Natalie rested her forehead on the edge of the desk, allowing herself a few seconds to close her eyes and relax. It was a long day of classes and vice-captain meetings. She was sure her brain melted hours ago.

The girls in front of her giggled over something. Chatter seemed to surround her. She wasn't the only one feeling restless. It was a Friday afternoon. Nobody seemed to have the attention span for chemistry at this point.

Really, she just wanted to turn her brain off. Maybe read the next chapter of her Ophelia novel. She had left off at the scene where Ophelia has to spend the night in a hotel with her partner, except there's only one bed. Even the thought made her blush. It was her favourite scene.

Except she couldn't. She had a chemistry class to get back to, then she needed to go to Sierra Grammar after school and finish up her homework.

When she sat up again, she noticed the girl next to her was looking at her strangely. The girl looked away quickly, going back to chat with her friend about weekend plans, and Natalie sighed.

Usually, she was at terms with not having friends in most of her classes. Sometimes, though, she wished she could just gossip like the rest of her class, five minutes before home time.

At least her teacher had stopped adding words to the whiteboard. She closed her notebook, deciding she could live with five minutes less of chemistry study today.

Instead, she pulled out her phone, trying to keep it partially hidden with the strategic placement of her pencil case. Not that her teacher would care anyway. He was probably the most excited in the classroom for the bell to go off.

Nyra had texted her at least ten times since class started. Natalie frowned, opening the messages to find capital letters and spammed emojis—something about more boys waiting at the front gates and how Natalie had to get there ASAP.

She frowned. Had Leon come to visit again? But they'd already agreed not to be seen together.

So then, was he here for someone else?

Her eyes flickered to Veronica in the back corner of the classroom who was openly grinning at her phone. Natalie turned away. It couldn't be. Right?

She couldn't help her curiosity. She hoisted her backpack into her lap, sweeping all of her belongings into it.

Before the teacher could even look in her direction, the school bell went off and Natalie was out the door.

Nyra was waiting for her outside the school building and immediately fell into step with Natalie.

"Did you get my messages?" she asked.

Natalie nodded, craning her neck to see ahead to where the front gates were. Unlike usual, not many girls were crowding around. Maybe they were early. "Who is it?" she asked.

Nyra shrugged. "No idea. I saw them from my studio window."

"Right," Natalie said, turning back to her friend. She glanced at Nyra's instrument case for today. "How was... ukulele practice?"

"Violin was great, thanks." She laughed, nudging Natalie's arm. "Anyway, they're not in uniform but they look young. Maybe someone's boyfriend?"

It was rare for boyfriends to come right up to the front gate. St Helena's was strict. Natalie's dad had chosen this school for a reason. Natalie was almost certain to never interact with a boy—almost. The second a teacher caught wind of a boy's appearance, they'd be kicked out on full display, to the humiliation of whatever girlfriend might be waiting around.

Leon and Lucas weren't exceptions. She was sure they'd been yelled at by every teacher at St Helena', but they were different. Nothing could taint their reputations.

The boys came into view and Natalie froze. A chill ran down her spine. Nyra was right.

They weren't in uniform, but Natalie knew them, nonetheless.

There had to be about five of them, and all but one of them looked familiar. She recognised their tattoos, their buzzcuts, their muscles bulging through their clothes—they were the same boys who had been yelling at Leon when they walked together that day.

A sharp shard of fear struck through Natalie's heart. What were they doing here? A terrible thought came to her—they weren't here for her, were they?

"Nat?" Nyra asked. She turned, realising she'd come to a complete stop. Nyra frowned at her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she said. She shook her head, like shaking the thoughts from her mind. This was just a coincidence. They were probably here for some other reason and that reason just happened to be at Natalie's school. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? Because you look a little pale. Do you know those guys?"

"No way," she said, probably a little too quickly. "Why would I know them?"

"I don't know..." Nyra trailed off, frowning at the group of boys, waiting at our school gates. "They look like they know you."

Natalie's eyes shot to the front of the school. And just as Nyra said, they were staring right at her. Natalie shivered.

"They're probably just looking at someone around us," Natalie argued.

Nyra gave her a look of disbelief. She grabbed her shoulders and pushed her over, closer towards the wall, then pulled her back again. The boys' eyes followed her—left, then right.

"You still think they're not looking at you?" Nyra asked. Natalie frowned. She felt sick at the thought that these boys remembered her—that they had come here looking for her.

Maybe she should go call a teacher. She immediately erased the thought from her mind. Call a teacher, and then what? Have the boys leave and make her look like she made it all up? Or worse, have a teacher confront them and it turns out she was wrong, they were here for someone else, and she was full of herself to think otherwise.

"Maybe," Natalie reasoned, "they're just mistaking me for someone else. I have one of those faces, you know?"

"You think they'd come all the way here on a mistake?" Nyra didn't seem convinced. Natalie shrugged.

"Maybe," she said. "I mean—I definitely don't know them. How would I know them? This is an all-girls school. And, besides, do they look like the sort of friends I would have? My dad would probably kill me. I'm barely allowed to hang out with you."

