughter again.
“Oh, please,” one of them said. “That’s how it always starts.”
Lila’s stomach twisted. What is happening right now?
She took a step to the side, hoping to slip past them, but the dark-haired girl shifted with her, blocking her path.
“Wait,” she said, voice dropping low. “You didn’t answer me.”
“Answer what?”
“What are you doing with my boyfriend?”
Lila froze. “Your… boy what?”
“Damian,” the girl snapped. “You know, he's tall, gorgeous, captain of the football team that's my boyfriend. The one you were staring at like a lost puppy?”
Lila’s shock quickly burned into irritation.
She crossed her arms. “I didn’t know he was your boyfriend. And I wasn’t staring at him.”
The shorter girl scoffed. “Sure you weren’t.”
Lila’s patience thinned. She tilted her head slightly and said, her tone calm but cutting, “Are you his bodyguard or something?”
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
For a second, silence.
Suddenly, there was loud and genuine laughter this time, but not from the girls.
From the crowd that had begun forming nearby. Students passing through the hall, now slowing down to watch. Someone even let out a low whistle.
Lila felt heat creep up her neck, not from embarrassment but from adrenaline.
The dark-haired girl’s face flushed red, her confidence cracking for a split second.
The laughter stung her more than Lila’s words ever could. She squared her shoulders, glaring daggers at Lila.
“Stay away from Damian,” she hissed, voice trembling slightly. “I mean it.”
Lila didn’t flinch. “I wasn’t planning on stealing anyone’s boyfriend.”
The girl took a step closer, her eyes glittering with something dangerous. “Just remember what I said. Stay away from my boyfriend.”
“Maybe you should put him in your handbag and move around. That's my little advice for you.” Lila responded.
The girl's eyes were burning with fury. “Just stay away from my man.”
With that, she spun on her heel, her two friends following close behind. Their perfume lingered long after their footsteps faded.
The hallway grew quiet again, but the tension still clung to the air. Lila’s heart hammered against her ribs. Her palms were clammy, though she hadn’t realized she’d been clenching them.
Lila stood frozen in the middle of the hallway long after Vanessa and her friends left. Her bag felt heavy on her shoulder, her heart thudding against her ribs. She could still hear their laughter echoing in her ears, the way the crowd had chuckled when she’d made the bodyguard comment.
Part of her wanted to feel proud she hadn’t backed down. But the rest of her just felt small.
She leaned against the wall, her breathing uneven. Why does this keep happening to me?
Everywhere she went lately, tension followed her. Whispers. Looks. Judgments she didn’t ask for.
Now, apparently, jealous girlfriends.
Her throat tightened. She swallowed hard, blinking rapidly as her vision blurred. She wasn’t going to cry, not here, not over this.
But her hands were shaking.
She exhaled shakily, muttering under her breath, “What just happened?”
“I guess you made a fan club,” a voice said from behind her.
When she finally noticed Roy, standing just a few steps behind her, she almost jumped
Roy stood there, hands in his pockets, expression calm but serious. His usual easy grin was gone.
“Roy?” she said, surprised. “How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough,” he said quietly, glancing down the hall where the girls had disappeared. “You should stay away from Damian and from her.”
Lila blinked. “Her?”
Roy nodded. “That’s Vanessa. Damian’s girlfriend for now, at least. She doesn’t like competition.”
“I’m not her competition,” Lila said firmly.
Roy raised an eyebrow. “Try telling her that.”
Roy glanced toward where Vanessa had gone. “That girl, Vanessa, she's been in trouble before. Pretty face, bad heart. People say she’s been expelled once already, but her dad’s on the board, so she gets away with everything.”
Lila frowned. “Why would she even care that I spoke to Damian?”
He met her gaze. “Because she’s obsessed with him. She’s the kind who likes to mark her territory.”
Lila crossed her arms, looking away. “That’s ridiculous. We just talked for a minute.”
Roy nodded slowly. “Maybe. But Damian’s the golden boy here. Every time he breathes near someone new, it’s a headline in the dorms.”
She laughed quietly, though it sounded bitter. “I guess I picked the wrong notebook to drop.”
He smiled faintly but didn’t join in. “Just be careful, okay?”
Lila’s chest tightened again not from fear this time, but confusion.
Roy was watching her with an expression she couldn’t quite read. There was concern there, but something else too, something heavier.
Lila looked away, the tension still buzzing in her chest. “They just came out of nowhere. I didn’t even do anything.”
“I know,” he said softly. “But trust me, Lila. Stay away. You don’t need their kind of attention.”
She frowned. “Why?”
He didn’t answer right away. His eyes moved from her face to something distant, unreadable.
She stepped closer, trying to read him. “Roy?”
The corners of his mouth twitched, but his expression stayed serious.
Lila turned to him, her voice barely above a whisper. “Why?”
.The silence that followed felt like the beginning of something she didn’t yet understand.