The hall is nearly empty, the late afternoon sunlight spilling across the lockers like molten gold. My footsteps echo as I walk, but then I notice him—Ryder. Leaning against a locker, arms crossed, that impossible smirk curling on his lips. My stomach twists.

“So… prom’s next weekend.” His voice is low, dangerous, deliberate.

I freeze. He pushes off the locker, steps closer, and my pulse hammers against my ribs. “Go with me.”

Before I can answer, another voice cuts through the quiet hall—sharp, familiar, and so frustratingly warm.

“Are you serious?”

Ethan. Of course it’s Ethan. My chest tightens at the sight of him striding toward us, eyes flicking between Ryder and me like a storm about to break. “You don’t get to corner her like that.”

Ryder tilts his head, that smirk never fading. “Wasn’t talking to you, golden boy.”

I swallow hard, my heart in my throat. The tension between them is almost unbearable, like the air itself is charged.

Ethan’s voice drops, low, vulnerable. “You already know how I feel about you.”

I glance between them, unsure whether to feel scared or… something else. Ryder’s dark eyes never leave mine, sharp, unrelenting. “Yeah,” he says, voice like gravel, “but the choice is hers”

My hands are shaking, my mind a mess of confusion, and somewhere deep inside, I realize… I might be the only thing keeping these two from tearing each other apart.