Janice.

Roxie knew her before her brain could pretend otherwise.

She was hard to miss. Tall, polished, pretty in that neat way some girls managed without ever looking like they had tried too hard. Her dark hair fell in smooth waves over one shoulder, and her green dress caught the light every time she shifted closer to Zac.

Too close.

Her hand hovered near his sleeve as she said something, and Zac looked down at her for half a second.

Half a second should have been nothing.

Roxie felt it anyway.

Angela stopped beside her. "What?"

Karen followed Roxie’s stare and muttered under her breath, "Of course."

Roxie looked away before either of them could read her face.

The music was too loud, the lights too bright, and the emerald dress suddenly felt tight around her ribs. She adjusted the strap on her shoulder and forced herself to look at the DJ table, the balloon columns, the snack table, anywhere except Zac and the girl standing beside him like she had a reason to be there.

Angela leaned close. "Is that Janice?"

Roxie kept her voice even. "Looks like it."

Karen’s mouth twisted. "Zac Prescott comes with a rotation."

Angela shot her a warning look. "Karen."

"What? I’m watching the evidence walk around in heels."

Roxie pressed her clutch against her stomach. "Can we go somewhere else?"

Karen looked at her face, then softened just enough to make Roxie hate that she had been obvious. "Yeah."

Angela linked her arm through Roxie’s again. "Punch. Pictures. Dancing. Public confidence. We are giving the room a full performance tonight."

Karen moved to Roxie’s other side. "And if Prescott wants attention, he can stand in line."

Roxie almost smiled.

They turned away from the court area right as Zac looked over again.

Roxie felt it before she saw it. His stare landed on her back like a hand between her shoulders, and every part of her wanted to turn around. She could picture his face too clearly. The pause from earlier, the way he had looked at the dress, the way his mouth had opened slightly before Janice laughed beside him.

She kept walking.

Angela dragged them toward the snack table, where Mr. Danvers handed out punch like every cup required moral judgment. Karen took one, sniffed it, then looked at him.

"It’s punch," Mr. Danvers said.

Karen lifted a brow. "That’s what people say before disaster."

Angela laughed, and Roxie took a cup just to have something in her hands.

The punch was too sweet. It helped anyway.

Across the room, Zac had shifted away from Janice, but she stayed near him. Mason stood beside them now, grinning at something one of the seniors said. Dylan was there too, in a dark shirt and jacket, his hair pushed back, his attention on Zac while Zac’s attention kept cutting across the gym.

To Roxie.

Then away.

Then back again.

Her stomach tightened harder each time.

He had asked her for a dance under the bleachers. He had asked her while his hand was still warm around hers, while the game was still roaring above them, while he looked at her like she mattered more than the whole stadium.

He had asked for a dance.

He had never asked her to come with him.

Roxie sipped the punch and almost laughed at herself.

She might have said no. She probably would have said no. Arriving with Zac would have turned the whole dance into a public announcement, and she was smart enough to understand that.

But he should have asked.

The thought came sharp and ugly.

He should have asked, even if she refused.

And now Janice was beside him in a green dress like a bad joke from the universe.

Fuck him.

Angela touched Roxie’s arm. "Your face just changed."

Roxie lowered the cup. "My face is fine."

Karen looked across the room and followed the line of her gaze. "His face is less fine."

Roxie hated herself for looking.

Zac was watching her again.

This time, he was barely pretending otherwise. Janice stood near his side, Mason was talking with his hands, and Dylan leaned in like he had said something meant only for Zac, but Zac’s eyes were locked across the room. His jaw was tight. The easy smile he wore around everyone had disappeared.

Whatever.

Let him be annoyed.

Let him stand there beside Janice and wonder why Roxie looked away.

A sharp tap came through the microphone, followed by a squeal that made half the room groan.

Mrs. Gonzalez stood on the small platform near the court table, wearing a navy dress and the determined smile of a teacher who had already warned three students about dancing too close.

"Good evening, Briarwick," she said into the mic.

The room settled slowly. Students kept whispering. Someone near the back laughed too loudly, and Coach Hayes turned his head so fast the laughter died.

Mrs. Gonzalez smiled wider. "First of all, congratulations to our Ravens for last night’s homecoming win."

The gym erupted.

Students cheered, clapped, whistled, and stomped until the floor seemed to shake. Near the court table, the football players lifted their hands, soaking it in. Mason bowed like an idiot. Zac gave a small smile, but his eyes still moved toward Roxie before he looked back at the platform.

Roxie clapped with everyone else.

She refused to give him more than that.

Mrs. Gonzalez waited for the noise to fade. "We are proud of our undefeated team, proud of our cheerleaders, proud of our student council, and proud of everyone who helped prepare tonight’s event. Please remember that teachers are around the gym, the hallway is closed unless you are going to the restroom, and our coaches have personally promised me he can spot bad decisions from thirty feet away."

People laughed.

Coach Hayes lifted his cup in dry agreement.

Mrs. Gonzalez looked over the room. "The homecoming court announcement will happen later tonight. Until then, enjoy yourselves, take pictures, hydrate, and keep the dancing school appropriate."

