**Description:**
Fifteen-year-old Kamiya is ready to make her mark at Lake View High School, navigating her first day with her outgoing charm-just as long as she avoids causing a scene. But everything changes when she encounters Ken, the enigmatic 1...
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Old Flames, New Problems
Ken stormed down the hallway, his fists still clenched tight. His whole body buzzed with energy, adrenaline pumping like it never left. He'd backed off—for now—but the way Marcus had looked at Aaliyah? That wasn't gonna sit right with him. It felt like someone was dragging a knife across his skin, slow and deliberate.
He wanted to swing. Wanted to make Marcus understand you don't mess with what's his, not ever.
But Aaliyah. She always had that effect, that ability to calm him down when no one else could. Just a touch, a look, and suddenly the storm inside him slowed, if only for a second. It pissed him off sometimes. How could someone so small, so soft, have that kind of power over him? Especially after everything that had gone down between them.
Ken stopped at his locker, breathing hard. He needed to clear his head, but the hallway was too loud, too crowded. Everyone was laughing, talking, moving in packs like they always did, but Ken felt alone. Isolated.
The whispers had already started.
"Yo, did you see Ken about to pop off?"
"He still hung up on Aaliyah, huh? Didn't he cheat on her?"
"He's lookin' sick. Bro needs to eat something."
Ken's vision blurred as his anger flared again, but he shoved it down. He couldn't afford to lose it, not in front of everyone. Not again. Last time he let his temper go, he ended up suspended for two weeks and Aaliyah had been there, holding his hand afterward, trying to calm him down.
But now, she wasn't there. Not anymore.
He yanked open his locker, slamming the door harder than necessary. The noise echoed down the hall, a few heads turning, but no one said anything. No one ever said anything to his face. They all knew better. They'd talk about him, sure, but nobody was brave enough to say it to him directly.
A voice broke through his thoughts—*her* voice.
"Ken."
He froze for a second, then turned slowly, his heart beating too fast. Aaliyah stood there, arms crossed, looking up at him with that same expression he knew all too well. Concern. Worry. Like she still cared, even though she shouldn't.
"What you want, Aaliyah?" he asked, his voice colder than he meant it to be.
She sighed, her locs framing her face as she took a step closer. She always looked so small next to him, standing at 5'2" to his 6'2". But she never backed down from him. Not when it mattered.
"I want you to chill," she said softly, her voice almost drowned out by the noise around them. "You can't just keep threatening people like that."
Ken scoffed, slamming his locker shut. "He was in your face, Aaliyah. You expect me to just stand there and watch some dude flirt with you?"
