"What exactly do you want from ?" The words slipped out harsher than I intended.
My voice echoed just enough to remind we weren’t alone.
Dominic just watched .
I leaned back in my seat, arms crossed. "You act all nice when your circle’s not around... Then the second they show up, you’re back to being a jerk. What do you want?"
His jaw tightened like he hadn’t expected to actually say it.
"I just wanted to talk this morning, nothing else," he said. "You flared up....I didn’t know why.
He looked confused. Or maybe pretending to be.
I clenched my fists under the desk. "This morning.. I didn’t want to talk. I didn’t want the drama. But you cornered like I owed you sothing."
"I just wanted to talk, Ash," he said calmly.
He opened his mouth but closed it again.
"I don’t want to talk to you, Dominic." I turned away. "Just...leave alone."
For once, he didn’t push.
I glanced at the clock on the wall across the room. It was already 5:00 PM. One more hour to go. And sohow it still felt like a lifeti.
But in that silence, reality ca crashing back. The principal’s words from this morning looped in my head.
The scholarship. The board hearing. The deadline. The warning.
"You have three days to defend yourself."
I sighed, running my hand through my hair. Screw it. I needed help....even if it ca from the last person I wanted it from.
I turned to him.
"I’m getting expelled," I said, bluntly.
Dominic’s eyes shot up from the paper he was scribbling on.
"What?!"
"Yeah." I nodded slowly. "Because of the rumors. Because of Liam. They think I pushed him. I have three days to prove I didn’t."
"Look," I said, the words heavy. "I need your help. I need that footage from the police station. The one from the night of the fall."
He exhaled sharply. "Ash... you know I can’t get that. That’s police evidence."
"I know." I looked away, frustrated. "But there has to be a way."
He hesitated.
Then he leaned back in his chair. "I can’t get that exact one. But I can get a copy of the footage."
I froze. "Wait....really?"
He nodded. "Yeah."
My eyes widened, and for a second, I was actually grateful. Until he smirked.
"There’s just one thing."
I narrowed my eyes. "Of course there’s a catch."
He raised a brow. "Life’s about transactions, Rivera."
I rolled my eyes. "Let guess. You want to write your essay?"
He shook his head slowly. "Nah. Sothing more... inconvenient."
My gut dropped. "Like what?"
He leaned in slightly, just enough to be annoying.
"Co to my house. Tonight. I’ll explain everything there."
I blinked. Then laughed. Then laughed again.
Like, "are-you-serious" kind of laugh.
"?" I said between laughs. "Your house?"
Dominic leaned back with a smirk, clearly unbothered. "Laugh all you want. But if you want that footage..."
Another laugh burst out before I could stop it.
Mrs. Smith looked up from her desk. "Mr. Rivera, is sothing funny about school discipline?"
"Sorry, ma’am," I said quickly, still choking on laughter.
She rolled her eyes and went back to her book.
I turned to Dominic, still grinning. "You’re not serious."
He just sat there, arms crossed, eyebrows raised.
"I’m serious."
"Dead serious."
I gave him a look. "You’re not gonna drug or sacrifice in your basent, are you?"
He smirked. "Depends. Are you afraid of the dark?"
"Okay," I said, trying to hold a straight face. "Let’s be serious for a second. What exactly do you want to do when I co to your house?"
Dominic didn’t answer imdiately.
Instead, he did the one thing I never expected.
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