Sydney

My heart sank the moment I caught his eyes, my breath catching halfway, like I might choke.

“Hi, fatty.” He said, with that familiar grin on his face.

And it shouldn’t have affected me. But it did.

Because this wasn’t Dean across the hallway with his teammates, laughing loudly from a distance at something Tyler had said.

This wasn’t the lab, with goggles and lab coats, and something to hide behind.

This was Dean right beside me—close enough that I could smell the gum in his breath. That if I shifted even a little, my arm resting against the counter would brush his.

My finger tightened around my cup...