Adrian Blackwood looks nervous. The kind of nervous no one has ever seen him be before.

They’re currently standing on one of the abandoned rooftops of Moon-Crest academy. The once dirty space that used to be littered with cigarettes and food wrappers now looks nicely cleaned up.

And Adrian stands behind her, looking somewhat nervous. "Can I cover your eyes?" He asks quietly.

Nyra shivers when his hot breath touches the shell of her ears. But she still shakes her head.

"No. I don’t- don’t touch me."

Adrian looks disappointed, "yeah..I guess I deserve that." He takes one step, leading her to the middle of the rooftop.

Right there, is a makeshift picnic mat.

Adrian pauses, looking even more nervous when she doesn’t move closer. He had spent all morning trying hard to set it all up.

"Nyra..." he says softly, stepping aside so she can see it properly. There are small snacks, drinks, and even a bunch of flowers awkwardly placed like he wasn’t sure what she’d like.

"I just want five minutes. That’s all."

Nyra folds her arms. "Adrian, why did you do all this?"

He exhales, rubbing the back of his neck. "Because every time I try to talk to you, you walk away."

"Because I don’t want to talk to you-"

"I know!" His voice drops. "I know...but I still want to try. I told you I won’t give up so easily."

Nyra sighs, looks at the setup again, then back at him. "Then don’t expect me to sit down with you like everything is okay."

"Nyra..."

"A picnic doesn’t suddenly erase everything you’ve done, Adrian. Do you want me to list them all out?"

His jaw tightens, but he doesn’t argue."I remember, and I’m really sorry, please.."

Nyra shakes her head. "I don’t want any of these things. I’m leaving.."

She turns back and is about to leave, but Adrian steps in front, blocking her bath "W-wait, at least take this."

He places a gift bag in her hand, offering a sad smile. "Thank you for even coming here with me. I won’t give up."

At least Nyra takes the bag this time.

---

The moment she steps into the cafeteria, Lena, Naya, and Leah rush toward her like they’ve been waiting for her all morning.

"There she is!" Lena says, immediately hooking her arm. "So, what’s up? We heard you were with Adrian."

"How..?" Nyra adjusts the bag in her hand. "Anyways, it’s not what you think."

Naya tilts her head. "That’s exactly what someone says when it is what we think."

Leah doesn’t look convinced. "So...are you two okay now?"

"Of course not!" Nyra glares at her incredulously, letting them drag her towards a table in the corner. "He just wanted to talk."

"On a rooftop?" Lena raises a brow. "Some juniors saw him take you there."

Nyra rolls her eyes at their questions. This school cares more about gossip, then they do their grades.

They don’t even give her a chance to explain further before Leah points at the bag. "What’s that?"

"He gave it to me."

All three girls immediately lean in.

"Open it!" They insist, placing it on the table.

Nyra sighs and unties the ribbon. The moment she opens it, all three girls fall silent.

Inside is a beautiful silver necklace. Exactly her style-- and her name is engraved neatly across it.

"Wow..." Lena breathes, "he seems serious. I’m switching sides."

Nyra rolls her eyes. "Because of a necklace?"

"And this..." Naya interrupts them, reaching until the bag again, and pulls out a folded jersey.

Moon-Crest Academy’s signature black combat jersey with a number stitched clearly on the front.

The girls freeze.

Leah narrows her eyes. "That’s Adrian’s jersey."

"Why would he give me this?"

Naya leans back, like it’s obvious. "The combat season starts early next month, of course he wants his mate to cheer him on."

Nyra frowns. "Don’t call me that-"

Before any of them can respond, another voice cuts in. Jason.

All four girls look up.

He stands there calmly, his arm still bandaged. Adrian really did a big one on him. The moment he sees Adrian’s jersey on the table, he frowns, but quickly masks it up.

"Jason?" Naya blinks. "What are you doing here?"

The moment their eyes meet, he smiles brightly, coming closer. "I came to give you something."

Leah-- the group’s biggest gossip-- straightens instantly. "Oh, this is getting interesting."

Jason smiles at them before handing Nyra another gift bag, watching her reaction.

She sighs, but collects it. "You didn’t have to--"

"I wanted to!" He interrupts, watching her open it. Inside is another combat jersey-- Black and red as only the captain uses plain black-- his number is also stitched on the front.

Leah gasps. "No way! Two jerseys?!"

Jason shrugs lightly. "It’s nothing special." But the hopeful look in his eyes says otherwise.

"Do you like it?" He asks with a smile.

"I do. Thank you.."

He brushes a stray strand of hair from her face. "I have to get to practice now...I’ll text you later." And then he’s running off without waiting for a response.

Nyra blinks slowly, watching him leave. "What the fuck just happened?"

"Two hot guys are fawning over you, that’s what!" Naya squeals dramatically, twirling her black hair. "It feels like we’re main characters in a webnovel story, right now.."

Lena snorts, still admiring the jerseys, "Stop being dramatic, Naya."

Nyra shakes her head laughing, "I don’t think that’s--"

"Stop acting like you don’t like it!" Someone’s bitter voice cuts in from the side, making all four girls pause.

Claire stands beside their table, arms crossed. Her two bully friends are nowhere to be found.

"At least being a whore is finally paying off. Now you’re getting gifts from Adrian and now Jason too?" She scoffs lightly. "Don’t pretend like you’re not enjoying all their attention on you."

Leah, always ready to fight, instantly stands up. "How about you mind your-"

But Nyra stands up before she can finish. "You really have some guts still speaking to me like that!"

Claire blinks, taken aback by her tone.

"You don’t get to stand there and act like that, especially knowing that I’m the only reason that you’re not behind a cell right now for what you did at the pool party."

The entire cafeteria goes quiet.

Claire freezes.

Nyra doesn’t stop. "So don’t talk to me about attention, and don’t you dare act like you’re better than me!"

Leah looks impressed but worried. "Nyra... it’s okay, leave it."

Claire’s on the other hand is as red as. For the first time, she has nothing to say. Especially with all the students whispering around her.

"I--" she starts, then stops.

Without another word, she turns and walks away, without looking back.

Naya exhales as Nyra sits back down. "Damn."

Lena grins. "Okay, that was iconic. Glad you finally stood your ground."

Nyra stays quiet, sipping her drink as the students around them slowly focus back on their meals.

Leah nudges her. "You good?"

"I’m fine," Nyra says quickly, "let’s not ruin the mood."

"That’s right!" Lena leans in with a teasing grin, still clearly excited.

"So..." she starts, "Whose jersey are you going to wear?