Later that night, once the last guest had gone and the house was finally quiet, Miko crept back to his room. He sat at his desk, staring at the crumpled note now lying in front of him.
The words hadn't changed. But something inside him had.
He needed answers. And he couldn't do it alone.
The next morning at school, he spotted Claire near her locker, surrounded by a couple of classmates. She laughed at something one of them said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. For a second, Miko hesitated. What if telling her about the note made things weird between them? What if she thought he was being dramatic?
But then he remembered the warning: "She's not yours." That wasn't just jealousy—that was a threat.
He walked over.
"Hey," he said, trying to keep his tone casual.
Claire turned to him, smiling. "Hey! You survived your parents' party?"
"Barely." He grinned back, but then lowered his voice. "Can we talk? In private?"
Claire's smile faded just slightly. She nodded, and they stepped around the corner, away from the bustle of students.
"What's up?" she asked, studying his face.
Miko reached into his pocket and unfolded the note. He handed it to her silently.
Claire read it. Her eyes widened, then narrowed.
"Are you serious? Someone actually put this in your bag?"
He nodded. "I found it last night. No idea who did it. But… I have a guess."
Claire crossed her arms. "Who?"
Miko hesitated, then said, "Sam."
Claire blinked. "Sam? Why would he—"
"I don't know," Miko interrupted, frustration slipping into his voice. "He's always around you, always acting like he's just being friendly. But what if it's more than that? What if he's been hiding how he feels, and now that he sees me getting close to you…"
Claire looked down at the note again, her brow furrowing. "But Sam wouldn't do something like this. He's… he's not like that. At least, I didn't think he was."
"Can you help me find out?" Miko asked. "You know him better than I do. If it's not him, fine. But if it is—I want to know why."
She nodded slowly. "Okay. I'll talk to him. Casually. See how he reacts. But we do this carefully. If someone really is trying to scare you off, then they're not going to stop at one note."
Miko swallowed. "Yeah. I was thinking the same thing."
"Actually, Miko," Claire began, her voice low, "someone left a threatening note in my locker too. But Sam helped me check the CCTV—and it turns out it was Tasya."
"Tasya?" Miko frowned. "Wasn't she your close friend, Claire?"
"Yeah… I haven't told you, have I, Mik? I'm not close with Tasya anymore. That's why this whole thing makes sense now. I was right to be suspicious—it turns out she did it on Diana's orders. Tasya and Diana are really close now. Maybe they always were, and I just never saw it."
"Well, at least now we know who's behind it," Miko said, nodding. "Now it's my turn, Claire."
" Don't worry, I'II help you Mik".
As the bell rang and students began filing into class, Miko felt a strange sense of relief. At least now he wasn't alone in this.
But as he walked into homeroom, his eyes flicked to Sam, who sat near the window, laughing at something on his phone.
Miko watched him for a second too long.
Sam glanced up—and their eyes met.
And in that moment, Miko saw it.
A flicker. A shift. Just enough to make his skin prickle.
This wasn't over.
Later that afternoon, Claire found Sam leaning against the courtyard railing, phone in hand, earbuds dangling around his neck. The sun was low, casting warm amber light across the school grounds. A breeze rustled through the trees. It felt too peaceful for the storm Claire was carrying inside.
She approached slowly.
"Hey," she said.
Sam looked up, surprised but smiling. "Claire. Hey. What's up?"
"Got a minute?"
"Sure." He pocketed his phone, giving her his full attention. "Everything okay?"
Claire hesitated, then nodded, sitting down on the bench nearby. "Just… something weird happened. Miko found a note in his bag. A threat, actually. Someone telling him to stay away from me."
Sam's brows drew together. "What? Are you serious?"
"Yeah." She studied his reaction closely. His confusion seemed genuine—but Claire had seen good liars before.
Sam shook his head, clearly rattled. "Do you think it's the same person who left that note in your locker?"
"That's what we're trying to figure out," she said carefully. "But that one, we already know who it was. It was Tasya. You helped me find that out, remember?"
"Right," Sam said. "That was messed up. I still can't believe she did that."
Claire nodded slowly, then paused. "So… any idea who might've put the note in his bag?"
Sam looked taken aback. "Me? Wait—are you asking if I had something to do with it?"
"I'm not accusing you," Claire said gently. "I just want the truth. Miko thinks maybe it was you. He said you've been acting a little off lately."
Sam stood abruptly, jaw tightening. "Seriously? I help you figure out your locker note, and now suddenly I'm the villain?"
Claire stayed calm, watching him. "That's why I'm asking, Sam. Because I don't want to believe it was you. But I need to hear it from you."
He let out a bitter laugh. "Of course not. I didn't write any note. Why would I? What—because Miko and you are getting close now?"
Claire stayed silent.
Sam ran a hand through his hair. "Okay, fine. Yeah, maybe I've been weird about it. But that's because I do care about you, Claire. I just didn't know how to say it. And then Miko shows up out of nowhere and suddenly—"
He stopped himself.
Claire's eyes narrowed. "Suddenly what?"
Sam looked down. "Suddenly you're smiling at him the way you used to smile at me."
A silence fell between them.
"So you do like me," Claire said quietly.
Sam didn't answer right away.
Claire looked away. Something in her shifted as she realized what had really been going on all this time. She hopes Sam didn't say it seriously. Then , she tries to talk about Miko's case again.
"Sam," she said softly, "if you're not behind the note… then help us find out who is. Please. Because if someone else is trying to mess with us—this could get worse."
He sat back down, sighing. "Okay. I'll help. But for the record—Miko's got it all wrong. I might have feelings, but I'd never hurt anyone. Especially not you."
Claire nodded slowly. "I hope you're telling the truth."
Because deep down, part of her still wasn't sure.