By the morning the school was buzzing.
I felt it the moment i stepped through the gates – the looks that lingered too long, the sudden pause in conversation, the way voice dropped when I walk past.
"Did you hear what happened to Tamara?"
I tightened my grip on my bag.
"She was attacked last night," someone whispered near the locker. " By thugs. Like —serious ones."
"I heard she almost didn't make it home."
"No,no" another voice cut in. "I heard she was saved by someone. A girl."
I stopped walking.
"That girl was Lex," someone said not even trying to be quiet.
"Apparently she fought them off."
"Lex..? For real."
"They said she went crazy on them."
I exhaled slowly, none of that was way truth. Not really. But rumors didn't care about facts– they cared about drama.
In the class, Tamara sat stiffly at her desk, eyes tired, hands folded like she didn't know what to do with them. Girls hovered around her, pretending to care but clearly hungry for details.
"You're so brave," One said.
"I'd be traumatized forever," another added.
Tamara's eyes met mine across the room – grateful, tired, overwhelmed.
That was when the second rumor hit.
"Speaking of Lex," a boy snickered from the back row. "Have you noticed Xavier."
I stiffened.
"What about him?"
"He's being watching her nonstop," the boy whispered. "Like, since last week."
"I heard he asked about her timetable."
"No way."
"Yes way. He likes her."
I glanced towards the window. Xavier sat two rows over pretending very hard not to look at me – failing miserably.
"So first she saved Tamara," another voice said amused, "and now she got a guy crushing on her?"
"Guess she's the main character now."
I wasn't smiling.
Xavier was in my maths class. A year older. Quiet, kind, attentive.
He had once helped me when I dropped my books. That was it. Then he started sitting in closer in class. Walking me half way to the court after lectures.
It wasn't uncomfortable.
But it wasn't everything either.
I didn't think much of it.
Apparently others had.
At practice Xavier passed me the ball a little longer than necessary. Our fingers brushed – accidentally, harmless.
I didn't pull away.
I didn't lean in either.
He had confessed to me once before..during my third year but I rejected him not wanting to get mingled up in a campus dating.
By lunch the rumors had already changed – Tamara's fear exaggerated, Lex action dramatized and Xavier quiet interest turned into something loud and dangerous.
I escaped to the back of the school, hoping for quiet.
I didn't get it.
"Lex," a soft voice called.
I turned.
Tamara stood there, clutching her tray like it was an anchor. Up close, she looked smaller – still shaken but trying to be brave.
"Can I sit," she asked.
I nodded.
We ate in silence for a moment, the noise of the cafeteria fading around us.
"I...I never really thanked you," she said quietly. "Properly."
"You don't have to," I replied. "I just did what anyone should."
Tamara shook her head. "No. Most people would have walked away." She hesitated, then looked up,eyes steady despite everything. "You didn't."
Her finger's tightened around her fork.
"I don't have many real friends," Tamara admitted. "People talk alot, buy they disappear when things get hard."
She took a breath
"Would you... maybe want to be friends with me?"
I blinked not expecting that question.
I couldn't bring myself to refuse. I gave her a small smile.
"If that's what you want." I said smiling at her.
Tamara's shoulder relaxed,like she'd being holding her breath all day. "Really?"
"Really."
For the first time since the night before Tamara smiled for real.
But as I glanced around the backyard,I caught people, watching, whispering , pointing.
The rumors weren't dying.
They were growing.
Zamiel's pov
I found out, the same way I always find out everything else.
Quietly.
A name in a report.
A note meant to be irrelevant.
Student. Male. Age Twenty. Frequently seen around Lex.
Rumors seen around Lex.
I stared at the page longer than expected.
This is good, i told myself.
Normal.
Safe.
Age- appropriate.
Everything I wasn't. That was the point of keeping distance.
And still something tightened in my chest – sharp, unfamiliar, unwelcome.
The image in my mind wasn't the boy.
It was Lex laughing – a sound I've never heard, but somehow imagined too clearly.
Jealousy wasn't rage.
It was the awareness that someone else would stand where I deliberately refused to.
I'm thinking about her more than I should.