Nyra's frown deepened. "Very convincing argument, Natalie."

Natalie wasn't stupid. She knew sarcasm when she heard it.

"Well, it's the truth," Natalie said determinedly. She wasn't completely lying. Did she know them? No. Had she seen them before? Yes. Was the day she saw them coincidentally the day that they were yelling at Leon, who she was seen walking with? Also yes. That didn't mean they were here for her!

"Let's go," Natalie said, now utterly convinced that this was all a weird coincidence and that the group of boys were probably not even looking at her specifically. She took a few steps forward and felt sick when she realised their eyes were following her every move.

"I don't know about this, Nat," Nyra said, still watching the boys.

"We have nothing to worry about," Natalie replied, although her voice wavered with the words. "We don't know them. And besides, there's plenty of people around."

It was true. There were students everywhere. Most gave the group of scary looking boys a wide berth as they passed, but a few brave girls (read: desperate girls) were attempting to start a conversation with them. The plights of an all-girls school.

The boys were clearly uninterested in conversation. Instead, their gazes remained wholly focused on Natalie and Natalie only.

She forced her legs to keep moving.

Nyra followed as she walked towards the front gates, keeping her eyes low when they passed the boys. They made it to the street, turning towards the crossing. She didn't let herself relax until they reached it.

When they did, she tried not to make her sigh of relief too obvious, but Nyra was clearly feeling the same way. She glanced back over her shoulder at the boys who were still crowding around the front gates. They looked back towards them, but at least they hadn't followed them.

"I guess they're just total weirdos," Nyra said as a way of explanation. She paused, her eyes widening. "Or not."

Natalie turned to find the boys suddenly walking towards them.

"What are the chances they're coming for us?" Natalie asked.

"No idea, but let's move," Nyra said.

Instead of waiting for the light to turn and crossing to her bus stop like usual, Nyra grabbed Natalie's arm and turned down the street that led to Sierra Grammar. They walked—almost ran—down the street, stopping at the corner and glancing back to be sure they hadn't been followed.

"Okay, I think we can officially say it was a coincidence," Nyra said between pants. "God, I'm so unfit."

"Nyra," Natalie said with rising panic in her voice, "they're definitely following us."

"Oh shit," Nyra muttered.

The pair of them stared in horror as the boys turned the corner, their eyes landing on them before continuing to walk in their direction. Even their walk was intimidating. Natalie thought she might throw up.

"What do we do?" she asked, clasping her hands together in silent prayer. "Are we about to be murdered?"

"Don't be stupid," Nyra replied, although the tremble in her voice gave little confidence. She yelled towards the boys. "What do you want?"

"Nothing with you," one of the boys shouted back. His eyes shifted, settling on Natalie. "But with her, that's another story."

"Natalie, what the hell did you do?" Nyra muttered.

"I don't know!" Natalie replied. "I—I kind of know. I have an inkling."

"Oh, God, I knew it."

"You're Leon's girl, right?" another boy shouted. His hair had been buzzed to his scalp and despite towering over a head taller than Natalie, he was still the shortest of the group. They were a few steps away at this point.

Natalie shook her head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"She's lying, we saw them together," the buzz-cut boy said to another boy. Buzz-cut boy stepped forward, grabbing the collar of Natalie's blazer. "Tell him the truth!"

Natalie shrieked, attempting to stumble back. Nyra shouted, grabbing his arm and tugging to no avail. "Let her go!"

"Sam!" the other boy shouted. He grabbed buzz-cut boy's shoulder and tugged hard. "I'll handle this."

Sam nodded, releasing Natalie, and stepping behind him.

Natalie scrambled back, creating distance between herself and the boys. If she wasn't so paralysed by fear, she'd probably be crying.

Nyra took hold of her forearm, as if she'd run any second and pull Natalie with her.

The other boy didn't close the newly created distance. Instead, he looked at her from his spot, a few steps away. He narrowed his eyes at Natalie and lifted his chin at her. He was the definitely the most intimidating of the bunch. She'd even argue he was their leader.

His sand-coloured hair was cropped close to his forehead and stuck out messily in different directions. Despite the fact that he had a whole sleeve of tattoos, she had a feeling that he was closer to her age than he looked.

"Leon's girl, huh?" he muttered to himself.

He tilted his head, looking her over. His eyes burned into her skin. She wished she could disappear.

Nyra stepped in front of her, shielding her from the boy's piercing stare.

"Leave her alone," Nyra said, narrowing her eyes at the group, as if she wasn't the shortest person there.

The boy smirked at her. When Nyra didn't falter, his smirk grew.

"Tell Leon that Tyler wants a rematch," the boy said. "Got it?"

Natalie nodded and he smiled at her.

"Good," he said. He waved at the boys, and they nodded, turning at once to leave. Before he joined them, the boy—Tyler—glanced back over his shoulder. He smiled at Natalie, then Nyra. "See you around, girls."

And he left.

