C5 Chapter 5

Yanina’s POV

The intense scrutiny from the three boys was starting to make my chest tighten with anxiety, but one of them wasn't just casually glancing my way. He was staring at me with a heavy, magnetic intensity that sent a sudden shiver straight down my spine.

When I finally braced myself to look up, his gaze hadn't wavered. I found myself completely paralyzed, drowning in a pair of deep, rich chocolate-brown eyes. For a split second, a wild thought flashed through my mind—that I was falling completely in love with hi—wait, what?

No. Absolutely not. I mean, yes, his eyes were incredibly beautiful, but what on earth was I thinking? My brain was clearly malfunctioning from a severe lack of oxygen.

Thankfully, someone loudly cleared their throat, breaking the spell and dragging me back to reality.

I blinked, realizing it was Amadine who had intervened. I let out a massive, quiet breath of relief.

"Well, well. Look what we have here. Is this the new girl?" The boy with the hazel eyes asked, a cocky grin spreading across his face. I couldn't help but notice the faint, distinct trace of a British accent woven into his words.

My face instantly caught fire for no good reason, forcing me to snap my gaze away from the brown-eyed boy. Come on, Yanina, pull yourself together. It’s just a basic question!

"Umm... yeah. Hi," I finally managed to stammer out, forcing a polite, small smile onto my face. "I'm Yanina Miller."

"I'm Rio Wood. It’s an absolute pleasure to meet you, Yanina," he said, his easy grin widening as he extended his hand across the table.

I hesitated for a fraction of a second before reaching out to take it. The moment our fingers brushed, he didn't just shake my hand. Instead, he smoothly guided my knuckles up to his lips, brushing them with a feather-light, theatrical kiss.

A deep, burning blush crept up my neck at the ridiculously charming gesture, a small smile slipping past my defenses.

"Dude, let go of her hand already," the boy with the curly black hair muttered, rolling his eyes in sheer annoyance.

Embarrassed, I immediately pulled my hand back into my lap.

Amy didn't miss a beat, gesturing toward the black-haired boy. "Anyway, Yanina, ignore him. Meet Lestrade Hemsworth—officially the nicest guy in this entire school."

"Hey! I can be nice!" Rio protested, crossing his arms and pouting like a disappointed child.

Amy rolled her eyes so hard I thought they might get stuck. "Shut up, you massive player. You don't have a single nice bone in your body."

"Ah, princess, you’re breaking my heart over here," Rio wheedled, dramatically clutching his chest as if he’d been physically wounded.

The ridiculous banter was surprisingly comforting. I let out a soft chuckle and said, "Don't worry, Rio. I'm sure you have your moments." Finally, the suffocating nervousness in my chest began to evaporate.

"See? Look at that! She gets it!" Rio cheered loudly, throwing his hands in the air and blowing a series of ridiculous flying kisses in my direction.

I laughed, but as I did, I noticed Amy had suddenly gone completely rigid, looking anywhere but at our side of the table, while Amadine was hiding a Knowing smirk. Had I accidentally stepped on a social landmine?

Lestrade cleared his throat, offering me a genuinely warm, polite smile. "Hey. It’s really nice to meet you, Yanina."

"Hello. Nice to meet you too, Lestrade."

"And finally," Amy sighed, her voice dripping with mock exhaustion as she pointed toward the final member of the trio, "the school’s absolute favorite boy, Callum Bradshaw."

Favorite boy? I blinked.

"Hello, Yanina," the boy with the chocolate-brown eyes murmured. His voice was smooth, low, and sent another tiny jolt through my nerves. Oh. So his name is Callum.

"Umm... hey, Callum," I replied, that familiar, suffocating wave of shyness crashing right back over me.

As the conversation drifted, I couldn't help but notice that Rio’s eyes were completely glued to Amy, while Amy was putting on an Oscar-worthy performance of pretending he didn't even exist. A lightbulb went off in my head. Is this the Rio that Amadine was warning her about earlier?

"So... Yanina," Amadine said suddenly, leaning over her tray. "Give us the details. Tell us about yourself."

"Umm.. uh.. wh-what exactly do you want to know?" I stammered, the old anxiety clawing its way back up. I really didn't want to dive into my personal history, especially not with three intimidating, popular boys hanging on every word. I desperately didn't want them to think I was some sort of social freak.

"EVERYTHING!!" Amy yelled, slamming her hands down.

I jumped, completely taken aback by her volume.

"Woah! Chill out, woman," Rio laughed, putting his hands up. "Don't go scaring Yanina away on her very first day."

Amy flushed, instantly looking apologetic. "I'm so sorry, Yanina! Seriously, I just get way too excited sometimes."

"It's totally fine," I assured her, offering a genuine smile. Realizing I couldn't avoid the question entirely, I swallowed my nerves and decided to give them the truth. "So... today is my first day here, obviously. But honestly, it's kind of my first day experiencing... well, everything."

"Everything?" Amy repeated, her brow furrowing in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?"

I swallowed hard. "Actually, I’ve been stuck in a strict boarding school for the last fourteen years."

