The next day, the rumors hadn't died down. If anything, they'd gotten worse.
Lena was exhausted. No matter where she walked, she could hear people whispering, snickering, watching her like she was some spectacle. It wasn't just about her anymoreâit was about Jaxon, too. And he didn't seem to care.
Until he did.
She was in history class, slouched in her chair, trying to ignore the two girls sitting behind her who were not-so-quietly debating whether she and Jaxon had actually hooked up. Just as her grip tightened around her pencil, ready to snap, Jaxon walked in late, as usual. He sauntered past the girls' desk, but instead of taking his usual seat near the back, he plopped down into the empty chair beside Lena.
She shot him a look. "What are you doing?"
He smirked. "Keeping you company."
The girls behind her giggled, and one of them whispered, See? They don't even deny it.
Jaxon's smirk faded. Without hesitation, he turned toward them andâloud enough for half the class to hearâsaid, "If you're gonna talk about my life, at least make it interesting. The truth's pretty boring."
The girls gawked, but Jaxon wasn't done. He leaned back in his seat, stretching. "But since you're all so curious, let me clear it up for youâLena isn't just some gossip for you to pick apart. And whatever you think happened? Didn't. So get a new hobby."
The room went dead silent. The girls behind Lena shrank in their seats, suddenly very interested in their textbooks.
Lena stared at Jaxon, stunned. He caught her look and raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Nothing," she muttered, turning back toward the front of the room, but her heart was still racing.
Because for the first time, Jaxon Walker had actually surprised her.
After class, Lena barely had time to process what had happened before Jaxon was walking beside her, casually slipping his hands into his pockets like nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.
"So, was that okay?" he asked, his tone lighter than the weight of his question.
She blinked, thrown off. "Was what okay?"
Jaxon smirked. "You know. The whole 'shutting down the gossip' thing. Figured you didn't want people talking, so I stepped in."
Lena hesitated, still trying to make sense of it. "I just... didn't expect it."
"Well, yeah." He nudged her shoulder. "I like to keep you on your toes, Carter."
She sighed, adjusting her bag strap. "You really didn't have to do that."
Jaxon stopped walking, turning to face her more seriously. "Maybe not. But I wanted to."
Her breath caught at the sincerity in his voice, a rare moment where Jaxon Walker wasn't just messing around. And she hated that it made something stir deep in her chest.
He tilted his head slightly. "Unless you wanted people to know what happened?"
Lena swallowed. "Nothing happened."
Jaxon's lips twitched, his signature smirk returning. "Right. Of course."
She rolled her eyes, shoving past him. "I swear, you're impossible."