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Monday morning came too fast.

The weekend had been fun—surprisingly so. I still wasn’t sure if I was ready to call myself the kind of person who enjoys the mall, but spending the day with my family had felt… different. Good different. Like I was starting to settle in, even if part of me was still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I tugged my new sweater over my head, adjusting the sleeves as I looked in the mirror. It was soft and warm, the deep green fabric wrapping around me like a hug. It wasn’t too fitted, wasn’t too baggy. Just right.

Some days, I felt more comfortable dressing a little more masculine. Other days, I leaned more feminine. But today? Today, I just wanted something cozy and safe.

And this sweatshirt? It was exactly that.

I grabbed my backpack and headed downstairs.

The school halls were loud and chaotic as always. Lockers slammed, voices overlapped, and students moved in clusters like schools of fish, dodging around each other with practiced ease.

Jasmine spotted me first. “Hey! Look at you, all cozy and mysterious in that sweater.”

I smirked. “Mysterious?”

She nodded. “It’s giving ‘I know something you don’t know’ energy.”

Mia, who had been switching out her textbooks, glanced over. “It suits you.”

Something about those three words settled deep in my chest.

It suits you.

Not "That looks nice on you" or "Oh, cool sweater." Just… it fits. Like it matched me—not just on the outside, but in a way that said they saw me.

I smiled. “Thanks.”

We made our way toward first period, but before we got there, I heard the voice I least wanted to hear.

“Oh, look who it is,” Trevor sneered from his locker, arms crossed. “What’s the vibe today, huh? We going for brooding poet or mysterious loner?”

I ignored him.

That only made him push further. “Or wait—lemme guess. You wake up every morning and roll a dice to see who you’re gonna be?”

A flicker of old fear tried to claw its way up my spine. But today?

I wasn’t in the mood.

I turned, leveling him with a look. “You really have nothing better to do, do you?”

His smirk faltered—just for a second.

Jasmine, never one to let anything slide, scoffed. “Seriously, Trevor. Do you wake up thinking about how to be the biggest asshole in school, or does it just come naturally?”

A few kids nearby snickered.

Trevor rolled his eyes, slamming his locker shut. “Whatever.” He muttered something under his breath and stalked away.

Mia exhaled. “Wow. I think that was the fastest one yet.”

Jasmine grinned. “I’ve been honing my skills.”

I let out a slow breath, feeling the tension ease from my shoulders.

A few months ago, that kind of comment would have followed me all day. Would’ve stuck to me like glue, making me second-guess everything about myself.

But now?

Now, it barely lingered.

I glanced down at my sweater—the one I picked, the one Mom bought just for me, because she knew I liked it.

I felt comfortable in my skin. In my clothes.

In who I was.

And Trevor’s opinions?

They didn’t change that.

“C’mon,” I said, adjusting my backpack. “We’re gonna be late.”

Jasmine and Mia fell into step beside me, right where they always were.

And that was all I needed.

As always during lunch, the cafeteria was as loud and chaotic as ever. The scent of pizza, tater tots, and overcooked vegetables hung in the air as students moved through the lunch line, grabbing trays and swapping conversation.

But something was… different.

Trevor wasn’t there.

No smug smirk. No side comments as I walked past.

Just… nothing.

I noticed it, and so did Jasmine. “Huh,” she mused as we grabbed trays. “No Trevor today. Think he finally got bored of being the worst human alive?”

Mia adjusted her glasses, glancing around. “Maybe he’s in detention.”

Jasmine scoffed. “If only we could be so lucky.”

I should have been relieved, but instead, my eyes landed on someone else.

Lexi.

She was standing behind the lunch counter, wearing the same school-issued apron and plastic gloves as before, scooping mashed potatoes onto plates. Her expression was neutral, her focus on her task. She didn’t look miserable, but she also didn’t look happy to be here.

I stepped forward, sliding my tray into place. Lexi glanced up, her blue eyes flicking to mine for a split second before she spoke.

“Can I talk to you at the end of lunch?”

The question caught me off guard.

Not "Next," or "What do you want?" but an actual request.

I hesitated. A few weeks ago, Lexi had been right there with Tasha, laughing at me, making my life miserable. She had never been as loud as Tasha, never the one throwing the first insult, but she had stood by and let it happen. Encouraged it. Added her own words when it suited her.

