Ransom shakes his head and walks away, but I follow, stopping beside him at his station.

Beretta looks up at us and a grin covers his lips. “Aw, are we in that after hookup, pent-up and repressed stage?” he teases, so I follow his mood.

We need to lighten things up a little.

“I don’t know, are we?” I put my elbow on the table, my chin resting on my palm and flutter my lashes at Ransom.

His palms flatten on the tabletop, and he leans in with a blank expression. “I want to make sure you understand.”

“What, you think I need a proposal after two finales?” I tease, keeping my voice down. “Sorry, but I already have one of those, remember?”

Beretta chuckles beside us, pouring M&M’s in his mouth.

Ransom’s eyes flash, creases forming between them as he dips lower.

“Come on, blue eyes,” I whisper. “What is it I need to understand?”

“Understand Arsen isn’t yours for the taking.”

Beretta chokes on a piece of candy, slowly pushing to his feet.

My eyes snap to his, but his are focused beyond me, toward Arsen.

I look back to Ransom and take a deep breath, a nasty little swirl of something agitating my stomach. I stretch through it, pushing to my full height, and the grin I give him is forced, unlike the others I’ve worn when my eyes are locked with his.

He spots it, and he too stands, but he does so, taking a step toward me, pausing when I shake my head.

“I thought you heard what I said before, but maybe you forgot.” I lift a shoulder. “I don’t want anything, I need nothing, and I expect even less. If you are hoping I’ll challenge you here, I won’t, so make sure you’re saying what you really want to say, or it won’t be effective.”

His face contorts as if he’s angered, tempted to explain, as if there is something to explain, but if there is, something stronger holds him back.

A guy goes to step around me, so I move to the side, and it must annoy Ransom because he jerks forward, shoving our classmate in the back.

The guy stumbles, catching himself on a nearby table, and whips around with a glare.

Ransom puffs his chest out and a few near us, who saw the interaction, stare, waiting, but the guy only shakes his head at Ransom, flicking his gaze over him, as if deeming him unworthy of the argument. The guy walks away.

I shake my head, returning to my table as well.