*Sam's POV*
Oh God, it's another school day.
The exhaustion hit me hard the moment Millie and I stepped out of our first class. It wasn't even noon yet, and I already felt like my brain had been toasted.
"I swear, if I have to read one more case summary, I'm going to explode," Millie groaned, stretching her arms above her head as we walked down the hall.
"Right? I feel like my brain is rejecting information at this point," I sighed, rubbing my temples.
"If I hear one more Latin phrase, I'm going to start speaking in tongues," Millie groaned, slumping her shoulders. "Nullum crimen sine lege, my ass."
"Lex talionis, Millie," I said with a weak smile. "An eye for an eye. Law school traumatizes us, and in return, we traumatize our future clients."
Millie let out a dramatic sigh. "Why did I sign up for this?"
"Because you like suffering," I teased, nudging her.
As if answering our silent prayers, a message from Cass popped up in our group chat.
Cass: Second period is cancelled. All year levels. Faculty meeting.
Millie and I exchanged wide-eyed looks before grinning like idiots.
"Bless the faculty meeting gods," she cheered, dramatically clutching her chest.
I typed back quickly.
Sam: Cass, where are you?
Cass: Cafeteria. Library's full.
"Figures. Every law student in this building probably had the same 'let's be productive' idea," Millie said as we changed directions towards the cafeteria.
When we arrived, Cass was already seated at a table, sipping on what looked like her third iced coffee of the day. "Took you long enough," she said as we sat down.
"You look like you just fought in court," I said, sliding into the seat across from her.
Cass sighed. "I feel like I just lost a case. Against a cat. Who was representing himself."
We all laughed and had casual chatter, mostly about classes and how we were all barely surviving law school. The conversation was light, refreshing. That is, until a group entered the cafeteria, drawing our attention.
It was Nate and his friends. Out of habit, I looked up, and for the briefest moment, our eyes met. But instead of the warmth that used to be there, Nate just rolled his eyes and turned away like I was an annoying fly buzzing near his ear.
Millie noticed. "Ugh, what is his deal?"
"I don't know," I muttered, forcing a smile. "Let's not make a big deal out of it."
Before we could dwell on it, Austin walked up to our table, grinning from ear to ear. "Ladies!" he greeted, then turned specifically to Cass. "Did you enjoy the after-party?"
Cass, unimpressed, took a sip of her drink. "It was okay."
Austin clutched his chest dramatically. "My dear Cassandra, my mansion is a palace, a modern marvel of architecture. It's a place where dreams come true. Maybe imagine yourself living there one day?"
Cass rolled her eyes. "Shut the fuck up, Austin."
We all laughed... except for Nate, who remained silent, his expression unreadable.
Then Luna's voice cut through the laughter, and my entire body tensed.
"Speaking of the after-party, how was the experience for our lovely freshmen?" she asked sweetly, but her eyes were locked onto me like a predator circling its prey.
I plastered on a polite smile. "It was great. Thanks for inviting us, Austin."
"Of course! Anything to get Cassa-ndra into my casa. See, even your name perfectly fits!" Austin joked with a wink.
Cass shot him a glare, and we all laughed again, except for Luna. This girl, apparently, wasn't done. "Funny, though," she continued, tilting her head. "A little birdie told me that at one point during the after-party, you went outside and were.... oh, what was it? Oh, right. Crying"
Cass and Millie both turned to me, startled.
"What?" Millie asked, alarmed. "You were crying?"
"What happened?" Cass asked, concern evident in her voice.
I swallowed. "It was nothing."
"Too bad," Luna pouted. "Was it about a boy?"
Millie, finally fed up, snapped, "Luna, shut up. Maybe it was personal. Not everything is your business."
"I'm just curious," Luna said, batting her lashes innocently. "I'm just saying, it's too bad when someone makes another person cry. That's why I admire my bestie Ashley." She turned to Ashley, who had been quietly scrolling through her phone. "Unlike other people, Nate would never make her cry. They're just the cutest couple, you know? Honestly, all that's missing is a wedding ring."
Nate visibly tensed. His knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists. His face was red... not in embarrassment, but in pure frustration.
Ashley, who had been quiet the whole time, finally spoke. "Luna, stop," she said, her voice soft but firm.
Luna smirked. "Oops, my bad."
This fucking bitch.
I forced myself to smile, refusing to give Luna the satisfaction of a reaction.
But then Luna went in for the kill. "Well, at least someone was there to comfort her. Right, Sam?" she teased.
"Josh Moore, wasn't it?"
Nate's head snapped toward me, his eyes dark with something I couldn't quite place. Shock? Annoyance? Something deeper?
"Josh was just being kind," I defended. "We're classmates."
Luna shrugged. She turned to the group like she was hosting a talk show. "Oh, come on. Who agrees with me that Josh is a cutie? I mean, don't you think he and Sam would look good together?"
Silence. Even Austin, who loved teasing people, wasn't laughing. But Luna, the queen of stirring shit, wasn't discouraged.
Luna, never one to back down, turned directly to Nate. "What do you think, Nate? Doesn't Sam and Josh make a cute pair?"
The air turned ice-cold. Nate's voice was eerily calm when he finally spoke. "I don't give a damn about other people's business. They can do whatever they want. Especially people who don't matter to me."
A pin could have dropped in that silence. Luna smirked triumphantly. Ashley stayed quiet, her fingers idly scrolling through her phone, while I... I felt like I had been punched in the gut.
It shouldn't have hurt. He'd been acting cold for weeks, but hearing him say it so bluntly made my chest tighten. I forced a smile and looked down, pretending it didn't sting.
Luna's eyes gleamed, like she had just won a game only she was playing. "Oops, my bad."
Cass, finally at her limit, sneered at Luna. "God, you know too much gossip. Maybe if you spent half as much time studying instead of running your mouth, you wouldn't be at the bottom of the class rankings."
Austin looked amused, trying to hold back his laughter. Caleb choked on his drink. Millie fist-bumped Cass under the table.
Now it was my turn to smirk triumphantly.
Luna glared at Cass. "Whatever. I don't care," she huffed, standing up. "I'm getting food. Come on, Ashley."
Ashley stood up and followed Luna, but not before giving me a small glance. It wasn't judgmental. If anything, it almost looked... sympathetic?
As soon as they left, the table fell into an awkward silence.
Then Nate abruptly stood up. "I'm bored," he muttered, walking away without another glance in my direction.
He went up to Ashley, and from the way she nodded, I knew he was asking her for permission to leave. He walked off, Austin and Caleb following him.
Millie scowled. "Asshole."
Cass sighed, rubbing her temples. "God, Luna is so irritating."
Millie nodded furiously. "Such a bitch. And she's so vain! Like, she's not even pretty."
I let out a small chuckle. "Just let her be. It's fine."
Cass studied me carefully. "Are you really okay?"
I hesitated for a second before nodding. "Yeah. Let's just focus on school."
Cass didn't look convinced, but she let it go.
"The cafeteria is getting crowded," I said, standing up. "Let's check if there are any vacant seats in the library."
Millie and Cass agreed, and as we walked out, I let out a quiet breath.
I had spent the last few weeks pretending Nate's coldness didn't affect me. But deep down, I knew it did. And I was starting to wonder if I'd ever figure out why he changed.
It didn't matter what Nate said.
I didn't matter to him.
So what is this painful feeling I'm having?
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiGiJml8it1