It wasn't until they rounded the corner and a minute or two of silence passed before Natalie let herself breathe again. Nyra sagged beside her, her fight-or-flight finally coming to rest.

"What was that all about?" Nyra asked.

Natalie shook her head, the breath gone from her lungs. "I have a lot to tell you, Nyra."

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Natalie sprinted the rest of the way to Sierra Grammar, glancing over her shoulder the entire way.

After she told Nyra all about her recent encounters with Leon Hughes, she'd insisted to walk with her, but Natalie knew she had an important piano rehearsal after school, and she couldn't make her even more late.

She'd be fine, she insisted.

And yet, she felt like she was being watched the entire time.

She sprinted right through the front gates of Sierra Grammar and up to the nurse's room, not even bothering to stop by her mum's office to say hello. She glanced over her shoulder one last time before ripping the door open and slamming it behind her, flicking all the locks into place.

She could finally relax. She breathed heavily, letting her back hit the door and shutting her eyes for a moment.

"You're late. I got bored waiting and broke in without you."

Her eyes shot open, half expecting Tyler to be standing there, grinning viciously. Instead, it was Leon, sitting in his usual chair, his legs crossed over one another. He smiled teasingly at her, his mouth open, ready to taunt, until he took in her frazzled appearance.

His smile morphed into a frown, and he stood. His eyes went from her red face to her messy hair.

"Did you run here?" he asked. She nodded, unable to speak while catching her breath. He stepped closer. "Why? What happened?"

She panted, shaking her head to signal that she didn't have the breath to speak yet. Leon caught on quickly and nodded, guiding her towards a chair. Once seated, it only took her a second to find her voice. She fought not to cry when recounting the events.

"It was awful," she said. "I finished school and there were a bunch of guys waiting at the school gates—"

"What?" he sputtered.

"—and they were the same guys that were yelling at you that one time from across the road."

Leon's face fell. He looked away, his brow furrowed as if he were sorting through a million thoughts at once. He ran a hand over his face before meeting Natalie's eyes.

"Did they do anything to you?" he asked. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I'm fine. They followed me and my friend Nyra and one of them grabbed me but—"

"Grabbed you?" he interrupted. He looked over her once more. "Where? Who was it? I'll fucking kill them."

"Leon," she said quickly. "I'm fine! He just grabbed my blazer, but this other guy, he stopped him. He said to tell you that Tyler wants a rematch with you."

"Shit," Leon muttered. "Shit. Shit. Shit. I'm so sorry, Natalie."

"Sorry?" she echoed.

He nodded, moving closer until he was practically kneeling in front of her. His fingers smoothed over the rumpled collar of her blazer before hovering over her hands. He made a decision and instead lifted his hands to his face and released a sharp breath.

"This is all my fault," he said. "They saw us together. They must have thought that they could use you to get to me. To mess with my head. To make me fight Tyler again."

"Who is this Tyler person anyway?" she asked.

He shook his head. "He's just some kid I fought a few months ago. I beat him and he hasn't let it go since. I never thought he'd drag you into this. I'm sorry, Natalie."

He looked at her and she saw how torn he felt in the way his brow wrinkled and the way his eyes struggled to meet hers. He ran another hand over his forehead, swearing quietly to himself. Natalie caught his hand in hers, forcing him to meet her eye.

"Don't apologise," she said. "It wasn't your fault. They just gave me and Nyra a bit of a scare, that's all."

"Shit. Tell Nyra I'm sorry too. Now your friend's going to hate me," he said. He seemed genuinely upset about the idea of Nyra disliking him.

Natalie laughed. Sure, when Nyra heard the story of how Natalie was somewhat-sort-of-friends with Leon, she warned her that he was bad news. But her excitement outweighed her worry, and she quickly moved on to asking a million questions about him, so the warning really wasn't as serious as it could've been.

"She won't hate you," Natalie said. He met her eye, his face completely serious.

"Good," he said.

Natalie warmed and glanced away. There was a pause before he stood and dug through the drawers of the desk, pulling out a pen and paper. He scribbled something down, handing the scrap to Natalie. She frowned at the numbers written down.

"My number," Leon explained. "If those guys ever bother you again, call me, okay?"

She nodded, pocketing the phone number. Really, she couldn't believe that she'd just gotten Leon Hughes' phone number.

"And I don't want you to walk here alone anymore," he said. He pursed his lips and shook his head, like thinking something through and crossing out the bad ideas in his mind. "When I don't have work, I'll walk with you. My schedule can be a bit all over the place though."

She stared at him, wondering if she was dreaming or if this was really happening.

A few months ago, Leon Hughes was this shadow of a boy on the walls of Sierra Grammar—never really there. She knew nothing about him except his name and the fact that he was always covered in bruises.

And now, she had his phone number, and he was offering to walk her from school.

She had to be dreaming.

"We can meet around the corner if you're worried about people seeing us together," he continued. She met his eye, and he stared back, a determined look on his face. "Those people will never bother you again."

There was something in his voice that told her he meant it.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE

I'm back and I'm here with an update! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! bit of drama hehe let me know your thoughts!!!