Chapter 43 Aria
I didn’t mean to smile when I walked into school. I really didn’t but apparently, when a popular badboy in school kisses you like you’re oxygen and he’s been drowning for months yeah, it does something to your face.
Nora noticed immediately.
“Oh my gosh!,” she whispered, grabbing my arm. “That is not a normal smile. That’s a ‘someone slammed me into a wall and kissed me breathless’ or ‘I had the best orgasm’ smile.”
I groaned. “Nora—”
She gasped. “YOU—”
“Lower your voice!” I hissed. “And yes. Maybe. Or kind of.”
She stared at me like I’d just told her I owned the moon. “Aria. Tell me every frickin' detail. Right now and n the hallway.”
I opened my mouth and that’s when I heard the heels. It was Sienna.
I blinked. “Girl, I didn't know you wear heels.”
She stopped beside her locker, flipping her hair in that effortless, smug way she always did until her eyes landed on me. “First time for everything, Ari.”
More specifically on my mouth. On instinct, I touched my lips and her eyes narrowed. It wasn’t obvious to anyone else watching but it was obvious to me, because I’d been trained by months of her subtle knowledge. The tiny flare of her nostrils, micro-second tightening of her jaw and how her fingers curled around her textbook a little too hard. What the hell is happening with Sienna these days?!
And then she said, too casually. “You look flushed, Aria. Long night?”
My stomach dropped and Nora’s eyebrows shot up to the ceiling.
I forced a normal voice. “Just tired.”
Sienna hummed like she didn’t believe me for a second. “Mm. Well. If you need concealer for whatever you were doing, I can lend you some.”
She said it with sugar but her eyes said something else entirely. It landed like a crack of thunder in the back of my mind.
She shouldn’t care or even know to care. As far as everyone else in this school knows, Luca and I don’t even sit at the same lunch table. So why did she look at me like I’d taken something from her?
Nora waited until Sienna walked away before grabbing my shoulders. “Okay. What the hell was that?”
“I don’t know,” I whispered. But I did know. “She was angry?”
“No,” Nora corrected. “She was jealous.”
I blinked. “Jealous of what? Me being tired?”
Nora sighed. “No, Aria. Jealous of whoever you kissed and I’m certain she knows who.”
I froze. “She doesn’t even know I kissed anyone.”
Nora stared at me. “Aria, sweetie. You came in here looking like someone gave you CPR with tongue.”
Heat flushed through my face. “Oh my god—Nora!”
“I’m just saying,” she said defensively. “You’re glowing.”
A shaky laugh slipped out but it didn’t erase the unease curling in my stomach because Sienna didn’t just notice something was different. She reacted in a way too personal way.
Nora looped her arm through mine as we headed to first period. “Look, maybe I’m overthinking it, but maybe she liked the guy you kissed.”
My heart thudded painfully. “Why would Sienna care who I—”
Nora stopped walking, turning to face me. “Aria. She’s been obsessed with Luca for years.”
I blinked, hard. “What?”
“Everybody knows it,” she said. “She’s been trying to get him to notice her since freshman year. The only reason she never made a full-on move is because Luca looks at everyone like they’re inconveniencing his oxygen but there are rumours they once dated. Maybe a fling or whatever, no one truly knows.”
My chest tightened. Luca had never mentioned that not even a hint. Plus, Sienna was my bestie and she had always drummed into my ears to avoid Luca. How blind was I?! So all these while, she was probably with the boy she warned me about. I never knew if I should feel betrayed or hurt.
Nora continued, “So if she suspects you kissed someone—anyone—she might think it was him.”
“That’s insane,” I muttered. “It’s not like she saw us.”
“Aria,” Nora said seriously. “We live in a tiny town with the gossip metabolism of a soap opera on caffeine. People feel things they shouldn’t and assume things. You gave her one look and she reacted.”
I hated that she was right and the way my stomach twisted at the reminder of last night not the kiss or the pull between us, not Luca’s hands or his voice or the fact I could still feel his breath on my neck but the moment he pulled away.
The moment he looked terrified of what his wolf wanted and said not yet. Nora must’ve seen the shift in my expression because she nudged me. “Hey. Why do you look like you’re reenacting a tragic romance in your head?”
I hesitated. “Nora, the kiss wasn’t the whole problem.”
She gave me the most dramatic gasp. “THERE WERE MORE PROBLEMS?”
“Shh!” I hissed. “I mean Luca pulled away and not like he regretted it. More like he was scared.”
Nora’s eyes softened. “Oh so it’s Luca and of what? You?”
I shook my head. “Of himself.”
Understanding dawned in her expression. “Aria,” she said gently. “If he pulled away to protect you, that’s not fear but control.”
“Yeah,” I murmured. “But he didn’t look controlled. He looked trapped like if I touched him again he’d break something.”
Nora squeezed my hand. “Okay. You’re spiraling. Let’s get something straight: Sienna’s reaction? High school jealousy. Nothing deeper and definitely nothing that should make your brain go full detective.”
She said it confidently but the doubt didn’t go anywhere. Because Sienna’s eyes hadn’t just been jealous. They’d been calculating and the worst part? I couldn’t tell if it was about Luca or about me.
AUTHOR’S NOTE:
HELLO HELLO, PLEASE FORM AN ORDERLY LINE TO SCREAM WITH ME.
Sienna clocking ONE kiss and immediately malfunctioning?? Aria glowing like she swallowed a romance novel??
Nora diagnosing her like “yup that’s a kiss syndrome”?
THE GIRLS ARE GIRLING AND THE DRAMA IS DRAMA-ING. And Sienna?? BABE. Your jealousy is showing. And it’s UGLY.
Stay with me, my lovelies♥️.