We stay out there until our joints are just nubs. I flick mine into the overgrown grass. Checking my watch, I realize second period is about to end. “We should head back in.” I hop off the table, stretching my arms above my head, feeling the tension in my back ease as my shirt rides up a little. I hear a faint, familiar clicking sound, but I don’t bother looking—probably Jaylin. Too relaxed to care. Too relaxed to think.

  “Yeah, you’re totes right.” Jaylin gets off the table as well, the whites of her eyes tinged pink.

  “Aw, dude…I have World History next.” Ramish groans, his eyes having the same pink tinge. Mine probably look the same. “It’s such a bogus class. The teacher is like mad wack.” He places a hand on Jaylin’s hip, pulling her close as he stands behind her. “Can I skip and go to your class? Please, Eshgham.” He pouts like a pathetic kid and Jaylin doesn’t even glance his way.

  “No, you know that I have AP Chem next. You hate chemistry and Mr. Howard hates you.” She states matter-of-factly. I stifle a laugh as I pull open the door, allowing the couple to go ahead of me. The sound of chattering students fills my ears. A twinge of irritation tries to worm its way into my mind. It fails, though. I’m just too high to feel anything negative.

  “Jay, we’re still meeting up to go to the dance studio like usual. Yeah?” I cling onto her cardigan, making sure she can’t disappear in the crowd.

  “Yup,” she glances back at me and nods with a smile. “Is it alright if Ramish joins? His mom can’t pick him up today and I don’t want him walking by himself,” she turns away to pay attention to where she’s going.

  “Yeah, of course. He’s always welcome,” I assure her. Ramish knew Jaylin and I were a package deal. He was respectful about it, so the least I could do was allow him into our package.

  For some strange reason though, I can feel someone staring at me. I try to brush it off as curious freshmen who’ve heard about the reputation my friends and I have, but I get the urge to look around. And I immediately regret it. My eyes meet green ones and my skin crawls.

  “Ew…What a total weirdo.” Jaylin scoffs, looking at the same person I was looking at. “Is he like obsessed with you or something?” she glances back at me, her brows furrowing. “Leon…Are you okay?” she asks, her tone almost motherly.

  I see Vad smile, and a shudder runs down my spine. It feels like he has too many teeth. “Yeah, I’m fine.” I murmur as I force myself to look away and tug on Jaylin’s cardigan a little. “Let’s…just go.” I tug again. She doesn’t question it. She just walks faster. I shouldn’t look again. I do anyway and he’s still staring. He’s still smiling.

  Jaylin and Ramish drop me off at my class. They both wave me bye before disappearing in the sea of students. I go sit in the back like usual, barely paying attention to the lesson. I hate the way my mind keeps wandering to

  The rest of the day melts together. I don’t know how many times I check the clock or shove my work onto loser douchebags. I’m doing anything to not think of those piercing green eyes. Those unsettling, too-long limbs.

  By the time the final bell rings, the high already wore off during lunch—but the stomach churning feeling never went away.

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  “Leon..!” Jaylin’s voice snaps me out of my daze. We were already standing outside of the dance studio. “Are you sure nothing happened today?” her brows are furrowed and she’s frowning.

  “Yeah, dude. You can talk to us whenever.” Ramish adds for good measure.

  “Guys, I’m fine. I promise…” I sigh and run a hand through my hair, pushing it back out of my face. “I’m fine.” I say more to myself, yanking on the door handle to go inside.

  This is the place that makes me feel safe. I can release all of my pent up emotions with my body in a healthy way. This is the place that is supposed to make me feel safe. My escape.

  “Hey, babe.” I know the owner of that voice. I know it intimately.

  I struggle to get out a simple, “Hi, Bruce.” It feels like there’s a massive lump in my throat. I can only assume what lie he told the other dancers. My body moves on its own as if it was trained—in a way, it was. I stand in front of him, purple eyes locked on amber ones. My hands fidget with the hem of my shirt and I try not to flinch too hard when his hand cups my cheek.

  “I was bored in the house all by myself. So, I decided to come watch you dance, birdie.” His thumb brushes over my bottom lip as he leans in close to whisper in my ear. “Don’t make a scene and thank me.”

  I glance around to see if anyone heard, but they’re oblivious except Jaylin and Ramish. They know what Bruce does behind closed doors and what’ll happen to me if they intervene. “Th-Thank you for coming to see me dance.” I murmur and give him a quick peck on the lips. His dark expression shifts into satisfaction and he kisses my forehead before letting me go.

  What he doesn’t say out loud is that he’s allowing me to dance. That he can drag me home whenever he wants. That I don’t get to choose.

  I go to the locker rooms to take off my baggy jeans. A pair of black leggings are underneath. I use one hair tie for a low ponytail and the other to knot the back of my shirt. I grab my ballet slippers and leave the locker room, enjoying the feel of the sprung floor on my bare feet.

  Jaylin is already stretching, wearing sneakers instead of ballet slippers, paired with a black tank top and sweatpants. Ramish is sitting in a corner watching his girlfriend with a lopsided smile. I don’t dare look at Bruce, but he has no qualms about looking at me.

  After stretching and sliding my shoes on, Jaylin and I practice our choreo for our duet. She does hip hop and I do ballet, two very different dance types that somehow look good together. . I smile at the thought while doing a pique turn.

  My movements are fluid like usual until I catch a glimpse of Bruce in the wall mirror. I fumble one of my turns and nearly crash into Jaylin. “Shit…Sorry, I just…Sorry.” I shake my head, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

  “It’s okay, babes.” She rubs my back, a small smile on her lips that doesn’t reach her concern-filled eyes. “How about we take a break. When we go over the steps again, it’ll be with the music. Alright?” She doesn’t wait for an answer, going to sit with Ramish. I want to believe I have the choice to join them, but Bruce’s gaze bores a hole in the back of my head. I sit next to him, pulling my knees close to my chest.

  “You seem off, birdie.” He grabs my chin, gently forcing me to look at him. This manipulative bastard knows he’s the reason why I messed up. I fight the urge to pull away from his touch.

  “I didn’t have a good day at school…” I mutter, not meeting his gaze.

  “Why do you still go there? I told you it’d be better if you dropped out. I told you I can take care of both of us.” His grip tightens for a split second only to relax. “I just want to take care of you.” His thumb brushes my cheek like I’m fragile. Like he hasn’t tried breaking me before. “It hurts me every time you look so drained because of school.” His lips press into a fine line and a small sigh leaves him. The corners of my lips curve up a little as I lean into his touch.

  “You know why. My mom never had the high school experience and she always told me that she wanted me to have that experience for her.” I explain, placing a hand on his arm. He feels warm. Safe—like he always does.

  “By the way…I’m really sorry for yesterday.” His free hand brushes against one of the bruises on my arm. A shiver runs down my spine. It’s a ticklish feeling.

  “I know. You did it because you care…because you love me.” I repeat the words that were engraved into my brain for four years.