Chapter 102 Everybody Saw It
Nobody moved for a second after the kiss.
Not the teachers.
Not the students.
Not even the boys who had been fighting.
The cafeteria stayed frozen in that weird, impossible silence where everyone knew something had just changed.
Badly.
Lenora stared at him.
Still too close.
Still holding her wrist.
“What did you just do?” she whispered.
The hockey boy finally let go slowly.
His expression didn’t change.
“If I didn’t do that,” he said quietly, “they would’ve kept building their own scene.”
Lilibeth blinked hard.
“Oh my God.”
Kylen looked ready to lose his mind.
“That was your solution?” he snapped. “Kiss her in front of the entire school?”
Students started talking again.
Phones already out.
“Did you record that?”
“They were literally kissing—”
“I knew something was going on—”
“That’s why he keeps defending her—”
Lenora stepped back finally.
Reality hitting all at once.
This was bad.
So bad.
A teacher pushed through the crowd.
“Enough! Everybody sit down!”
Nobody listened properly.
The cafeteria was already exploding again.
The hockey boy grabbed his bag calmly like he hadn’t just made things ten times worse.
Kylen stared at him in disbelief.
“You really don’t think before acting, do you?”
“I did think,” he replied.
Lilibeth pointed around the cafeteria.
“And THIS was the result?”
The boy looked at Lenora briefly.
Then back at them.
“They needed something else to focus on,” he said.
Kylen let out a sharp laugh.
“Well, congratulations. Now the whole school thinks she’s secretly hooking up with a hockey player while assault rumors are spreading.”
That landed.
Hard.
Lenora closed her eyes briefly.
One second.
That’s all she gave herself.
Then she looked back at him.
“You crossed a line,” she said quietly.
For the first time since the kiss—
He looked uncertain.
Just slightly.
“I know,” he admitted.
That honesty somehow made it harder to stay angry.
Lilibeth exhaled dramatically.
“No. Nope. I refuse to unpack THIS right now.”
The teacher pointed toward the door.
“All of you. Office. Now.”
Perfect.
Absolutely perfect.
The walk to the office felt worse than the actual kiss.
Because now people weren’t whispering.
They were staring openly.
Lenora heard every piece of it.
“Forbidden thing.”
“That’s why he protects her.”
“I knew they liked each other.”
“She moved on fast.”
“No wonder Pamela hates her.”
Kylen rubbed a hand over his face.
“I need this school to burn down.”
Lilibeth pointed at the hockey boy.
“No, because what possessed you?”
He walked beside them quietly for a second before answering.
“They were turning her into something ugly,” he said.
Lenora looked at him immediately.
“And now?”
He met her eyes.
“Now they’re distracted.”
That wasn’t entirely wrong.
And that irritated her more.
Kylen shook his head.
“You’re insane.”
“Probably,” the boy replied.
The office doors opened before anyone could continue.
Inside, tension was already waiting.
The principal stood near the desk.
Two teachers beside him.
Pamela sitting in one of the chairs.
Of course she was here too.
Pamela looked up immediately when they entered.
Then her eyes landed on Lenora.
Then the hockey boy.
And she understood instantly.
That made something flicker across her face.
Something small.
But sharp.
The principal sighed heavily.
“I’m getting very tired of seeing the same students every day.”
Nobody answered.
Because honestly?
Fair.
The principal looked directly at the hockey boy.
“You started a fight in the cafeteria?”
“No,” he replied calmly.
Kylen muttered under his breath, “Technically true.”
The principal’s expression darkened.
“You kissed another student in the middle of school chaos.”
Lilibeth looked away to hide her reaction.
The principal continued.
“While this school is already dealing with serious allegations and tension.”
The hockey boy nodded once.
“Yes.”
Lenora stared at him.
Was he allergic to defending himself?
The principal rubbed his forehead.
“Why?”
Silence.
Kylen glanced at Lenora.
Lilibeth stared at the ceiling.
Pamela watched everything carefully.
Then the hockey boy answered.
“Because everyone in that room was turning her into entertainment.”
The office went quiet.
The principal frowned slightly.
“That doesn’t explain your actions.”
“Yes, it does,” he replied.
That answer caught everyone off guard.
Even Lenora.
The principal crossed his arms.
“Elaborate.”
The hockey boy glanced toward Lenora briefly.
Then back ahead.
“People were using her name again,” he said. “The fight was about her. The rumors were about her. Everything was about her.”
Pamela looked down slightly.
“And?” the principal asked.
The boy’s jaw tightened.
“And I was tired of watching everybody act like she deserved it.”
Silence.
Real silence.
Lenora looked at him differently then.
Because for the first time—
He sounded angry.
Actually angry.
The principal exhaled slowly.
“That still doesn’t justify public behavior like that.”
“No,” the boy admitted.
A pause.
“But it stopped the fight.”
Nobody could deny that.
The principal looked exhausted now.
Pamela finally spoke quietly.
“He’s not wrong.”
Everyone turned toward her.
The principal frowned.
“You’re involved in enough already, Pamela.”
“I know,” she replied softly.
Then she looked at Lenora again.
“But people are getting too comfortable targeting her.”
That changed the room again.
Lenora narrowed her eyes slightly.
Why was Pamela helping now?
Why now?
Kylen noticed it too.
The principal looked between all of them.
Then sighed heavily again.
“This ends today,” he said firmly.
Nobody believed that.
Not even him.
“You will all stay away from each other unless necessary,” he continued.
Lilibeth almost laughed.
The principal pointed toward Lenora and the hockey boy specifically.
“And absolutely no more inappropriate behavior.”
The hockey boy nodded once.
“Understood.”
Lenora crossed her arms.
Still irritated.
Still overwhelmed.
Still replaying that stupid kiss in her head against her will.
Because the worst part?
It didn’t feel fake.
And that was dangerous.
Very dangerous.
The principal dismissed them after another warning.
The moment they stepped outside—
Lilibeth turned dramatically.
“I cannot BELIEVE that happened.”
Kylen nodded immediately.
“Same.”
The hockey boy looked at Lenora.
“You’re mad.”
She stared at him.
Long enough to matter.
“Yes,” she replied.
A pause.
Then she stepped closer.
Close enough to make his breathing shift slightly.
“But the part I hate most,” she said quietly, “is that it worked.”
His eyes stayed on hers.
Neither of them moved.
And somewhere behind them—
Pamela watched everything.
Looking more worried than ever.
Because now the story around Lenora wasn’t just dangerous.
It was personal.
And personal stories destroyed people faster.