The weekend passed by quickly, and soon, Monday had rolled in again.
Dashley sat in class between Axel and, surprisingly, Kellan—each of them flanking her at opposite ends as they listened to the lecture. Toward the end, the teacher announced an upcoming group presentation that would count as part of their assessment.
The class was small, so they were paired in twos. As cliché as it sounded, Dashley was grouped with Axel—which she was actually grateful for. It would have been worse being paired with someone she barely knew. Kellan, however, was paired with Lily—Molly's ever-present shadow—and from the look on his face, he didn't seem too thrilled about it.
"Sooo... when do we meet,Dash?" Axel asked the moment the teacher walked out.
"The library would be good. It's where we both meet regularly anyway," Dashley replied, packing up her books. Unbeknownst to them, Kellan had perked up at the word 'regularly'.
"Should we start today?"
"Yeah. Considering the presentation's next month, starting early is better. I'm also free today."
"Great. After school, then?" he confirmed.
"After school," she nodded.
Dashley's routine with Celine resumed—one class before lunch and three more after. By day's end, Celine offered her a ride home, and for once, Dashley accepted.
On the way, Celine mentioned her parents were hosting a party that weekend to celebrate a major business deal. With much persuasion, and even more pleading, she finally got Dashley to agree to come. Before dropping her off, they planned to go shopping for dresses the next day after school.
Back home, Dashley quickly showered, changed, grabbed a bowl of cereal, and headed out for the library. As fate would have it, Axel was just arriving too.
"Care for a burger?" Axel asked, sliding one over along with a drink as they settled in.
"Thanks, but I had something before coming," she said politely, laying out the books she'd brought along.
"Bad for you, more for me," he shrugged, taking a bite of his snack.
They waited until he was done eating before diving into their topic. Both were sharp and collaborative, making it easy to brainstorm and build on ideas.
About an hour in, Dashley noticed someone walk into the library—three people, to be exact. Kellan, Lily... and Molly.
Her brow twitched in confusion.
"Do you know why they're here?" she asked Axel, her eyes fixed on the trio.
Axel glanced in their direction. "Dunno. Maybe they're here to study like us."
"Hmm. But who's the other girl? I thought he was paired with just Lily."
"That's Molly," he said simply. Dashley caught the tone and left it at that—though her eyes occasionally drifted toward their table.
Kellan had, of course, overheard when Dashley and Axel planned to meet at the library, so when Lily approached him to discuss their project, he casually told her to meet him there.
What he hadn't expected was Molly tagging along. Then again, it didn't surprise him—Lily was practically her lapdog.
He couldn't explain the discomfort he felt seeing Axel and Dashley together. Even if he knew Axel likely didn't see her that way… the sight of their easy laughter, how natural they seemed—too natural—bothered him.
She was so open with Axel. So comfortable. He wanted that too.
Whatever this strange pull toward her was—curiosity, admiration, something deeper—he intended to act on it.
Molly, meanwhile, had taken full note of Kellan's stolen glances.
That was why she'd come.
Lily had told her all about this new girl—the one who'd somehow caught Axel's attention and was now worming her way toward Kellan. To Molly, that was unacceptable.
Kellan might not be hers yet, but no one—no one—was going to take him away.
She turned on her usual act, inching closer to Kellan, her voice honeyed, her smile too sweet, especially when she noticed Dashley watching.
Dashley narrowed her eyes.
Molly's act was as clingy as ever, and it rubbed her the wrong way. But then she noticed Kellan wasn't exactly protesting it, and something in her chest twinged. She pushed it down.
Outside, the sky was already dimming when they wrapped up their study session. Dashley pulled out her phone and quickly texted her dad to grab some takeout on his way home.
"You're a good study partner," Axel said as she put her phone away.
"I know," she replied smugly, making him chuckle.
"You wanna grab dinner? It's getting late."
"Would've loved to," she said, slinging her bag over her shoulder, "but I'm having dinner with my dad. That's who I just texted."
"Next time, then."
"Sure."
She stood and turned to leave just as Axel called out, "Wait, I'll walk—"
But he stopped mid-sentence. Kellan was walking toward them.
Dashley paused, her eyes narrowing slightly as she noticed him stepping into her path. She tilted her head in question.
Axel joined her side, expression unreadable.
"Hey Kellan, didn't expect to see you here," Axel greeted.
"Yeah, me too," Kellan lied with zero effort. "Came to study with Lily," he said, his gaze locked on Dashley.
"I see... then what's Molly doing here?"
"You know how she is..." He shifted his attention. "You're not even going to say hello to me?" he asked Dashley.
"You blocked my path, so technically, you should greet me first," she replied coolly.
"My bad, then," he smirked. "Hello, Dashley. Fancy seeing you here."
"Yeah, hello to you too," she said with a dry tone, then turned to Axel. "I'm heading home. See you at school tomorrow. You too, Kellan."
"I was saying I'd give you a ride," Axel added.
"No, tha—"
"And you can't decline. It's late, Dash," he said more firmly this time.
She hesitated, clearly weighing her options. Then finally, she sighed and nodded.
"Fine."
She gave a short wave to Kellan before walking off with Axel. Kellan remained where he stood, watching her disappear into the night with his friend—an unfamiliar ache settling in his chest. Strangely enough... it felt good.
Molly, who had watched everything unfold, clenched her fists.
Kellan had left their table the moment Dashley got up. He didn't even give them a reason.
That girl was going to be a problem.
And problems?
Were meant to be erased