Chapter 5 The Rumor Starts

Tasha’s POV

“SO… you kissed Carlos Santiago on your first week?”

Lila’s voice came out somewhere between impressed and scandalized, like she still couldn’t decide which one she was supposed to be.

I paused mid-step just inside our dorm room, my bag slipping slightly off my shoulder as I stared at her.

“…That’s what you heard?” I asked slowly.

She was sprawled across her bed, propped up on her elbows, phone in hand, eyes practically glowing with curiosity. There was a grin on her face that said she had already heard at least five different versions of the same story.

“Oh, that’s not just what I heard,” she said, sitting up straighter. “That’s the clean version.”

I let out a quiet breath and dropped my bag on my bed, running a hand through my hair as I tried to process how fast that escalated.

Of course it did.

This place had nothing better to do.

“It wasn’t a kiss,” I said, turning to face her. “It was an accident.”

Lila blinked. Then she tilted her head. Then she smiled wider.

“Right,” she said slowly. “And I’m the queen of Vanguard.”

I shot her a look. “I’m serious.”

“So am I,” she countered, swinging her legs off the bed and standing up. “People don’t just accidentally kiss Carlos Santiago. That’s not a thing that happens.”

“Well, it did,” I said flatly.

She walked closer, studying my face like she was trying to catch me slipping. “Okay,” she said after a second. “Let’s say it was an accident.”

“It was.”

She nodded once. “But you still kissed him.”

I exhaled, dragging my hands down my face for a second before dropping them to my sides.

“You’re missing the point.”

“No,” she said lightly. “You are.”

I frowned. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means,” she continued, crossing her arms loosely as she leaned against the edge of my bed, “you’re acting like this is nothing, when it’s actually a big deal.”

“It’s not.”

“It is,” she insisted. “Do you even know how many girls here would kill for that kind of attention?”

I stiffened slightly. “I’m not trying to get attention.”

“I know,” she said quickly. “That’s why it’s even better.”

I stared at her. “…Better?”

“Yeah,” she said, like it was obvious. “You didn’t chase it. It just happened. That makes people more interested.”

I didn’t like the way that sounded.

At all.

“I don’t care if people are interested,” I muttered, turning away from her as I started pulling my things out of my bag just to give myself something to do.

“Well, you should,” she said, her tone softening just slightly. “Because whether you like it or not, they are.”

I didn’t respond. I could feel it already. The looks. The whispers. The shift.

And I hated it.

“It was an accident,” I repeated, quieter this time.

Lila watched me for a moment.

Then she smiled again. “But accidents don’t trend across campus in less than an hour.”

My stomach dropped slightly.

“Wait… what?”

She lifted her phone, waving it slightly.

“Group chats. Private stories. Someone even tried to zoom in on a blurry photo.”

I froze. “A photo?”

“Relax,” she said quickly. “It’s terrible quality. You can barely tell it’s you.”

That didn’t make me feel better. At all.

I exhaled slowly, pressing my lips together. “This is ridiculous.”

“Welcome to Vanguard,” she said lightly.

I shook my head, grabbing a towel and heading toward the bathroom before this conversation got any worse.

“Where are you going?” she called after me.

“To pretend this day didn’t happen,” I replied.

She laughed. “Too late for that!”

Yeah.

I figured.

THE NEXT morning felt… different. Not in a dramatic way. But I could feel it with the way people looked at me.

Not long enough to be called staring. But not short enough to be casual. And whispers followed just a little too closely behind me. 

And every now and then, I caught my name.

Hamilton.

I tightened my grip on my bag and kept walking. Don’t react. Just get through the day.

Simple in theory.

The training bay was already busy when I walked in, engines running, voices overlapping, the usual chaos filling the space.

But the moment I stepped inside a few heads turned. A few conversations paused. Then continued, quieter.

I exhaled slowly and remind myself that I was still here for the same reason. Nothing else mattered.

“Try not to crash anything today.”

I didn’t need to turn. I already knew that voice.

Carlos.

I glanced at him briefly as I set my things down. “Good morning to you too,” I said.

