UNLOVED? or be loved?

Chapter 6:Crossing Paths

                                    -Lily Serafina-

Lily hurried down the hallway, her head buzzing with thoughts. Evan's sudden approach earlier had definitely caught her off guard, but she wasn't exactly shaken. Confused, yes. Annoyed, definitely. Evan always carried himself with that cocky air, and while his sudden interest in her seemed strange, she wasn't going to let it get under her skin.

She rounded the corner, eager to leave the classroom behind, when she heard a voice call her name.

"Lily! Wait up!"

She paused, recognizing the voice instantly. Jake.

Her heart did a little flip as she stopped and turned to face him. Jake was jogging toward her, his expression a little more serious than usual. Her pulse quickened—not because of fear or confusion like earlier with Evan, but because Jake was... well, Jake. The guy who made her heart race for reasons she still couldn't quite figure out.

"Hey," she said, a small, tentative smile forming on her lips as he caught up.

"Hey," Jake replied, sounding a little out of breath. He stopped a few feet away from her, his usual confident demeanor softened with something else—concern, maybe? "Are you okay?"

Lily blinked, taken aback by the question. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said, genuinely. She could tell he was referring to her encounter with Evan, but she didn't want to make a big deal out of it. "It's no big deal. Evan was just... being Evan."

Jake's brow furrowed slightly, and he shifted on his feet, clearly not as convinced as she was. "I saw you talking to him," he said, glancing back down the hallway. "He didn't, like, bother you or anything, did he?"

Lily shook her head, feeling the weight of Jake's concern but not wanting to let it spiral into something more than it was. "No, really," she insisted. "He was just trying to be... I don't know, charming? He didn't do anything weird."

Jake exhaled, though he still looked a little tense. "If he gives you a hard time, you can tell me, okay?" His voice was softer now, more serious. "Evan likes to mess with people—especially when he thinks he can get to me."

Lily was quiet for a moment, absorbing what Jake was saying. It wasn't hard to tell there was some kind of history between him and Evan—everyone at school knew that much. But the fact that Jake seemed genuinely worried about her... it made something flutter in her chest.

She shifted awkwardly, her mind buzzing with how to respond. "I didn't think you'd notice," she said, her voice quieter now, almost shy. "I mean, me and Evan... it's not like—"

"I notice you, Lily," Jake interrupted gently, his gaze meeting hers with a sincerity that made her heart skip a beat. "I've been noticing you for a while now."

Lily felt a warmth spread through her, caught off guard by the openness of his words. She wasn't used to this—being noticed, being cared about. It was... nice. Confusing, but nice.

"Oh," she said softly, unsure of what else to say. The hallway seemed to quiet around them, and for a moment, it was just the two of them standing there, everything else fading away.

Jake cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck in that awkward, endearing way he did when he was nervous. "Look, I don't want to make this weird, but... if you ever need someone to talk to, or if Evan tries something again, you can come to me. I'm serious."

Lily's heart did another little flip. She wasn't used to people offering to be there for her like this. And from Jake, of all people—the guy everyone liked, the one she'd been secretly admiring from afar. It felt... different. Special.

"Thanks," she said quietly, her smile growing a little. "I appreciate that."

Jake smiled back, and for a moment, his usual easygoing charm returned. "Of course. Anytime."

There was a brief silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable. In fact, it felt almost natural, like something had shifted between them—something good.

"So," Jake said, breaking the moment with a more relaxed tone, "about that hangout? I know I kind of threw it out there earlier, but... if you want, we could grab something to eat after school or something? No pressure."

Lily felt her heart race again, but this time it wasn't from nerves—it was from excitement. "Yeah," she said, trying to sound calm despite the butterflies in her stomach. "That sounds... fun."

"Cool," Jake said, his grin widening. "It's a plan, then."

As they stood there, the awkwardness slowly melting away, Lily felt a strange sense of happiness bubble up inside her. Maybe things were changing, after all. Maybe she could let herself feel this—feel seen, feel cared about. And maybe, just maybe, Jake was someone she could trust with those feelings.

For the first time in a long time, Lily felt like things were falling into place. And with Jake by her side, that feeling didn't seem so scary anymore.