ONE MONTH LATER (3 DAYS BEFORE SCHOOL)
The quiet hum of crickets filled the cool night air. Grace's house loomed behind its wrought iron gates, that was sleek and modern, and heavily secured. A pair of guards patrolled the perimeter as flashlights cut through the dark.
But Jax was already inside.
His black hoodie blended into the shadows as he moved lowly behind hedges, silent on his feet. His breathing was calm and controlled as his pulse raced. He watched the guards from a distance, waiting for their patterns to loop back toward the front.
In one fluid motion, he scaled the side trellis, as his boots gripped onto narrow beams until he found footing on the stone ledge outside a window.
Grace's window.
Inside, Grace was just finishing with her curtains. She was wearing an oversized T'shirt, her hair pulled back messily then she paused when she heard something. A faint knock against the glass.
Her brows furrowed. Then another knock. Harder this time. She cautiously stepped closer as her heart stuttered. It was probably nothing. Maybe a branch.
She flinched, then with a breath, she yanked the curtains back and saw Jax.
Grace jumped back with a gasp. Her mouth opened but no sound came out. Jax smirked but then lost his balance and nearly slipped off the ledge. "Shit-!"
Grace still stunned, snapped the window open in reflex. Jax stumbled forward, landing clumsily into her room with a thud.
He scrambled to his feet as he brushed himself off. Grace just stood there, speechless, staring at him like he was a ghost. "Jax?! What the hell are you doing here?!"
"Hey. Nice to see you too," Jax said grinning.
She crossed her arms, trying to mask the fact that her heart was racing, "You're suspended. You're not supposed to be anywhere near here. How did you even-"
"I asked Amber and Maya," he shrugged, "They slipped up. Rowan made it easy."
Grace narrowed her eyes in suspicion, "Why would they...?" Then she stopped herself. "Forget it. Why are you here, Jax?"
Jax exhaled, glancing away for a moment. He didn't answer right away. Instead, he stepped toward her bed and sat on the edge, his body was tense like he didn't quite belong, "I didn't want to wait until Monday."
Grace watched him quietly, torn between telling him to leave and the undeniable pull that had always been there. She stepped closer, her arms still crossed protectively, "For what?"
Jax looked up at her, his usual cocky demeanor stripped away in the soft glow of her bedside lamp, "To talk. About everything. About me."
The silence that followed was deafening. Grace finally sat down in the armchair by her desk facing him. "Okay." Then softly, "Talk."
Jax leaned forward as he stared at the floor, as he struggled to gather his words, "I didn't care that I got suspended. I didn't care about the rumors, or the video. I only care that you hate me."
Grace's heart tugged at her and she didn't answer as Jax continued.
"I've been angry for so long, I don't even know how to stop. And then I saw my dad, sitting there, acting like he gave a shit," He shook his head. "I wanted to kill him. I wanted to lose it. But I couldn't." He finally looked up at Grace. "Because I was too busy thinking about you."
Grace's arms fell on her sides, her walls cracking just a little, "You think I hate you?"
Jax gave her, a faint bitter laugh, "Don't you?"
She stared at him, and for the first time in weeks, her expression softened, "I don't know what I feel. About any of this. But I don't hate you."
Jax seemed to deflate with that. He sat back, like he was holding his breath this entire time as Grace continued, her voice lower now, "You know, my parents, they weren't always this strict." Then she smiled faintly, but there was no humor in it. "But the more perfect I became, the more they expected me to stay that way. There's no room for mistakes in their world. Not even for me."
Jax listened, his gaze never leaving her, "I get that." Then he rubbed his palms together. "I didn't ask for my dad to show up. He left us. My mom died thinking he was trash. And now, he's acting like he's part of my life again. I'm so mad I can't think straight."
Then they just sat there in silence, two broken souls finding common ground. Grace got up slowly and walked over to him. She sat next to him on the bed, close enough to feel the heat radiating off his skin, "I'm sorry Jax."
Jax turned his head toward her, their faces just inches apart and his hand twitched at his side, wanting to touch her but he held back, "I didn't want to drag you into this, you deserve better."
Grace surprised him by reaching for his hand, threading her fingers through his, "Maybe. But you're the one who's here."
They sat like that as their words settled between them. Yet for once not suffocating. Jax looked down at their joined hands, then back at her and for the first time in a long time, he let out a real breath. "I'm not going anywhere."
Neither of them moved and you could see from their expressions that they had a mutual understanding. And maybe also the start of something neither of them saw coming.
---
(3 DAYS LATER)
Students milled around after classes, the usual buzz of activity hummed within the school's atmosphere. But something was different today. There was a quiet ripple and a shift in the atmosphere. Grace and Jack were back.
They walked side by side along the quad, backpacks slung over their shoulders like they never left. Heads turned as they passed and some whispered, some just stared outright, but neither of them seemed fazed by it.
Grace had her signature confident walk and her pony tail swayed like a statement 'I'm still here.'
Jax had his usual lazy strut, his hands were jammed in his jacket pockets as he chewed gum. He had a small scar above his eyebrow from a fight that he had during the suspension in the earlier days. But there was a strange calm about him too.
Maya and Amber spotted Grace first, then they bolted through the crowd with wide grins, "You're back! Finally." Maya grabbed Grace into a hug.
"Girl, we thought they were going to send you to some military reform camp or something," said Amber sheepishly.
Grace chuckled, a sound that surprised even her, she squeezed both of them back tightly, "I thought so too," then she glanced back at Jax, "But I guess I got lucky."
Amber glanced at Jax with a raised brow, "Did he sneak out of the house again or...?"
Jax smirked but he didn't answer. Rowan and Theo jogged over, and they all grinned and fist bumped when they reached Jax.
"Man, you look alive. I figured you'd be pissed, hiding out somewhere," said Rowan.
"You guys...you like kinda zen. What the hell happened to you two?" Theo chimed in.
Then Jax shrugged, "Nothing. Just cleared our heads." He glanced at Grace again and a message was passed through the calm wind between them.
The friends stuck around for a while, walking them back to class like an unofficial welcome wagon. Eventually, though, the groups drifted off, leaving Jax and Grace standing under the trees by the east courtyard, a quiet spot where the evening breeze rustled through the leaves.
For a moment, they just stood there taking in the familiar world that suddenly felt different.
"They're watching us like we're gonna crack," said Jax quietly.
"Let them watch," said Grace with a smirk.
Jax chuckled under his breath, then his eyes darkened thoughtfully, "You ever think, it wasn't random?" He looked at her. "The videos and the timing. The way it all went down."
Grace crossed her arms nodding slowly, "I've been thinking about it since the night they dropped." She looked at him. "And I think I know who's behind it."
Jax leaned in slightly, "Callahan."
Grace narrowed her eyes, "He's the only one who made sense. He had motive and he had access." She paused. "And Derrick, he's too close to him."
Jax clenched his jaw, "Derrick's not just close. They're family. I dug around. They've been playing us the whole time."
Grace breathed out, her gaze distant as if she was seeing everything clearly now, "Derrick was the only one who knew where I was when I stole the exam answers. I told him because I trusted him."
"And Callahan? He knew where I was that night after he sent me to keep away the assignments for the class that he had already printed and he had forgotten them in the printing room, that's when I bumped into Ms. Harper. He probably had someone watch me." Said Jax.
"They wanted us to destroy each other," Grace said softly almost to herself.
Jax gave a humorless smile, "And we almost did."
The wind rustled the leaves above them and then Grace stepped closer with a low but steady voice, "We can't let them win."
"We won't." Jax replied almost immediately. There was a promise in his tone