//A glance of love feels dangerous when it's covered in lies//
The moment his eyes locked onto mine, my blood turned to ice.
Mr. Deel.
My fingers twitched against my desk, nails scraping the wood as if I could claw my way out of this nightmare. His gaze was like a branding iron—hot, deliberate, impossible to ignore.
Does he recognize me?
"Mr. Deel," the homeroom teacher announced, "why don't you introduce yourself?"
The man who had once whispered filth into my ear now stood before the class, his posture rigid, his smile *too* polished.
"Hello everyone," he said, voice smooth as caramel laced with poison. "I'm your new homeroom teacher, Daniel Deel. I'll be teaching geography." His lips curled, just slightly. "And I'm here for you."*
Liar.
His eyes flicked back to me, lingering a second too long. My stomach twisted.
He remembers.
---
When class ended, I nearly bolted for the door—until Fin, the awkward new kid, stopped me.
"Wait up! I forgot my bottle," he said, flashing a sheepish grin.
"Yep," I muttered, nodding like an idiot.
The hallway was empty. Safe.
Or so I thought.
A hand clamped around my wrist, yanking me into the storage room before I could scream. The door slammed shut, plunging us into darkness.
And there he was.
Mr. Deel.
His cologne—something expensive, something *adult*—flooded my senses. The same scent that had clung to his skin that night.
"You said you were 18," he hissed, fingers digging into my arm.
My throat went dry. "I lied."
His jaw tightened. "Do you have *any* idea what you've done?"
I swallowed hard. "I—I just wanted—"
"You wanted?"*His laugh was bitter. "You ruined me."
His grip shifted to my neck, not enough to choke, but enough to make my pulse skyrocket. His thumb brushed my jaw—the same way it had when he'd called me *pretty.*
God, I hated how much I still liked it.
"You breathe a word of this," he whispered, breath hot against my lips, "and I'll make sure you regret it."
Then he shoved me away, adjusted his tie like nothing happened, and walked out.
Leaving me trembling.
Leaving me *wanting.*
Fin was waiting when I stumbled out, my uniform wrinkled, my face burning.
"Whoa, why were you in there?" he asked, tilting his head.
Play it cool. Play it cool.
"Just grabbing a book," I lied.
Fin's eyes narrowed. "Huh. Mr. Deel just walked out too."
Shit.
My laugh sounded fake even to me. "Oh, yeah. He was already inside."
Fin shrugged. "Wanna get food? My treat."
For a second, things almost felt… normal.
Then the whispers started.
"Hey, weirdo. You like fucking old men?"
My blood ran cold.
A beep from my phone. A video. Our video.
Me. Him. The bed. The sounds.
Oh God.
Fin's grip on my hand tightened as he dragged me away from the laughter, the stares. But my mind was spinning.
Who leaked this?
Mr. Deel had the video. I had the video.
No one else.
Unless…
I looked at Fin. Really looked at him.
His smile was too innocent.
And then it hit me.
He knew.