Chapter 3: Welcome To Hell

~Nicole~

By the time I left Caspian standing there like a Calvin Klein ad dipped in concern, my panties were a disaster, my brain was fried, and my legs were moving on autopilot.

Vice Principal’s office. That was the goal.

Except… I had no idea where the hell that even was.

I took a left. Or maybe a right. I couldn’t think anymore. My thoughts were still sticky.

And then…I saw him.

Leaning against the lockers like a slow sin.

Black hoodie. Sharp jaw. Dark brows.

And a silver lip ring glinting under the hallway light like it wanted to be licked.

Wait…what?

My body reacted instantly. Heat coiled low in my belly, and I swear my ovaries high-fived.

What the actual hell is going on with me today? Am I… ovulating? In heat? Did someone curse me with horny girl syndrome?

He turned his head slowly, catching me staring. A crooked smirk tugged at his lip, the pierced one.

“Lost?” he asked, voice deep, calm, way too hot for a hallway.

I blinked. “Uh. Yeah. Vice Principal’s office?”

He stepped closer. Lazy confidence. The kind that didn’t ask for attention, it commanded it.

“Take the hallway straight, last door on your left,” he said.

I nodded. I should’ve walked. I meant to walk.

But I was still standing there like an idiot, staring at that shiny little ring.

Lips.

Lips with metal.

Tongue. Lips. Piercing. Thoughts. Bad.

I squeezed my thighs.

Get it together, Nicole.

And then…

Boom.

Landon’s face popped into my brain.

Eyebrow piercing. Smug mouth. Cocky glare.

Ew.

Nope.

Abort. Abort mission.

What the hell is wrong with me?

I shook my head. “Thanks,” I said, trying to walk past.

But his voice stopped me. “You okay?”

God. Why do hot guys keep asking me that?

“Yeah. Just a weird morning.”

He looked at me for a beat, eyes flicking down my body in a way that wasn’t rude, just…observant. Knowing.

“Welcome to hell,” he said, smirking again.

Great. More fuel for my inner chaos.

He turned, took a step like he was about to leave, then paused.

“I’ll walk you,” he said. “I’m heading that way anyway.”

Shit.

“Uh…sure,” I managed, trying not to stare at his mouth again.

We started walking.. Close.

I could smell him.

Crisp. Clean. A little pine. A little sin.

Focus.

“You new?” he asked casually.

“Is it that obvious?”

He glanced over, lip twitching. “Just a little. Also, you’ve got a death grip on your bag like it owes you money.”

I looked down. I was definitely clenching it like a bomb was inside.

“Right,” I muttered.

"Well, when guys around here keep popping up like limited-edition sin, can you blame me for holding onto the only thing that won’t ruin me?”

“Or you just bumped into Landon.”

My eyes shot to him.

“Wait…you know him?”

“Unfortunately,” Liam said with a shrug. “ Kind of.”

Of course.

I snorted. “Figures. The asshole club.”

He grinned. “He’s not that bad. Once you get past the ego and the mouth.”

I gave him a look.

“And the dickish smirk,” I added.

Liam laughed, low, smooth, and unreasonably attractive.

God help me.

This school was going to ruin me.

He paused a few steps ahead.

“It’s that door,” he said, nodding toward the one boldly stamped V.P. in black letters.

I followed his gaze, lips parting to thank him.

But then, I made the mistake of looking down.

His hand.

Those fingers.

And….Jesus.

His nails. Short. Clean. Neatly trimmed.

Fuck.

My entire body reacted like it had just been whispered to.

Imagine those fingers teasing the seam of your panties... pressing in slow and deep… curling just right.

God.

I squeezed my thighs so tight I could’ve snapped a pencil.

“Thanks,” I croaked, turning away like that would help.

It didn’t.

Not when I could still feel him behind me.

His body heat. His eyes.

Wait.

Was he still watching me?

I risked a glance over my shoulder.

He was.

Hands still in his hoodie pocket. Leaning against the lockers again. His eyebrows raised just slightly.

That smirk, slow and deliberate, like he knew exactly what I was thinking.

My face burned.

I turned back around, ready to bolt…

“Hey,” he said, voice low.

I stopped, pulse skidding.

“Yeah?”

A pause.

Then, he stepped closer.

Slow. One foot. Then another.

He didn’t stop until he was close enough for me to feel his breath, to smell that mix of pine and heat and boy.

He looked down at me, eyes lazy, heavy-lidded, but sharp beneath it all. He wasn’t just seeing me, he was studying me.

“Wanna know what I think?”

No. Yes. Maybe. Fuck.

I swallowed. “What?”

He leaned in slightly, lips near my ear.

“You’re way too soft to survive in this school,” he murmured, “But damn if I don’t wanna see you try.”

My breath hitched.

His eyes flicked to my lips.

He wasn’t moving fast. But it felt like he could.

Like he was one half-step from kissing me, or destroying me.

My brain short-circuited. Every cell in my body screamed do not move.

But he stepped back first.

Like he’d had his fun.

Like he already knew I’d be thinking about that for the rest of the day.

“You’ll need that schedule,” he said, nodding toward the office door.

Then he turned and walked away..

Wait…”My voice barely came out.

I didn’t know what I was asking.

Just that I needed something.

“What’s your name?”

He paused. Didn’t look back at first.

Then slowly, he turned his head.

“Liam,” he said. Voice low..

Then he kept walking.

And I stood there… whispering it to myself like a sin I wasn’t supposed to say out loud.

Liam.

Temptation in a black hoodie just flirted with me like foreplay was a handshake.

And I let it happen.

God help me.

My hand brushed the doorknob to the V.P. office, but my mind was still in the hallway.

Wrapped around his mouth.

His fingers.

That lip ring.

I groaned under my breath.

After a few moments to get it together..

I opened the door.

And her bulging eyes pierced straight through me.

“Took you long enough,” she said coolly.

“Or maybe you thought I’d given up.” I shot back.

Her gaze swept over me.

“I see you tinted your hair.” A scoff. “How rebellious.”

I tilted my head. “What? Don’t you like it?”

Her smile didn’t reach her eyes.

“Or are you about to tell me to cut it off?” I added.

She leaned forward, voice silk and steel.

“No, Nicole.”

A pause.

A beat too long.

“If I wanted something gone…”

Her eyes narrowed.

“I’d make sure it never grew back.”

She flipped open a folder.

“Now…” she said slowly, turning her eyes to the chair in the corner. “Meet your new student, Miss Winter.”

The chair spun.

And when I saw who it was..

My heart dropped.

My stomach flipped.

And my mouth barely moved as I breathed out,

“Oh no.”