The six girls sat in their dorm room, exhaustion from the past few days reflecting on their faces. After everything that had happened, their minds were filled with questions, but for now, they needed a break—at least a small one.
"We still have work left in the lab, don't we?" Hazel asked, stretching her arms. "We should go before the teachers start questioning why we haven't submitted anything."
Scarlett groaned. "Ugh, I almost forgot about that. But yeah, we should go."
Riley leaned back against the wall. "Great. Just what we need—schoolwork on top of murder investigations."
Lemon stood up, dusting off her uniform. "Come on, the sooner we finish, the sooner we can get back."
With that, the six girls got up and made their way downstairs toward the lab. As they descended, a sudden wave of excited chatter filled the air. The corridor ahead was packed with students, mostly girls, whispering, giggling, and squealing.
"What's going on?" Autumn asked, frowning.
"Why is everyone screaming like that?" Evelyn added.
"Let's check it out," Scarlett suggested, already quickening her pace.
Just as they rushed forward to see what the fuss was about, Lemon—who was leading—bumped straight into something solid. Or rather, someone.
"Lemon, watch," Autumn gasped.
Time slowed.
She barely registered that she was falling backward before strong arms caught her, preventing her from hitting the ground. As she steadied herself, she found herself staring into a pair of deep ocean-blue eyes. The world around her blurred as she took in the sharp jawline, the tousled dark brown hair, and the faint smirk tugging at the boy's lips.
For a brief moment, neither of them moved.
Lemon snapped out of it first. She quickly stepped back, straightening her posture. "Sorry, I wasn't looking," she said, her voice neutral.
The boy tilted his head slightly, as if amused, but said nothing. Instead, he simply nodded and then lemon walked past him. Her friends following behind—though they were far from quiet about it.
"Oh my god, Lemon!" Hazel whispered excitedly.
"Did you see how he looked at you?" Evelyn added, nudging her side.
Scarlett wiggled her eyebrows. "That was straight out of a drama. Like, literally."
Riley smirked. "I think he was mesmerized."
Lemon rolled her eyes. "Guys, please. It was nothing."
"Yeah, right," Autumn scoffed. "The way he stared at you, OMG."
The teasing continued all the way to the lab. Once they were there, they focused on their work, though the conversation still occasionally drifted back to the mystery boy. It wasn't until they were heading back that they spotted him again.
As they passed by the staff room, Lemon caught sight of him speaking to the chemistry teacher—their chemistry teacher.
"That's Miss Viviana's son," one of the girls in the hallway whispered to her friend.
"What's his name?" another girl asked eagerly.
"I think it's Leon," someone replied. "Leon Hawthorne."
Leon Hawthorne.
Lemon glanced toward the staff room just as he looked up. Their eyes met again. It was only for a second, but the way his gaze lingered made something stir in her chest. Before she could dwell on it, she turned away and kept walking.
They were going upstairs then her friends started up again.
"Oh, he totally looked at you again," Autumn teased.
"This is getting interesting," Riley added with a smirk.
Lemon sighed. "Can we drop it?"
"Nope," Evelyn said, grinning. "We're invested now."
Leon's POV
Leon's mind was still replaying the moment he had caught her.
Lemon.
She was different. Bold, confident, and completely unbothered by him, which only intrigued him more. He had been to this school a few times before, but he had never met anyone like her.
Her expression had been unreadable when she bumped into him. No flustered stammering, no awkward shyness—just a straightforward apology before she walked away like it was nothing.
Yet, he had stood there, watching her go, feeling something unfamiliar settle in his chest.
"She's something else," he muttered under his breath, a small smile tugging at his lips.
And for the first time, he found himself looking forward to visiting this school again.