𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐤

19⇢rumors

JAMIE

It's the Thursday after Noah's arrest and bail, and I'm still sitting on pins and needles just thinking about it and my job application.

I can't stop thinking about how Voltar threatened Noah's life and then—probably—threatened Ty into not accepting me for the job.

How did Voltar even know I was applying for a job?

As I make my way through the hallways, I feel my Spider-tingle turn on. I quickly glance to my left and right only for my ears to perk up at the sound of small whispers from other students.

My eyebrows instantly raise when I hear one particularly loud comment from a student. "It would make sense. She's the only one who could be Voltar."

I know they didn't say my name, but the impending stares on my back and small whispers of my name give me my answer.

They think I'm Voltar? That's a bit of a stretch if you ask me. They don't know anything about me.

I quickly duck into my classroom, catching almost every eye in the room, and I freeze, racing over to my seat before I notice Isabel isn't here.

I divert my eyes away from the stares and whispers, fiddling with my fingers before placing my backpack on the floor, not removing my eyes from the desk in front of me.

Suddenly, someone jumps into the seat next to me, making me yelp in surprise, but I relax when I see it's only Mia. She doesn't say anything but stares into the side of my head.

My breathing gets heavy, and I squirm in my chair when she decides to speak. "What is up with you?"

"Me?" I quickly turn to glare at her. "What's up with everyone else?"

"Everyone thinks you're Voltar! What did you do?"

"I haven't done anything!"

My eyebrows knit together when she sighs in exasperation. "I heard that it's because of your battle scars and how you disappear after class."

"That's not proof though. I'm not Voltar," I state, making her chuckle lightly.

"Of course, you're not. You're too kind to be someone like Voltar," she says, making a small blush rise to my cheeks.

I brush off her comment, my eyebrows suddenly furrowing together. "Where's Isabel?"

"I don't know. She texted me this morning and told me she wouldn't be in class. The only thing she said was that she had an eventful evening with her family and that she had to prepare for it," she tells me, and I shrug.

"Well, I hope she has a good time."

♔♚

Shutting the door to my apartment, I toe off my shoes and hang up my backpack with a deep sigh.

The rumors continued all throughout class, and I was dying to get out of there. Mia had to return to her seat, and I uncomfortably sat by myself the whole three hours.

Sam texted me earlier and told me he would come home past midnight as he was hanging with Theo and Noah before doing—whatever he does late at night.

I don't even think about changing into pajamas as I jump on the couch, quickly looking through our movie collection and settling on resuming my place in A New Hope.

I quickly hit play before rushing into the kitchen, grabbing a spoon and a pint of strawberry ice cream from the fridge and running back over to the couch, burying myself under the soft blankets.