A few students booed.

Mrs. Gonzalez’s smile sharpened. "I said what I said."

The DJ took the signal and changed the music.

The lights shifted.

The dance floor opened.

Angela grabbed Roxie’s hand immediately. "We are dancing."

Roxie looked toward Zac by mistake.

He had already stood straighter.

The second the music started, he stepped away from Mason, like he had been waiting for that exact moment. His eyes found Roxie, and he started to move.

Roxie’s pulse jumped.

Then Janice said something to him. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Zac looked at her, only for a moment, but Roxie saw it.

Her chest burned.

She turned to Angela. "Let’s go."

Angela blinked, then smiled like she understood enough to obey. "Yes, ma’am."

Karen came with them, because Karen would rather set herself on fire than leave Roxie alone while Zac Prescott looked guilty across the gym.

The first song was fast enough to make thinking harder. Angela danced like she had waited all week for a room to watch her. Karen barely danced at first, mostly swaying with her arms loose and her face unimpressed, but then Angela grabbed both her hands and forced her into it until Karen laughed against her will.

Roxie moved with them.

The dress shifted around her legs. The slit opened and closed with each step. Her earrings brushed her neck. People looked. A few girls shouted compliments over the music. Angela spun her once, and Roxie laughed because for a moment the jealousy broke apart under the lights.

Then she saw Zac at the edge of the floor.

He had stopped walking.

His eyes were on her.

Mason stood beside him, saying something with a grin that looked like trouble. Dylan was on his other side, closer, his head angled toward Zac as if he had been talking for a while. Zac gave Dylan half a reply, but his gaze stayed on Roxie.

Roxie lifted her chin and turned away first.

The next time Zac tried, she saw it from the corner of her eye.

He left the football group and moved toward her just as the song changed. Roxie recognized the opening beat and grabbed Karen by the wrist.

"I love this song," she said.

Karen glanced toward Zac and understood instantly. "You hate this song."

"I changed."

Angela threw one arm up. "Growth."

They danced again.

Zac stopped near the outer edge of the floor.

Roxie felt him there like pressure, even with her back turned. She danced harder because she knew he was watching. She laughed when Angela said something ridiculous because she knew he could see her mouth. She let Karen spin her under one raised arm because she knew the dress looked good when it moved.

Petty suited her.

The problem was that Zac knew her too well already.

After the second song, Roxie stepped off the floor to breathe, and Noah appeared near the tables with two cups of water in his hands.

"Roxie," he said, smiling. "You look insane."

She took the water from him. "Thank you. I think."

"I mean good insane."

"That sounds worse."

"I’m trying."

Noah had been around enough school events to feel familiar without being complicated. He was on student council, always near sign up sheets and boxes of decorations, always friendly in a way that never made Roxie feel cornered. Tonight, he wore a dark blue suit and looked slightly startled by his own tie.

Angela looked between them, then toward Zac, then back to Roxie.

Her smile turned dangerous.

"Noah," Angela said sweetly, "dance with Roxie."

Noah blinked. "What?"

Roxie almost choked on her water. "Angela."

Karen looked toward Zac and then at Noah. "Actually, yes."

Noah looked confused but willing. "Sure, if Roxie wants."

Roxie should have said no.

She saw Zac at the far side of the room, standing near Mason and Dylan again. Mason’s grin had faded into interest. Dylan was still talking to Zac, leaning close enough that Zac had to tilt his head to hear him over the music. But Zac’s eyes were on Noah now.

On the cup in Roxie’s hand.

On Noah standing beside her.

On Angela looking far too pleased.

Roxie handed her cup to Karen. "One dance."

Noah smiled. "One dance."

Angela made a tiny triumphant sound.

Karen muttered, "Make it visible."

Roxie shot her a look, but she walked with Noah anyway.

The song was slower than the first ones, though still safe enough for a school dance. Noah kept a respectful distance, one hand light at her waist, the other holding hers like he had taken ballroom lessons from a very nervous adult.

Roxie almost laughed. "You are concentrating so hard."

"I’m trying to avoid stepping on a Jovani dress."

Her stomach tightened, but she kept her smile. "I appreciate that."

"You look like homecoming court propaganda."

"That better be a compliment."

"It is. Student council approved."

Roxie laughed, and this time it came easier.

Noah was safe. That was the thing. He had no Bianca attached to him, no Janice standing close, no whole school acting like touching him meant entering a war. Dancing with him felt simple, and maybe that was why she stayed for the whole song even after she felt Zac watching.

Especially after she felt Zac watching.

When Noah turned her carefully, Roxie let herself glance over his shoulder.

Zac looked furious.

He stood near the platform with one hand in his pocket and the other around a cup he had almost crushed. His jaw was set. Mason was beside him, saying something in his ear with the wide eyed delight of someone watching a fight develop without needing to be punched yet.

Dylan stood on Zac’s other side.

He was talking again, but his eyes flicked toward Roxie too. There was something unreadable in his face, something quieter than Mason’s amusement. He said something to Zac, and Zac answered without looking at him.

His stare stayed on Roxie and Noah.