Perfect! I'll rewrite Chapters 4 to 20 with much longer, emotionally layered content that dives deep into Kai and Lia's evolving relationship, their internal
The hallway at Crescent High was its usual buzz of noise—slamming lockers, rushed footsteps, loud laughter—but Kai Evans wasn't paying attention to any of it. His eyes were locked on one person. Lia Moretti.
She walked with practiced confidence, her hair tied back, headphones in, books clutched tightly to her chest. The crowd parted for her. She wasn't loud or flashy—she never needed to be. She just was, and that was enough to draw every eye in the room. Including his.
Kai leaned against her locker, arms crossed, the same way he always did when he was about to get under her skin.
She stopped a few steps away, one eyebrow raised. "Seriously?"
"Good morning to you too, Princess," he grinned.
"I told you not to call me that."
He tilted his head. "And yet you secretly like it."
She rolled her eyes, but the corner of her mouth twitched.
Kai straightened up, moving slightly so she could open her locker. "So, how was your date with your textbooks last night?"
"Thrilling," she said dryly. "We got through three chapters and only cried twice."
He laughed, genuinely. "Sounds hot. Want to do it again sometime?"
"I'd rather watch paint dry."
"Maybe we could do both. Together."
Lia slammed her locker shut. "You're impossible."
Kai leaned in, close enough for her to smell his cologne—something clean and infuriatingly good. "And yet, here I am. Every morning. Like clockwork."
She stared at him, eyes sharp. "Why are you doing this?"
He blinked, caught slightly off guard. "Doing what?"
"This. The flirting. The teasing. The waiting at my locker every damn day. What do you get out of it?"
Kai didn't answer right away. His grin faded a little. "Maybe I just like seeing you."
Her breath caught for the briefest second—but then she masked it, turning away before he could see the crack in her armor.
"Get a hobby, Evans," she said over her shoulder.
"I did," he called after her. "You.
Lia sat in the back of her literature class, her fingers absentmindedly twirling a pen. She wasn't paying attention—not really. Her mind kept drifting back to Kai.
Why was he acting this way?
They'd known each other forever. He'd always been annoying, loud, flirtatious… but there was something different now. The way he looked at her wasn't just playful anymore. There was something softer underneath. Something real. And she hated it.
She hated that she noticed.
After class, Lia stepped outside for some air. The school gardens were quiet this time of day, the only sounds being the distant shouts from the soccer field and the wind rustling through the leaves. She sat on a stone bench and closed her eyes.
"You always come here when you're overwhelmed."
Her eyes snapped open. Kai.
He stood a few feet away, hands in his pockets, watching her with that unreadable expression. Not his usual smirk. Something else.
"You remember that?" she asked.
"I remember everything about you."
Her heart thudded. "Stop."
"Stop what?"
"Whatever it is you're doing. Whatever game this is."
Kai stepped closer. "It's not a game."
"It is to you. Everything is."
He crouched in front of her, looking up into her eyes. "Not this. Not you."
She shook her head, standing abruptly. "You don't get to do this, Kai. Not when I'm trying so hard not to feel anything."
He reached for her hand. She flinched.
"I know," he said quietly. "But I can't stop myself."
She looked at him—really looked. And for a second, the mask slipped. She saw the boy behind the charm. The boy who wanted something real.
But real meant pain. Real meant losing control.
And Lia Moretti did not lose control.
So she walked away.
But the ache in her chest stayed long after she left him standing there alone.