He didn’t respond to that. Just moved past me, already focused on the car like I wasn’t even there. But I could feel it.

The way his attention flicked toward me when he thought I wasn’t looking. The way his posture shifted slightly whenever I got too close.

He was colder today. Sharper and more distant. And somehow… more aware.

Which made no sense.

“You’re late,” he said after a moment.

I checked the time. “I’m not.”

“You’re cutting it close.”

I raised a brow. “You always this welcoming, or is this special treatment?”

He didn’t look at me. “Focus.”

There it was. Short and dismissive.

I almost laughed. “Gladly.”

We fell into work quickly after that. Or at least… we tried to. Because every few minutes, something pulled us out of it. A comment, a look, or a correction that turned into an argument.

“You’re overcompensating on the pressure settings,” I said, leaning slightly toward the panel.

“I’m not.”

“You are.”

“I’m not,” he repeated, finally looking at me. “You’re reading it wrong.”

“I’m not reading anything,” I shot back. “I’m looking at the data.”

“And I’m telling you it’s fine.”

“And I’m telling you it’s not.”

Silence. Tight. Familiar.

Then he exhaled sharply and adjusted the setting anyway. Just slightly. The system responded immediately. Better.

He didn’t say anything. I didn’t either. But I noticed. And he knew I noticed.

“Don’t get used to that,” he muttered.

“I wasn’t planning to.”

“Hey, Tasha.”

The voice came from behind me. I turned slightly.

Luigi.

He smiled when he saw me, like none of this was complicated. Like things were simple.

“Surviving?” he asked.

I huffed out a small breath. “Barely.”

He laughed softly, stepping closer. “I heard about yesterday.”

Of course he did.

“Let me guess,” I said. “It wasn’t accurate.”

“Not even a little,” he admitted. “But it was entertaining.”

“Glad someone enjoyed it.”

“I didn’t say I enjoyed it,” he said, his tone softening slightly. “I said it was entertaining.”

I blinked. “That doesn’t make it better.”

“It does for me,” he said with a grin.

Before I could respond—

“Green.”

Carlos’s voice cut in. He was watching us.

“Don’t you have your own team to worry about?” he added.

Luigi didn’t look bothered. If anything, his expression stayed exactly the same.

“Just checking in,” he said easily.

Silence stretched for a second.

Then Luigi nodded once. “Right,” he said. “Wouldn’t want to distract your partner.”

Carlos’s jaw tightened slightly. “Exactly.”

I rolled my eyes before either of them could continue. “I’m right here, you know,” I muttered.

Neither of them responded immediately.

“Go back to work,” Carlos said, not looking at me.

I scoffed lightly. “Was planning to.”

Luigi glanced at me, then back at Carlos, something unreadable flickering in his expression for just a second.

Then he smiled again. Easy. Like nothing happened.

“I’ll see you around, Tasha,” he said.

“Yeah,” I replied. “See you.”

He walked off, hands in his pockets, completely unbothered.

I watched him go for a second longer than I meant to.

“Focus,” Carlos said again.

I didn’t look at him this time. “I am.”

“No, you’re not.”

I turned sharply. “You want to explain how you would know that?”

His gaze locked onto mine.

“Because you keep getting distracted.”

Something about that annoyed me more than it should have.

“By what?” I challenged.

His eyes flicked briefly in the direction Luigi had gone. Then back to me.

“You tell me,” he replied, brows furrowing.

I blinked.

Oh.

Oh.

I crossed my arms slightly. “That’s not your problem.”

“It is when it affects the work.”

“It doesn’t.”

“It will.”

We stared at each other for a second longer than necessary. Then I turned back to the engine. Because this wasn’t worth it. Not right now.

But the tension didn’t go away. It stayed and lingered under everything.

And the worst part? I didn’t know why it mattered. I didn’t know why he mattered.

“Careful, Tasha,” Luigi’s voice came again, softer this time.

I turned slightly, surprised to see him back. “When did you—”

I stopped. Because he wasn’t looking at me. He was looking past me.

I frowned. “About what?” I asked.

His gaze stayed where it was. Locked and steady on  Carlos.

“About him.”