Elena Martinez’s hands shake as she clutches the fake hall pass. Her sister Sofia’s threat echoes in her mind: “Sign me in for first period or I’ll tell Mom about your secret college applications.” The senior hallway feels foreign and intimidating.

She slips into Mrs. Peterson’s Advanced Literature class, scanning for an empty seat. Her thick glasses fog up from nervousness. Most seats are filled - except one. Right next to Ryan Blackwood.

Ryan sits alone, black leather jacket stretched across broad shoulders. Tattoos peek from under his sleeves. His dark eyes scan the room like a predator. Everyone gives him a wide berth.

Elena doesn’t think. She just needs to sit down before Mrs. Peterson notices her. She slides into the chair beside him.

Silence. Complete, suffocating silence.

Every head turns. Conversations stop mid-sentence. Even Mrs. Peterson pauses, chalk halfway to the blackboard.

Elena’s heart pounds against her ribs. She realizes her mistake too late. She’s broken the unspoken rule - nobody sits next to Ryan Blackwood. Ever.

She starts to stand, desperate to escape the stares, but Ryan’s hand shoots out. His fingers wrap around her wrist. Not painful, but firm. Final.

“Why is everyone staring?” she whispers, barely breathing.

Ryan studies her face for a long moment. His eyes are darker up close, almost black. There’s something unreadable in them - surprise maybe, or curiosity.

“It’s the first time,” he says quietly, his voice low and rough, “someone’s dared sit next to me.”

Elena tries to pull away, but his grip tightens slightly. “I didn’t know—”

“You’re not Sofia Martinez,” he says suddenly.

Panic floods through her. “I—what?”

“Sofia’s taller. Blonde highlights. Designer clothes.” His eyes narrow. “You’re the little sister.”

Elena’s mouth goes dry. She nods once.

“Interesting.” Ryan releases her wrist but doesn’t move away. If anything, he leans slightly closer. “What’s your name?”

“Elena,” she whispers.

“Elena.” He says it like he’s testing how it sounds. “Why are you in senior lit?”

Before she can answer, Mrs. Peterson clears her throat loudly. “Now that we’ve all recovered from the shock,” she says dryly, “perhaps we can discuss Wuthering Heights.”

Elena sinks lower in her seat, wishing she could disappear. But Ryan doesn’t seem affected by the attention. He opens his book with deliberate calm, like sitting with someone is the most normal thing in the world.

“Page 47,” Mrs. Peterson announces.

Elena fumbles for a book she doesn’t have. Ryan slides his copy between them without a word. Their fingers brush as she grabs the edge. His skin is warm, calloused.

“Can anyone tell me about Heathcliff’s character development?” Mrs. Peterson asks.

Ryan’s hand shoots up. Elena stares in shock. The dangerous bad boy wants to discuss literature?

“Heathcliff’s violence stems from abandonment,” Ryan says when called on. “He’s not evil by nature. Circumstances made him that way.”

Several students exchange glances. Elena finds herself listening intently to his analysis.

“Interesting perspective, Mr. Blackwood,” Mrs. Peterson says with genuine surprise. “Continue.”

“People see him as a monster, but he’s protecting himself the only way he knows how. When someone shows him kindness—like when Catherine accepts him as children—he’s capable of deep love.”

Elena realizes she’s staring at Ryan with new eyes. His voice is intelligent, thoughtful. Nothing like the dangerous reputation suggests.

The discussion continues, but Elena barely hears it. She’s hyperaware of Ryan beside her - the way he takes careful notes, how he underlines passages, the concentration on his face.

When the bell rings, chaos erupts. Students rush out, but several linger, whispering and pointing. Elena starts to gather her things, but Ryan’s voice stops her.

“Elena.”

She looks at him, expecting mockery or dismissal. Instead, his expression is serious.

“Why are you really here?”

The truth hovers on her lips - that Sofia threatened her, that she’s tired of being controlled, that she feels invisible in her own life. But she can’t say any of that.

“I have to go,” she whispers instead.

Ryan nods slowly. “See you tomorrow?”

It’s phrased like a question, but somehow Elena knows it’s not really optional. She’s crossed a line today. There’s no going back.

“I don’t know,” she says honestly.

Something flickers in Ryan’s eyes. “You will,” he says with quiet certainty.

Elena hurries out, feeling his gaze on her back. In the hallway, students part around her like she’s contagious. Whispers follow in her wake.

“Did you see that?”

“She actually sat with him?”

“Is she insane?”

“Ryan Blackwood doesn’t let anyone near him.”

“That girl’s either very brave or very stupid.”

Elena’s phone buzzes. A text from Sofia: “Did you sign me in? You better not have screwed this up.”

Elena stares at the message, then at the sign-in sheet she never touched. Mrs. Peterson marked Sofia absent. Sofia will be furious.

But for the first time in years, Elena doesn’t immediately worry about Sofia’s anger. Instead, she thinks about Ryan’s words: “You will.”

She thinks about the way he said her name, like it mattered. The way he shared his book without being asked. The way he defended a fictional character others saw as a villain.

Her phone buzzes again. Sofia: “Answer me!”

Elena turns off her phone.

She walks to her locker, aware that everyone’s still watching. Ashley Chen, her only real friend, appears at her side.

“Elena, what were you thinking?” Ashley whispers urgently. “Do you know what people are saying?”

“What are they saying?”

“That you sat next to Ryan Blackwood. That he talked to you. That he seemed… different.”

Elena opens her locker, hiding her face. “Maybe he is different.”

“Elena, he’s dangerous. Last year he put three guys in the hospital.”

“For what?”

Ashley pauses. “I… I don’t know exactly. But everyone knows he’s violent.”

Elena remembers Ryan’s thoughtful analysis of Heathcliff. The careful way he took notes. How he’d called the character misunderstood rather than evil.

“Maybe everyone’s wrong,” she says quietly.

Ashley grabs her arm. “Promise me you won’t go back to that class.”

Elena looks at her friend’s worried face. Then she thinks about Sofia’s threats, about always doing what others expect, about being invisible.

“I can’t promise that,” she says.

Ashley’s eyes widen in shock. Elena has never refused a request from a friend before. She’s never refused anything from anyone.

But as Elena walks away, she realizes something has changed. In one forty-minute class period, sitting next to the most feared student in school, something inside her has shifted.

Her phone buzzes with another angry text from Sofia.

Elena deletes it without reading.

For the first time in her life, she’s more curious about tomorrow than afraid of today’s consequences.

But she has no idea that Ryan Blackwood’s interest in her has just painted a target on her back - and that some people will do anything to keep them apart.