HIM

21.

Grace adjusted the strap of her bag as she made her way toward the library, her boots clicking softly against the tiled hallway floor. She had a free period and figured she might as well get some studying in—especially since she'd spent most of her last class whispering with Leila.As she turned the corner, she nearly collided with someone. A firm chest. The scent of cologne she recognized.

Wayde.

]Her stomach dipped slightly as she stepped back, gripping her books tighter. He looked at her, clearly just as caught off guard. The air between them thickened with awkwardness.

Seriously? After ghosting me, now we're just gonna bump into each other like this? She thought.

Wayde cleared his throat, shifting his weight. "Hey."
Grace crossed her arms, masking the little sting in her chest. "Hey yourself."
A beat of silence. She hated how weird it felt. Before the party, they'd been texting, flirting—whatever it was. Now? He'd gone completely silent on her, and she wasn't about to be the girl who begged for attention.
"So," she said, deciding to just cut through the tension. "Are we gonna talk about it, or are you just gonna pretend like I don't exist?"

Wayde exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's not like that Grace."
Grace raised an eyebrow. "Could've fooled me."
He sighed. "I've just been... focused on my studies."
She narrowed her eyes. "Right. And that somehow made you forget how to use a cellphone and respond to a text?"
Wayde looked away, jaw tightening. He wasn't going to answer that. He knew better.
Grace inhaled sharply. "Whatever. Where are you headed?"
"The library." Wayde said simply as he stood staring at her.
She huffed. "Well, look at that. Me too."
He hesitated. Grace caught it instantly. "Alright."

They started toward the library, the space between them heavier than it used to be. The silence didn't last long before Grace—being Grace—broke it.
"So... the party."
Wayde tensed slightly. "Yeah. The party."
Grace studied him. "What happened?"
Wayde let out a slow breath. "I just—" He ran a hand through his hair, looking conflicted. "It's Jesci."
She blinked. "Jesci?"
"I just can't be around him," Wayde admitted, voice tight. "I know Leila likes him, and maybe she thinks she knows what she's doing, but I've seen it before. He leaves nothing but wreckage behind."
Grace's lips parted slightly, caught off guard by the intensity in his voice.
"You really think he's that bad?"
Wayde let out a humorless laugh. "I know he is, I've seen it."
Grace frowned, absorbing his words. She didn't love Jesci, but she'd never seen Wayde this serious before.
"And you won't even give her a warning?"
Wayde shook his head. "I tried. She won't listen. Not yet." He exhaled sharply. "I just can't be there to watch it happen."

Grace didn't know what to say to that. Because as much as she wanted to defend Leila's choices, there was a tiny part of her that wondered if Wayde was right.
Grace stopped walking abruptly, her arms crossing over her chest. Wayde took a few more steps before realizing she wasn't beside him anymore. He turned around with a sigh, already bracing himself.
"What now?" he asked, his tone edged with frustration.
Grace tilted her head, studying him. "So that's it? You're just gonna ghost me because of Leila?"
Wayde exhaled sharply. "It's not that simple."
"Then explain it to me," she challenged. "Because from where I'm standing, it feels like you're punishing me for something I didn't even do."
Wayde clenched his jaw, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked torn, like he wanted to say something but couldn't find the right words.
"You don't understand," he finally muttered.
Grace let out a humorless laugh. "Then make me understand, Wayde. Because I was really starting to like you, and you just—" She shook her head, swallowing the rest of her words. "You just cut me off like it was nothing."

Wayde's gaze flickered, something unreadable passing through his expression. He took a step closer.
"You're intertwined with Jesci whether you like it or not."
Grace blinked. "What?"
"You and Leila are a package deal, joined at the hip. And as long as she's with him, and you're with her,  you'll be in his orbit." He exhaled, frustration laced in every word. "And I don't want to be anywhere near his orbit."
"So I don't get a say in this?" she shot back. "You just decided for me?"
Wayde shook his head. "I'm protecting myself."
"From what?"
Wayde hesitated, his jaw tightening. "Jesci ruins everything he touches. He doesn't care who gets hurt in the process, and I refuse to sit back and watch another person get sucked into it."
Grace's stomach twisted at the way he said another person.
"I'm not just 'another person,'" she said quietly.
Wayde flinched, just barely, before his face hardened again. "That's why I had to stop this before—"
Before what? Before he let himself care too much? Before she got hurt?
Grace took a breath, steadying herself. "That's bullshit, Wayde."