Then Tasha turned on her.

She had tried to defend me that day—tried to stop Tasha from attacking me—but by then, it was too late to pretend she hadn’t played a part in everything before that.

Tasha was gone now—expelled. Lexi wasn’t. But she wasn’t off the hook, either. Two weeks of lunch duty was her punishment, a reminder that even if she had tried to do the right thing at the last second, she had still spent months making my life miserable.

And now, she was standing here, asking me for a moment of my time.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

But something in her expression made me nod. “Yeah. Sure.”

Lexi didn’t say anything else, just nodded back before scooping a pile of tater tots onto my tray.

I moved along, trying to shake the weird feeling in my stomach.

Jasmine, of course, noticed immediately. “What was that about?”

“She wants to talk after lunch.”

Jasmine narrowed her eyes. “Oh no. Nope. Absolutely not. Do we need to establish a no Lexi zone? Because I will.”

Mia, ever the logical one, sighed. “Let’s not get dramatic. Maybe she wants to apologize again.”

“She already apologized,” Jasmine shot back, stabbing her fork into a tater tot. “How many do-overs does she get?”

I poked at my food, considering it. “I don’t know. But… she seemed serious.”

Jasmine scoffed. “Yeah, well, so did Trevor the time he pretended to be nice to that substitute teacher. And we all know how that turned out.”

Mia tilted her head. “You’re not wrong… but I think Lexi’s different. She didn’t have to defend Emily against Trevor. But she did.”

Jasmine grumbled under her breath but didn’t argue.

I let their voices fade as I took a bite of my pizza, my mind still stuck on Lexi.

What did she really want?

And more importantly… was I ready to listen?

The cafeteria buzzed with noise and movement as students dumped their trays and filtered toward the hallways. I lingered near the doorway, shifting on my feet, my tray feeling heavier than it should as I debated whether I really wanted to do this.

Lexi was waiting near the back of the lunchroom, still wearing her lunch duty apron, her arms crossed over her chest. She wasn’t looking around for me, wasn’t tapping her foot impatiently or rolling her eyes.

She just stood there, watching me approach.

I took a deep breath and walked over. “Okay,” I said, stopping a few feet away. “What did you want to talk about?”

Lexi pulled off her gloves and exhaled, like she was trying to gather her thoughts.

“I know I already apologized,” she started, her voice lower, less guarded than usual. “But I wanted to say it again. And this time, I really mean it.”

Something in my chest tightened.

I had heard apologies before. From people who didn’t mean them. From people who just wanted to move past the problem without actually fixing it.

I had learned to be careful with forgiveness.

Still, I didn’t say anything. I just waited.

Lexi hesitated before continuing. “I got a phone call last night,” she said, her fingers tightening around the edge of her apron. “From Tasha.”

My stomach dropped.

Tasha had been gone. Expelled. And after she attacked me, I figured I’d never hear about her again.

“What?” I asked, my voice quieter than I meant it to be.

Lexi nodded. “She bailed out of juvie.”

I blinked. “Bailed out?”

Lexi’s jaw tightened. “Her parents got her a lawyer. They pulled some strings, and now she’s out.”

A chill ran through me, colder than the winter air outside.

I should have known. Tasha’s family always got her out of trouble, always made excuses for her, always made things disappear.

But this?

“She called you?” I asked, my voice uneasy.

Lexi’s hands clenched into fists. “Yeah. And she wasn’t exactly calling to catch up.”

A strange feeling curled in my stomach.

“What did she say?”

Lexi swallowed, her blue eyes flicking to mine. “She said she had it coming for you.”

The cafeteria noise faded into the background.

She had it coming for me.

I felt sick.

Tasha had already gone too far before. She had already crossed every possible line.

But she still wasn’t done.

Lexi must have seen something in my face because she stepped forward, lowering her voice. “Listen, I know I don’t have a right to ask you to trust me. Not after everything.”

I stared at her, my thoughts spiraling.

Lexi had stood beside Tasha for months. She had laughed at my expense. She had never stopped it—not until Tasha turned on her.

And now, she wanted to act like my protector?

Lexi exhaled, rubbing her forehead. “I never told Tasha this, but…” She hesitated, like she wasn’t sure if she should say it. Then she did anyway.

“I have a sister,” she said quietly. “She’s transgender.”

My breath hitched.

