The Tommen College common room was loud and warm that Monday morning, the kind of place where noise clung to the walls and time moved slower than it should. Their usual group had already claimed the back corner couch—Lizzie laughing too loud, Joey tossing a stress ball against the wall, Shannon deep in conversation with Claire and Katie.

And there, right in the middle of it, was Johnny Kavanagh.

He was leaning back, arm slung casually over the shoulder of a girl she hadn’t seen before the break. Blonde. Pretty. Sitting sideways in his lap with her lips pressed against his cheek like she owned the space.

His childhood best friend stopped in her tracks, just inside the doorway. The smile she'd worn all morning—the one that had survived the weekend, the kiss, the fireworks—shattered, piece by piece.

She blinked. Once. Twice. But he didn’t look up.

She swallowed hard, forced her feet to move, and crossed the room like her heart wasn’t dragging behind her.

Joey looked up first. His smile faltered the second he saw her face. Hughie followed, eyes flicking nervously between her and Johnny.

Johnny finally turned when Lizzie called his name mid-laugh. His eyes met hers—and for a second, everything froze. The warmth drained from his face. His arm tightened ever so slightly around the girl.

She didn’t smile. Didn’t wave. Didn’t sit. Just stared at him across the room, eyes sharp, burning.

Because he kissed her on New Year’s. Pulled her in under the sky, fireworks exploding above, and told her it meant something. That he wasn’t drunk. That he’d wanted to do it for years.

And now he was here, letting someone else kiss him like nothing had changed.

The girl in his lap said something—he didn’t answer. He just looked back at the girl standing near the door. At the betrayal in her eyes.

And she glared. Not because she hated him. But because he’d made her believe.

Then she turned and walked out without a word.