Evie could not believe her eyes.
He waited for her.
All day she had been dodging Joshua like he was carbs, sugar, and joy combined. Ever since the weekend, she’d been avoiding anything that might make her hungry, tempted, or heaven forbid, fat. And honestly? She’d been crushing it.
Until now.
Joshua Bauer was leaning against the wall at the top of the stairs like he belonged there. Like he’d been standing there forever. Like this wasn’t extremely suspicious and deeply inconvenient. Evie was a few steps below him fussing in her school bag, pretending she absolutely, definitely, had not noticed him.
If he was waiting for her, then he really wanted to talk. Which was terrifying.
She had made sure to loiter for a solid fifteen minutes after the go-home bell rang. Olympic-level stalling. The corridor was empty now. Ghost-town empty. Except for him.
Evie fixed her gaze on the steps in front of her and refused to look up. Her knees felt way better today, thank goodness. The swelling was down, the bruises were still there, but fading into a tasteful blue-purple.
A win was a win.
She swung her bag onto her back and started walking fast. Like very fast. Like “I left the stove on” fast.
“Hello,” he said just as she reached the second-last step.
“’Lo,” she muttered, not slowing down.
Naturally, he grabbed his bag and fell into step beside her. Of course he did.
“I see you’re in a hurry,” he said so cheerfully it should honestly be illegal. “So, I’ll just walk along and talk.”
Fantastic. Trapped.
As she glanced up, she spotted Jade Hanekom, also known as ‘The Voice’ in Evie’s mind, standing at the gate, surrounded by her loyal group of human accessories. Thankfully, they were far enough away not to notice her and Joshua.
Evie stopped. Better keep it that way.
“What is it?” she asked flatly.
“I just wanted to give you this.”
He held out a small transparent container.
Inside was an oversized chocolate cupcake, frosted with butterscotch-coloured icing and topped with a glossy pink butterfly. Evie stared at it like it was the cause of all human suffering.
Oh. Very funny.
All weekend she had tortured herself wondering why Joshua Bauer suddenly wanted to know what she was doing on Friday afternoon. Invite her somewhere? Please. For what? He had friends. Lots of them. Plus, a fan club that could rival a small cult. Jacob Elordi himself would be jealous.
So no, this wasn’t a date.
After much overthinking, the only logical conclusion she’d reached was that someone had dared him to break her heart for sport. Because why not? But if he knew how short her fuse was today, he’d run for his life.
She had zero energy for him. Or his cupcake. Or his fans.
Trying to copy Jade’s lifestyle was, in hindsight, the dumbest idea she had ever had. She realised this by Saturday evening. By Sunday afternoon, it hit her like a ton of bricks: being thin apparently meant endless suffering, zero fun, and an indefinite ban on happiness. Naturally, she had thrown out all her junk food. Naturally, she had wrecked knees and therefore couldn’t go buy “better” food, aka low-fat, low-carb, low-calorie, sugar-free sadness. So, she’d survived on a few stray apples and carrots.
What she hadn’t factored in was how exhausting it would be to avoid Joshua all day. Up until now, she’d managed. At that exact moment, her last ounce of patience, and possibly her will to live, evaporated.
“I don’t need anything, thanks. For the very last time: I. Am. Fine.” She tried to walk past him.
Big mistake.
He stepped in front of her, blocking her way.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean…”
The rest of his sentence disappeared as dizziness slammed into her out of nowhere. The world spun. Hard. Instinctively, she grabbed onto the first solid thing she could find: his jacket.
Immediately, two arms wrapped around her and she was pressed against a solid chest. His heartbeat thumped under her ear. If she hadn’t been seconds from throwing up, she would have shoved him away and made some brilliant comment about personal space, because the last thing she needed was him thinking she was clingy, desperate, or creepy. She didn’t know how long they stood like that, but when she opened her eyes, the spinning had stopped. The nausea eased.
She pulled back quickly. His arms dropped just as fast.
“You. Are. Fine,” he said. “Really? Tell me, what do you look like when you’re not fine?”
She looked up at his face and suddenly realised just how much she’d frightened him with her near-fainting. She must have looked every bit as awful as she felt.
“Sit,” he said, guiding her back to the steps where she dropped her bag and slumped down.
A small group of late-leavers tore past, eager to escape school forever. When it was quiet again, Joshua looked at her.
“I know you’re Evie Ritter,” he said. “You’re new. In the other twelfth grade class. I noticed. So please, will you stop falling at my feet every time you want my attention?”
Her sarcastic reply was already locked and loaded when she realised he was joking.
Her shoulders sagged as she exhaled.
“My knees really appreciate the update,” she muttered.
His eyebrows lifted in surprise before he broke into a laugh.
“Touché.”
She smiled, stood, dusted off her dress and swung her bag over her shoulder. He stood too, suddenly fiddling awkwardly with the cupcake container.
Oh. No.
Was he trying to figure out how to get rid of her after that faint-grab?
No, no, nooo.
“Again, thanks for the help,” she said quickly. “See you around.”
He touched her arm to stop her.
“What are you doing this afternoon?”
“You mean besides shoving cake into my face and testing gravity?”
He laughed, like she’d just delivered the punchline of the century.
“It really wasn’t that funny,” she said, walking away. “Hey, wait! I’m asking you something!”
She stopped. Turned around.
“Joshua! Move it, you’re going to miss the bus!” someone shouted.
Evie’s head snapped up, but it wasn’t Jade. It was Maggie Bauer. His twin sister.
“Coming, Mom!” Joshua called back, annoyed. He looked at Evie. “Meet me here tomorrow at first break, so we can talk.”
With one last heart-stopping smile, he jogged away.
Why did that sound more like a threat than a promise? It felt like standing at the bottom of a mountain while an avalanche started moving.
“Hey, Pudge. You’re staring for nothing.”
Evie flinched as Jade’s voice slid in behind her. Jade strolled past her, flicking her ponytail.
“Don’t confuse his pity with interest,” she said sweetly. “You embarrass yourself. And him.”
The words slammed into Evie’s chest like a fist. She froze, heart hammering, stomach twisting. She didn’t speak. She couldn’t. She just stared at Jade’s perfect calves and swaying hips, a desperate prayer on repeat in her head: Please don’t look back. Please don’t notice how close I am to shattering.