The entire table went dead silent. Every single one of them was staring at me as if I had just confessed to a crime, or grown a second head.

"Uhh... guys? Did I say something wrong?" I asked, my heart sinking. Great. Now they definitely think I’m an absolute freak. Good job, Yanina.

"Wait... you were in a boarding school for fourteen years? Like, fourteen actual years?!" Amy and Amadine gasped at the exact same time.

"Uh... yeah. That's what I said."

"Wow..." they breathed in unison, the three boys looking equally stunned.

"Man, that must have been incredibly brutal," Rio said, his usual playful tone completely vanishing, replaced by genuine, deep sympathy. The others nodded in agreement.

I blinked, totally thrown off. "What? You guys don't think I'm some kind of weird antisocial freak?"

Amy reached over, gently squeezing my arm. "Why on earth would we think that, Yanina? Everyone has to deal with a bad hand in life sometimes. It doesn't make you weird."

A heavy weight lifted off my shoulders. "Thank you so much, guys. Seriously."

"You're very welcome, love," Rio said smoothly, leaning back. "But now I’m curious—why did your folks send you away for that long?"

"My parents are intensely strict and completely overprotective," I admitted with a heavy sigh. "They basically wanted to keep me locked away from the real world."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore," Amadine said, her eyes lighting up with determination. "You’re with us now, Yanina. We’re going to make sure this is the absolute best year of your entire life!"

"Yeah, babe," Rio added, giving me a playful wink. "It’s going to be an absolute blast having you around."

I laughed at his ridiculous enthusiasm, my cheeks flushing slightly at the casual nicknames he kept tossing around.

"Yeah. It’s definitely going to be fun," Callum spoke up, his voice cutting through the noise. I looked up, and he was smirking directly at me with an intensity that made my heart do a dangerous flip. Seriously, what was his deal?

"Yanina, Amadine! Come with me to the restroom right now," Amy suddenly announced, glancing at her phone. "We only have about ten minutes left before lunch is over."

"Okay, okay," Amadine and I mumbled, grabbing our backpacks from the floor.

"See you later, girls. Have a good afternoon," Lestrade said, offering a polite wave.

I waved back. "Bye, guys."

As we pulled away from the table, I caught Callum’s eye one last time. His smirk widened, and he deliberately gave me a slow, devastating wink. My face instantly erupted in flames again, and I hastily turned away, scurrying after the girls.

Once we safely made it into the restroom, I waited until we were standing by the mirrors to finally voice the question that had been burning in my mind. "Hey, Amadine? If Rio, Lestrade, and Callum are supposedly the dangerous bad boys of the school... why were they sitting with us?"

Amadine stopped applying her lip gloss, capping the tube with a soft click. "Honestly? It’s entirely because of Rio."

"Rio?" I repeated.

"Yeah," Amadine explained, shaking her head with a fond, amused smile. "He is completely obsessed with Amy. She wants absolutely nothing to do with him because of his reputation, but Rio is incredibly stubborn, so he uses any excuse to come over and bug her."

"Ohh..." I smiled as the pieces finally clicked together. "So that’s why you were teasing her earlier."

"Exactly. I absolutely love pushing her buttons. She gets rattled so easily," Amadine laughed.

I checked my reflection in the mirror. "I don't know about you, but from what I saw... I think Amy might actually secretely like him back."

"Honestly? Me too," Amadine agreed. I couldn't help but smile at the thought; despite their constant bickering, I thought they would actually make an incredibly cute couple.

Before we could say anything else, Amy emerged from one of the stalls and walked over to the sinks to wash her hands. "What are you two plotting over here?" she asked suspiciously, looking between us.

"Nothing at all, just talking about some random school stuff," Amadine lied smoothly, shooting me a quick wink in the mirror.

"Yeah... just boring school details," I echoed.

Amy raised a skeptical eyebrow, but seeing our unified front, she just shrugged. "Whatever you say."

Right on cue, the heavy warning bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch block. Since Amy and I shared a fifth-period class, we said goodbye to Amadine and began the long trek through the crowded corridors to our next room.

By the time the final period of the day arrived, my brain was completely fried. I was sitting in Biology, utterly bored out of my mind because our teacher had called in sick, leaving us with a substitute who had essentially checked out the moment the bell rang.

To pass the time, I flipped to the very back page of my notebook, absentmindedly tracing lines with my pen. But no matter how hard I tried to focus on my doodles, my thoughts kept drifting back to a pair of intense, chocolate-brown eyes.

Callum Bradshaw.

There was something entirely different about the way he looked at me. When Rio and Lestrade looked at me, it felt like normal, friendly interest. But with Callum... it felt dangerous. Electric. I couldn't quite figure out why a complete stranger was having such a massive physical effect on me.

When the final bell of the day echoed through the school, I let out a massive sigh of relief. I was more than ready to go home. I threw my notebook into my bag, slung the strap over my shoulder, and practically ran out into the hallway.

As I walked out toward the main exit, I spotted Amy and Amadine leaning against a row of lockers.

