Eyes on Her

The second day at Crestmore started with a bagel, cold coffee, and a deep sense of being watched.

Not in a creepy way. Just... noticed.

Bela sat at the far corner of the cafeteria, headphones in, sketching the trees outside. She liked to observe more than participate. But the problem with observation was that you couldn’t always control who observed you back.

From the football table, Kevin Blake was watching her with a lopsided grin.

From the library corner, Jackson was reading but sneaking glances over the top of his book.

From the courtyard just outside, Han Jin leaned against a wall, scrolling through his phone but pausing every time her laugh broke the quiet.

And somewhere in the art building? The mysterious “A” was leaving another note.

---

After class, Bela ran into Kevin—literally.

Her sketchpad flew again. “Oh my God, I should just duct-tape this thing to me.”

Kevin crouched down, laughing as he helped pick up her pages. “We’ve got to stop meeting like this. You’ll think I’m stalking you.”

She looked up, and he winked again.

“Thanks,” she said, suddenly aware of how close they were. “Kevin, right?”

“Yup. And you’re Bela. New girl. Artist. Terrible with sketchpad security.”

She laughed.

They ended up walking toward the courtyard together. He told her about football, how the team had expectations, how sometimes he just wanted to be seen as more than a jersey number.

“I know what that’s like,” Bela said. “Being seen, but not really seen.”

They shared a look. A quiet understanding.

---

Later that evening, Bela found Jackson waiting by the art building steps with two cups of hot cocoa.

“I figured you’d be here,” he said simply.

She sat beside him on the steps. “How’d you know?”

He shrugged. “You’re a quiet kind of person. When the world gets loud, quiet people go to their safe places.”

She looked at him differently then—he wasn’t just reserved. He listened.

“Thanks, Jackson.”

He didn’t say anything. He just handed her the cocoa and looked out into the night with her.

---

The next day, Bela spotted Han Jin again—arguing with someone near the fountain.

His words were sharp. His tone louder than necessary.

She didn’t want to get involved—but when the guy shoved Han Jin, Bela instinctively stepped between them.

“Hey!” she snapped. “Take your toxic masculinity somewhere else.”

Han Jin blinked at her.

So did the guy.

After an awkward silence, the other boy left.

Han Jin looked at her with something unreadable. “You’re not scared of anything, are you?”

“I’m scared of plenty,” Bela replied. “But bullies? Not on the list.”

For a moment, his smirk faded, and something real flickered in his eyes.

---

That night, back in the art studio, she found a fresh note beneath her stool:

> “You were brave today.

Sometimes bravery is quiet.

Sometimes it throws a punch.

You were both.”

She smiled, folding the note gently and placing it in the back pocket of her journal.

---

Journal Entry: Day Two

> Kevin makes me laugh. Jackson makes me feel understood.

Han Jin… confuses me.

And A makes me feel seen.

What is happening to me?

Bela lay in bed, staring at the ceiling again. Only this time, her chest fluttered—not from nerves…

But from something that felt a little like falling.

---

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