My Stepbrother, My Enemy {BL}-Chapter 90: The Urge To Disappear

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Even though Adrien claimed he didn’t mind if people discovered we were step-siblings, I couldn’t shake the anxiety churning in my stomach. The closer we got to school, the more my nerves unraveled.

When the school gates finally appeared, I quickly turned to him and said, "You can stop here. I’ll walk the rest of the way."

Adrien raised an eyebrow, slowing down but not stopping. "Why?"

"Because," I said, vaguely pointing toward the front of the school, "I don’t want everyone to see me getting out of your car. Do you know how quickly rumors spread in this place? One moment it’s ’oh, Noah got a ride,’ and the next it’s ’Noah Valentine has sold his soul to Adrien Fell, like his idiotic friends already have.’"

He looked entirely unfazed. "You’re being dramatic."

"I’m being careful," I shot back, crossing my arms. "And besides, I can manage walking a few blocks just fine."

Adrien gave me a long look, then a smirk crept onto his face. "Sure. You can walk—if you’re okay with showing up late. Again."

I glared at him. "Stop the car."

He chuckled quietly, keeping his eyes on the road. "You’re a scared hamster."

My mouth dropped open. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me." He tilted his head slightly, shooting me that infuriatingly calm grin. "You’re always twitchy and flustered, like one wrong move would send you diving into a hole."

"I am not twitchy," I said through clenched teeth, but he just laughed harder, clearly enjoying this.

"Then stop proving me right," he replied, and before I could say anything else, he pulled right into the school parking lot.

I groaned, sinking lower in my seat as the stares started the moment we drove in. "Oh my God, Adrien, could you be any more annoying?"

"Just doing you a favor," he said smoothly, putting the car in park. "You wanted a ride. Now you’ve got one."

I shot him a glare but figured it wasn’t worth the fight. Grabbing my bag, I stepped out, feeling like every eye was glued to me. The parking lot buzzed with whispers, and I could already hear someone saying, "Is that Noah Valentine? With Adrien Fell?"

"Why are they coming to school together?"

"I thought Adrien Fell fucking hated his guts, what the hell is happening?"

My face turned hot as I closed the car door, muttering under my breath, "I’m going to die."

Adrien climbed out next to me, stretching as if it was a regular morning. Students stared openly, some in shock, others just confused. I overheard bits of conversations as we walked toward the building.

"Wait, are they friends now?"

"Didn’t they hate each other?"

"Isn’t he the one whose boyfriend fought Adrien last week or so?"

I wished I could just evaporate or something.

Adrien, of course, seemed completely unfazed. He strolled with that effortless confidence he always had, hands in his pockets, his dark hair tied back just right to make him look annoyingly good. Every girl passing us forgot how to breathe.

Meanwhile, I was trying hard not to combust.

We passed a group of cheerleaders whispering behind their perfectly manicured hands, and I caught one looking at me as if I’d stolen something sacred...

...Again

"Can you not walk so close to me?" I hissed, clutching my bag to my chest.

Adrien glanced over, clearly amused. "You’re acting like I have the plague."

"More like a magnet for unnecessary attention," I shot back. "Seriously, people are staring."

He shrugged lazily. "Let them. It’s not my fault I’m more interesting than half the school."

I rolled my eyes, but he wasn’t entirely wrong. Even after the chaos with his fight against Ethan last two weeks, people still flocked to him like moths to a flame. "Oh, so you think you’re the shit...huh, Hotshot?"

"I know I’m the shit, Princess."

But something felt off, no one seemed to be whispering about that anymore. The tension that once followed me down every hallway, the constant buzz of gossip about "the fight between the golden boy and the quiet gay guy’s boyfriend," had faded into something almost... indifferent. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

A wave of relief washed over me, but it was short-lived as my anxiety kicked back in. Now, instead of pitying me, everyone was watching me. Watching us.

"I swear," I muttered as we stepped into the hallway, "if one more person looks at me like I’m the main plot twist of their morning, I might actually pass away."

Adrien chuckled low enough that only I could hear. "Relax, hamster. You’re just giving them something to talk about."

I shot him another glare, but I couldn’t help the tiny smile that crept onto my lips. "You’re insufferable."

