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Chapter 3

When Jade arrived at school the next day, Aiden was waiting for her outside the entrance. She was happy to have an escort but wanted to try walking herself to class to test her memory of the layout. Aiden let her lead, which resulted in two wrong turns and arriving five minutes late to class. Still, she managed to get them there on her own, and that was something.

The morning classes flew by, and soon Jade found herself in the cafeteria, sitting with her newfound friends. It was starting to feel like she had an actual place at the school.

“Dude, Wonder Woman is hotter than Catwoman,” Aiden declared to Alex. The two had been in a heated debate since their chemistry teacher mentioned comic books in class.

“No way, man. Catwoman is badass, and she wears a leather costume. Leather!” Alex argued.

“Wonder Woman wears a bathing suit, has superhuman stamina, and can fly,” Aiden countered, his mouth hanging open in disbelief that the debate was still ongoing.

“Catwoman has a whip.”

“Wonder Woman has an invisible flying plane.”

“Dude, leather plus whip plus a hint of evil wins every time,” Alex insisted.

“Aiden, I think Alex has you there,” Sam chimed in with a grin.

“Ladies? Help me out here,” Aiden said, turning to Jade and Lacey with puppy-dog eyes and a slight pout.

Jade, amused by the ridiculous conversation, replied, “Speaking as a completely heterosexual female, I have to say Catwoman is definitely hotter. But here’s a real question—Batman or Superman? I’m going with Batman every time.”

At that, Alex spit out his drink. “You have got to be kidding me!”

Jade laughed, letting the debate continue now with male superheroes who were of more interest to her. But as Aiden and Alex began spitting words at each other, likely forgetting to breathe, she tuned them out.

Her gaze wandered around the cafeteria, drifting from group to group until it settled on the misfits’ table, where she found herself secretly searching for Benjamin. To her surprise, all four of them—Shaun, Owen, Skye, and Benjamin—were already staring at her. Shaun, Owen, and Skye held their gazes for a moment before looking away, but Benjamin continued to stare.

Jade’s breath caught in her throat. She didn’t understand or want their attention—except, secretly, Benjamin’s. She smiled at him, hoping to turn his gloomy stare into something flirtier, but he just looked away, leaving her more confused than before.

Aiden nudged her, snapping her out of it. “Come on, it’s time to go to class.”

They walked together through the sunlit hallways and settled quietly into their seats as Mr. Wells rushed in, flustered, and began his lecture.

Throughout the class, Jade kept glancing over her shoulder, only to find the misfits staring at her again. Each time, she locked eyes with Benjamin, only breaking contact when Aiden tapped her shoulder to pass a note. He successfully distracted her with funny notes for the rest of class, but the hairs on the back of her neck stayed on edge the entire period.

“Aiden, why do they keep staring?” Jade asked as they followed the crowd out of the room.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s just because you’re new. I’m sure it’ll wear off soon,” he replied casually.

But despite his reassurance, it didn’t.

For the rest of the week, Jade remained under scrutiny. The misfits only looked away when she finally met their gazes. She was confused but, more than anything, annoyed.

“I’m going to confront them,” she told Aiden after school let out on Friday afternoon. Her first week was over, but it felt like things were just beginning.

“Jade, leave it alone,” Aiden said, exasperated by the conversation they’d had every day that week. “The more it bothers you, the more they do it. They’re just jerks. If you ignore them, they’ll probably stop.”

“I can tell from your voice that you don’t believe what you just said. Do you know what’s going on?” Jade made Aiden stop walking before they reached her car, wanting to dig deeper into whatever he was obviously hiding.

“Nothing, it’s just who they are.” He turned away, unable to meet her eyes, and kept walking.

“Well, we’ll see next Monday. If I catch them staring again, I’m going to talk to them. I’m not one to stand by when I’m annoyed.”

“I’m starting to realize that,” Aiden said with a resigned sigh as he leaned against the trunk of her small car. “Do what you want. I doubt I could stop you anyway.”

Jade laughed. “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship, Aiden. We’re starting to understand each other.”

He smiled, throwing an arm around her shoulders. “Hey, I almost forgot. You have to come to the beach with us tomorrow. It’s a school tradition. The entire senior class goes to Mid Beach for a picnic.”

“Sounds great.”

Jade jumped from his grasp and dug through her purse for her car keys. When she found them, they said their goodbyes, and she drove home, ready for a mellow Friday night with her family.

The next morning, Jade was jolted awake by the blaring alarm, yanking her out of that perfect, dreamlike state between sleep and wakefulness, where everything felt peaceful and unhurried. She fumbled for the clock, silencing it with a groggy smack, then stretched her limbs and turned to see sunlight streaming through the pale yellow curtains at her window.

Beautiful, she thought, clinging to the last remnants of that half-asleep calm.

After a few moments, Jade was awake enough to rise and start getting ready for the beach. She flung the curtains wide open, letting the sunlight bathe her in warmth, then made her way to the closet to find the perfect bikini and cover-up combo. The white bedazzled two-piece felt too flashy, and the new brown bikini didn’t quite complement her hair. Finally, she settled on a bay blue bikini that would flatter both her hair and, hopefully, her eyes. She paired it with her favorite beach cover-up, a white strapless dress she’d picked up last summer, and slipped on flip-flops to keep things casual. One look in the mirror and Jade decided she was pulling off a perfect blend of New York chic meets laid-back beach vibes.

She had promised Aiden she’d bring a picnic basket, excited to share her cooking with new friends. After whipping up a killer pasta salad and some cold-cut sandwiches with her special sauce—a mix of mayo, mustard, and a secret ingredient—Jade was ready to go. Stepping outside, she waited for Aiden to arrive but was startled when a massive pickup truck whipped around the corner, with Sam and Alex lounging in the bed next to surfboards. Jade opened the passenger side door, its paint chipped and worn, to find Aiden and Lacey laughing hysterically.

“What’s going on in here?” Jade asked with a grin. “Something I should be telling Sam about?”

“Nothing, nothing,” Lacey managed to say, still breathless from laughter, her face flushed red. “One of those things that’s only funny if you saw it.”

Jade raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “What? Come on, I have to know.”

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