Chapter 10: Carefree Chaos and Spectacular Fails
The week after Foundation Day, Lily Hart decided something very important:
She didn't care.
Not about Noah Blackwood.
Not about Amy's stares.
Not even about what the rest of the school whispered behind her back.
She strolled into campus wearing oversized headphones, a crop top, and jeans that made her look like she had just stepped out of a fashion magazine—but casually, like she had zero intention of impressing anyone.
Mia immediately squealed. "You're… literally untouchable!"
Lily shrugged. "Just practicing breathing. Freedom breathing."
The first sign of trouble appeared almost immediately.
Noah Blackwood.
He leaned against the library doorway, arms crossed, jaw tight. Every inch of him screamed alert. His gaze was fixed on Lily, who at that very moment was loudly cheering on a soccer player she barely knew.
"Lily, you—" Noah muttered under his breath, fists clenched, "why is she laughing at everyone but me?!"
She didn't even see him.
And that… that drove him insane.
Amy, meanwhile, had been plotting.
If I can't have Noah notice me, then I'll make him hate Lily, she whispered to herself, meticulously outlining her plan:
Spill ink on Lily's notebook during art class.
Sabotage her cafeteria meal.
Whisper lies to Noah about Lily flirting with other guys.
First attempt: the notebook.
Amy waited until Lily wasn't looking and—SPLAT—black ink covered the page.
Lily glanced at it.
Then laughed.
She held it up to Noah, still watching nearby. "Oops. Guess art class just got abstract!"
Noah clenched his jaw.
Amy fumed. "She's laughing—at me! How?!"
Second attempt: cafeteria meal.
Amy swapped Lily's salad with a plate of extra spicy chili, imagining Noah noticing Lily wincing.
Lily took a bite. Chewed. Smiled.
"Spicy," she said casually. "Keeps me awake during class. Thanks!"
Noah's fists clenched. Heat spread across his chest.
Amy turned red. "Why is she… always fine?!"
Meanwhile, Lily's carefree antics continued unabated:
She joined a jogging group for fun and flirted with no one in particular, just handing high-fives to strangers.
She helped a lost freshman find the library, patting him on the shoulder so casually Noah nearly choked on his own jealousy.
She casually "admired" a tattoo on a tall, shirtless student volunteering at the gym, laughing at his awkward jokes.
Noah followed her like a storm cloud, every step tightening his chest.
He couldn't look away.
He didn't want to.
He didn't even realize it.
And each of Amy's sabotage attempts backfired spectacularly, leaving Lily radiant, Noah spiraling, and Amy increasingly… humiliated.
The final straw came during rehearsal for a charity fashion show.
Amy had tried to replace Lily's stage shoes with ones two sizes too small.
Lily slipped them on, smirked, and performed pirouettes so perfectly the instructor stopped the music and clapped.
Amy's face went pale.
Noah, standing beside her as her partner, couldn't stop staring. The realization hit him like a punch:
She's perfect. She's untouchable. And somehow, she makes me insane without even trying.
By the end of the day:
Lily was laughing freely with Mia.
Noah was silently furious and entirely captivated.
Amy was counting every failure and silently plotting… but the fire in her eyes was dulled by Lily's effortless grace.
Noah muttered under his breath, voice low, almost to himself:
"She's… impossible."
Lily, walking past him, grinned. "Yep. That's me."
Noah's chest tightened.
And for the first time, he realized—he was completely and utterly helpless when it came to Lily Hart.