"Hey! What are you guys still doing here?" I asked, walking up to them. "Are you waiting around for someone?"

Amy burst out laughing, nudging Amadine's shoulder. "Silky girl, who else would we be waiting for? Obviously, we’re waiting for you!"

"Ohh..." I mumbled, my cheeks turning pink as a wave of embarrassment hit me. I looked down at my shoes, completely unaccustomed to having people actually look out for me.

"Come on, let’s get moving before my mother locks me out of the house," Amadine joked, steering us toward the exit doors.

Over the course of the afternoon, I had learned that Amadine's parents were fairly strict too—not quite as severe as mine, but they definitely kept her on a tight, structured schedule. Amy’s parents, on the other hand, were completely hands-off, constantly traveling out of town for business and leaving her with total freedom. Secretly, I wished my parents were more like Amy's.

We stepped out into the warm afternoon air of the student parking lot. A few seconds later, my phone buzzed with a text from Ace letting me know he had just pulled in to pick me up. As much as I wanted to start walking home on my own to gain some independence, I didn't have the energy to argue with him today, so I texted back a quick confirmation.

"So, who’s the ride?" Amy asked mischievously, leaning in close. "Is it a secret boyfriend?"

My eyes widened in sheer panic. "No! No, definitely not. It's just my older brother, Ace. He offered to drive me home today."

"Wait, you have a brother?!" Amy’s eyes instantly lit up with a predatory, hopeful gleam. "Is he hot? Please tell me he's hot."

I wrinkled my nose. "Umm... I don't know, maybe I forgot to mention him. And no, definitely not hot from my perspective. He's just annoying." Which was entirely true; I couldn't comprehend seeing my own brother that way.

"We’ll see about that," Amy purred, a wicked grin on her face. Amadine just rolled her eyes, mouthing the words: Just ignore her. I nodded, holding back a laugh.

Right on cue, a familiar, pristine black Audi A4 smoothly pulled into the pickup lane directly in front of us. Ace threw the car into park, killed the engine, and stepped out into the sunlight.

Almost instantly, I noticed a shift in the parking lot. Half the girls standing nearby turned around, staring at him as if an actual movie star had just arrived on campus.

Ace didn't notice any of it. The second his eyes landed on me, a massive grin broke across his face, and he marched over, throwing his powerful arms around me and pulling me into a suffocating hug.

"Uh... Ace—Ace... c—can't... b—breathe," I choked out, my ribs cracking against his chest.

"Oh, sorry, sis!" he laughed, immediately releasing me and flashing a massive, goofy grin. "I just really missed you today, okay?"

I rolled my eyes, though a small smile slipped out. "Whatever. Ace, meet my two new friends, Amy and Amadine." I gestured toward them. "Amy, this is my—"

I stopped mid-sentence, completely amused. Amy’s mouth was hanging wide open, her eyes completely glazed over as she stared at my brother like a total idiot.

"Uh... Amy?" I asked, gently nudging her elbow.

She snapped out of it, blinking rapidly before blurring out: "Holy mother of God, Yanina... that is your brother? He is absolutely gorgeous!" she practically shouted.

I mentally face-palmed, burying my face in my hand.

Ace just chuckled, completely used to the reaction, and gave them a casual wave. "Hey, Amy. Hey, Amadine. Nice to meet you guys."

"Hi, Ace," Amadine said, offering a polite, grounded smile.

"Heyyy... Ace," Amy purred, her entire demeanor transforming into a shy, flirtatious act.

"Alright, Amy, you can continue drooling over Yanina's brother later," Amadine interrupted, grabbing Amy’s jacket sleeve and dragging her backward. "If we don't leave right now, we’re going to be late, and my mom will ground me."

"But Amadine—" Amy started to protest.

"No buts," Amadine cut her off ruthlessly. "And if you keep arguing with me, I’m banning you from our weekly cupcake runs for the next seven days."

The threat worked instantly. Amy’s jaw dropped in horror. "Okay, okay! Let’s go. There is absolutely no reason to bring my precious cupcakes into this."

They turned back to me, waving happily. "Bye, Yanina! See you tomorrow morning!"

"Bye, guys! See you tomorrow," I called out, waving back.

"Bye, Ace..." Amy added, tossing one last, dramatic wink in his direction. "I really, really hope I run into you again soon."

"Uh... bye, Amy," Ace replied, looking slightly terrified by her intensity.

I burst out laughing, grabbing his arm and pulling him toward the passenger side of the car. He quickly walked around and opened the door for me like a true gentleman. I mumbled a soft "Thank you" and leaned up to plant a quick kiss on his cheek before sliding into the leather seat.

As Ace walked around to the driver's side and I buckled my seatbelt, a strange, prickling sensation washed over the back of my neck. It felt like someone’s eyes were boring into me from somewhere across the crowded parking lot. I kept my gaze firmly fixed forward, refusing to turn around and look.

But as the car pulled out of the school gates and into the afternoon traffic, one piece of information I had gathered today kept echoing in my mind: Callum Bradshaw wasn't just a regular bad boy. He was officially the biggest player in the entire history of Lakewood High.