Chapter 2: The Boy Who Used to Protect Me

Cole and I went way back. We met when we were barely three years old.

Our parents had been best friends for over a decade. We lived in the same apartment building, on the exact same floor. Doors facing each other.

I had been in love with him for as long as I could remember.

Back in elementary school, the boys always picked on me.

There was this one kid who was the absolute worst. He sat behind me, yanking my braids, sticking chewed gum to my chair, and shoving plastic spiders into my desk.

I went to the teacher in tears. She gave him a weak scolding, then turned to me with a smile, saying he only did it because he had a crush on me.

I didn't buy a word of it. The boy didn't stop, either. I went home and told my parents.

They were furious. They were ready to march right into the school and give that teacher a piece of their minds. Cole's dad happened to be over for dinner that night. When he heard what was going on, he pulled Cole aside and told him it was his job to protect me at school.

Cole and I were the same age, but in different classes back then. The very next day during recess, Cole marched into my classroom, dragged that boy out, and beat him to a pulp.

Cole had always been tall for his age. Tough, too. He left that bully and his little sidekicks bawling their eyes out.

Before walking away, he pointed a finger at the rest of the boys.

"Anyone else touches Aurora, I'll break your nose."

That was the exact moment I fell in love with him.

From then on, I was his permanent shadow. Wherever Cole went, I was right behind him.

He hated it at first. He had this macho complex, thinking that hanging around a soft, girly girl all day made him look weak.

But I didn't care. I just kept following him.

After a few years, his walls started to come down. He stopped trying to shake me off.

I started noticing things. His eyes lingering on me a second too long. Catching my gaze and blanking out completely, or flinching like he got shocked, his cheeks turning pink as he clumsily changed the subject.

Cole's dad used to joke that since we were so inseparable, we might as well get married when we grew up.

Cole never said a word. But he grabbed my hand and held it tight. His ears were burning red.

My heart fluttered. I smiled as wide as I could.

"Okay! I'm going to marry Cole!"

But then we hit high school, and everything shifted.

At the end of our freshman year, a new girl transferred into our class.

Her name was Amber Lawson. Her parents had moved for work. She was smart, bright, and stunningly pretty.

On her very first day, she tossed her beautiful chestnut curls and grinned at the teacher.

"It's my natural color. And the curls are natural too."

Then she turned around and scanned the room. Her eyes landed on me. She paused, staring for a long moment, before bursting into loud laughter.

"Oh my god. Please tell me you're joking. Who invited the Barbie doll?"

She wheezed, pointing right at me.

"You are literally covered in pink. God, we're in high school. Are you trying to play the cute toddler? That is so embarrassing."

Every single pair of eyes in the classroom snapped toward me.

My face ignited.

I loved pink. I really did. Almost everything I bought had to be that exact color. A pink backpack, a pink water bottle, pink hair clips, pink t-shirts, pink sweaters, and even a pink phone case.

I knew people talked about it. In middle school, guys called me clingy and high-maintenance. Some girls whispered that I was trying too hard to act innocent.

But most people were nice. A lot of girls told me it was adorable and totally fit my vibe.

This was the first time I had ever been mocked so openly. So maliciously. Right in front of a crowd. I sat there, stunned and humiliated, wishing the floor would open up and swallow me whole.

"Haha, sorry, sorry! I just have no filter. Don't be mad, princess."

Amber blinked innocently, flashing a playful smile.

"Enough. It's your first day. Drop it."

Cole's irritated voice cut through the tension. I turned to look at him. He was frowning at Amber, clearly unamused.

Amber raised an eyebrow, staring him down.

"Oh? Is the princess's white knight here to save the day?"

"What the hell is your problem? Back off."

Cole slammed his hands on his desk and stood up.

The teacher quickly intervened, telling Cole to sit down and directing Amber to the only empty seat left in the room.

I don't know if it was a sick joke from the universe, but that empty seat was right in front of Cole.

Just like that, she sat directly ahead of him.