He grinned, tilting his head. "You love it.".

I did not.

I turned away before he could see how my face heated up, focusing on the classroom doors ahead of us. Maybe he was right, maybe people were just bored and needed something new to gossip about.

But as Adrien’s shoulder brushed mine in the crowded hallway, I felt like something had shifted between us.. something small, quiet, and terrifyingly real.

Walking beside Adrien felt oddly... normal. Well, as normal as it could be when half the school looked at you like you’d just committed some kind of scandal. We reached our first class—history and I exhaled, clutching my essay like it was a lifeline.

As soon as we stepped in, the usual low chatter faded. Heads turned. Whispers followed us like a wave, and I could practically feel the heat of their stares boring into my back. I forced myself to ignore it and walked straight to Mr. Callum’s desk, sliding my paper onto the neat stack of assignments before he could even greet me.

"Good morning, Mr Valentine," he said with a warm smile.

"Morning, sir," I replied quickly, trying to sound casual even though my heartbeat felt like it was doing gymnastics.

When I turned back around, I wished I hadn’t.

Because there she was, Vanessa.

She sat near Adrien’s desk as if she’d been waiting for him. Her long, glossy hair cascaded down her shoulders, and her perfume was strong enough to suffocate a small animal. Before I could even blink, she threw herself at him, looping her perfectly manicured arms around his neck in a way that made my stomach knot.

"Adrien!" she squealed, her voice pitched high and sweet enough to make my teeth ache. "You have no idea how much I missed you. Two whole weeks without you, I thought I was going to lose it."

The room went quiet again, every eye flicking toward them. Adrien stood there stiffly, one hand still shoved in his pocket, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else. His expression didn’t change, not even as Vanessa’s glossy lips brushed against his cheek.

"Hi, Vanessa," he said flatly. "You’re loud."

She giggled, completely unfazed, her fingers lingering against his shoulder like she hadn’t heard the boredom dripping from his tone. "I thought you liked it when I’m loud, you’re so funny. God, I missed that too."

I wanted to vanish.

I didn’t even realize I’d frozen until Vanessa’s gaze finally landed on me. Her smile faltered, sharpening into something predatory.

"Well, look who crawled back," she said sweetly, her voice slicing through the air. "I thought you’d finally gotten the hint and left town for good."

A few of her friends giggled behind her, whispering something that made my face heat up.

Vanessa tilted her head, eyes raking over me in mock pity. "Honestly, I was starting to think you vanished. Didn’t your little vacation help you realize that no one here actually wants you around?"

The laughter grew louder. I felt my fingers tighten around my bag strap, that instinct to shrink back rising again. For a split second, the old Noah, the one who let Vanessa’s words crawl under his skin—threatened to resurface.

But then I thought of Adrien’s smirk, Gigi’s relentless pep talks, Ethan’s reassurance that I wasn’t a waste of oxygen and how I’d learned to stop caring about what people thought.

So instead, I took a breath, straightened up, and looked Vanessa right in the eye.

"Wow," I said slowly, my tone calm but cutting. "You still haven’t learned to mind your own damn business, huh?"

Her smile wavered.

"Why don’t you do everyone a favor, Vanessa..." I tilted my head, letting a small smirk play on my lips. "And fuck off."

The gasp that rippled through the class was almost satisfying.

Her friends exchanged shocked looks, as if they couldn’t believe I’d actually said that. Vanessa blinked, disbelief written all over her face. I didn’t give her the satisfaction of watching me squirm—I just turned on my heel and walked straight to my seat, dropping my bag onto the desk like I hadn’t just committed social suicide.

The silence that followed was electric.

When I glanced up a moment later, Adrien was still near Vanessa, his expression unreadable, but I could’ve sworn I saw the faintest flicker of a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Meanwhile, Vanessa stood frozen, lips parted as if she’d just been hit with something she couldn’t quite grasp.

I sat down and pulled out my notebook, ignoring how the rest of the class was still staring like I’d grown a second head. My hands were trembling a bit, but not from fear this time.

It was from victory.

For the first time since I’d started at this school, I didn’t feel small. Vanessa didn’t hold power over me anymore.

I had told her exactly where she could shove it and wow, that felt fucking amazing.