That was the moment i understood the truth I've been avoiding.
I didn't just care about Lex's safety.
I cared about Lex.
And that realization demanded honesty – not control.
I didn't summon Lex.
I sent for her.
That alone made her uneasy.
When she stepped into my office,I was already standing by the window,back to her, hands clasped behind. The city lights reflected faintly off the glass.
"Close the door," I said.
She did.
I turned slowly, eyes sharp, jaw tightened.
"You put yourself in danger," I said.
She lifted her chin. "I helped someone."
"You interfered" I corrected. "And now your name is circulating. School rumors. Street rumors. People asking questions."
My gaze looked unto her.
"And that makes you a target."
She crossed her arm,"I'm fine."
I exhaled slowly like I was counting in my head.
"No," I said. "You're not."
"Not only one rumor but two..two baby girl," I said in a childish voice.
I didn't give her time to process the name i just called her before i spoke again.
"A boy," I continued. "Xavier. He's being asking about you. Watching you. Talking."
Her stomach dropped. "That's just gossip."
"Gossip doesn't spread unless it's fed," I said coolly. "And I don't like other people feeding on what's mine."
She stiffened. "I'm not—"
"I know," I cut in, holding up a hand. "You haven't encouraged him."
I paused,jaw tightened.
"That doesn't change the fact that he feels entitled to notice you."
Silence pressed down between us.
Zamiel stood closer, his expression controlled – but his eyes betrayed him.
There was irritation there.
Possessiveness. Something dangerously close to jealousy.
"I don't lose focus over rumors," I said. "I eliminate them."
Lex swallowed. "Then why am i here."
For the first time, I hesitated.
Just a fraction.
"Because this one bothered me," I admitted.
I stepped very close to her, enough that I could feel her heart skip a beat.
"I've kept distance because I thought wanting you was selfish," I said." Because my world is heavy, and yours shouldn't have to carry it."
She swallowed.
"But pretending I didn't feel this," I continue,"is the only lie I won't make."
"This is me failing at indifference," I said flatly.
Her heart skipped a beat.
"I don't like competition," I continued. "And I don't like pretending you're not important."
I exhaled slowly.
"You are."
The words landed heavily.
"I should have handled this earlier," I said. "Before people started imagining they had a chance with you."
Lex voice came out quieter. "Zamiel..."
" I want to be with you," I said. "Publicly. Clearly." A pause. "I want to be your boyfriend."
Lex searched for his face – the tension in his jaw, the effort it took for him to look even slightly warm ,power stripped bare , control replaced with vulnerability.
"You're doing this because you're jealous," she said gently.
"Yes," I replied without shame.
"And because you care."
Another pause.
"Yes."
"You're terrible at this," she said softly.
"I know."
"But you mean it."
"Yes."
"I won't beg for you to treat me right...and I won't disappear into your world," she asked.
"I wouldn't let you," I replied."I'll treat you exactly how you want and deserve to be treated."
"And I won't shrink myself to fit you."
My lips curved faintly. " That's exactly why I'm asking."
Then a smile appeared on my lips.
"Then yes," she said. "You can be my boyfriend, I'll date you."
Something dark and sharp loosen in my eyes. Relief, quick and contained.
We didn't touch.
We didn't need to.
Because the line has being crossed. Not reckless, but honestly.
"There's more," I said.
Lex sighed. "I knew it."
"You'll move into my place," I said. "Immediately."
Her eyes widened. "That's — fast."
"It's necessary,"I replied. The rumor about that boy isn't harmless. Attention invites risk, I won't have you exposed."
"That sounds like control."
"That sounds like protection," I countered. "You intervened in something dangerous once. You don't get a second chance."
Lex studied him. "You're scared."
"I'm cautious."
"You're scared," she repeated.
I didn't deny it anymore.
After a moment, she nodded. "Okay. I'll stay with you."
My shoulder eased.
"Anyone who approaches you now," I said quietly, "does so knowing exactly where you stand."
"With you," she said with a smile on her face.
"Yes," I said as I stroke her hair. "With me."
And for the first time,the rumors that started it all didn't feel like a threat —
It felt like a line that has finally been crossed.