Lexi looked away. “She came out when I was in sixth grade. And… I was a brat about it. I didn’t understand. I said stupid things. Made her life harder than it needed to be.”

I wasn’t sure where this was going, but I stayed silent, waiting.

Lexi sighed. “She doesn’t talk to me much now. Not because she hates me or anything, but because I made it really hard for her back then. And after everything I did to you, I started thinking about that. About her.”

She let out a bitter laugh. “I used to think I was better than Tasha. That I was just playing along, that I wasn’t really hurting anyone. But I was. And I hurt you.”

Her words hung there, heavy in the air between us.

She shifted on her feet. “I want to be your ally, Emily. Not just because I feel guilty, not just because of what Tasha said—but because I want to be better. And if Tasha comes after you, I swear I’ll do whatever I can to stop her.”

I stared at her, my chest tight with too many emotions at once.

I didn’t know what to say.

Lexi had spent months making my life miserable. But now, she was choosing to stand on the other side.

And she wasn’t asking me to forgive her immediately. She wasn’t making excuses.

She was owning it.

I swallowed. “I don’t know if I can trust you,” I admitted, my voice honest but not cruel.

Lexi nodded. “I figured.”

I took a deep breath, my fingers tightening around the strap of my backpack. “But… I guess we’ll see.”

Lexi let out a small breath, like she had been holding it. Then she nodded. “That’s fair.”

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.

I turned to go, but before I left, I glanced back at Lexi.

“Thanks for telling me,” I said.

She didn’t smile, but there was something softer in her eyes. “Yeah. See you around.”

I walked out of the cafeteria, my mind spinning.

Tasha was back.

Lexi wanted to be my ally.

I wasn’t sure what to think about either of those things.

But one thing was for sure.

This wasn’t over.

It was gym class. And as usual, it smelled like sweat, rubber, and floor polish—the usual mix of scents that somehow managed to be both familiar and awful at the same time.

I adjusted the sleeves of my sweatshirt, keeping it on even though I knew I’d probably overheat by the end of class. Some days, I felt comfortable enough in just my T-shirt. Today wasn’t one of those days.

Mia and Jasmine stood beside me, stretching lazily while the rest of the class milled around, waiting for instructions.

Jasmine nudged me. “So… what did Lexi want?”

Mia perked up. “Yeah, was it another apology?”

I glanced around, making sure no one was eavesdropping, then lowered my voice. “She told me Tasha bailed out of juvie.”

Jasmine froze mid-stretch. “Excuse me, WHAT?”

Mia’s expression turned serious. “How?”

“Her parents got her a lawyer,” I said, crossing my arms. “And now she’s out.”

Jasmine made a disgusted noise. “Ugh. Of course they did. Probably cried their way out of it, saying ‘our daughter is misunderstood’ or some garbage like that.”

Mia frowned. “Did she say anything about you?”

I nodded. “Lexi said Tasha told her she’s ‘coming for me.’”

Jasmine’s eyes darkened. “Oh, hell no.”

Mia exhaled sharply. “That’s… really bad.”

“Yeah,” I muttered. “No kidding.”

Before we could keep talking, the gym teacher blew the whistle and called for everyone to huddle up.

That’s when I saw him.

Trevor.

Standing near the back, leaning against the bleachers, arms crossed, looking like he couldn’t care less.

I knew guys like Trevor. They didn’t just let things go.

We split up into groups, some kids grabbing basketballs while others stretched for warm-ups. Mia, Jasmine, and I ended up in a small group together, which was good—less risk of getting paired with someone awful.

Trevor joined another group across the gym.

At first, he seemed like he was ignoring me, focused on whatever half-effort he was putting into his workout.

But then, when no one else was looking—

He lifted his hand and gave me the finger.

Just like that. No words. No smirk. Just a single, silent message.

I stiffened, my pulse spiking for half a second.

Then I exhaled, rolled my eyes, and turned away.

Mia noticed. “What?” she asked, glancing at me.

I shook my head. “Nothing.”

Jasmine followed my gaze, catching Trevor’s expression as he turned back to his group.

She huffed. “Ugh. He is such a child.”

Mia sighed. “At least he’s keeping his distance.”

“Barely,” I muttered, shaking off the moment.

Trevor still hated me. That much was clear.

But for whatever reason, he wasn’t pushing things like before.

And honestly? That was fine with me.