The Year I Stopped Being His novel Chapter 450

Josh hurried down the steps, stepping right in front of Sloane and giving her a devastatingly bright smile.

"Sloane, you were incredible tonight. Seriously—I didn't even know you could sing. How many other secrets are you hiding from me?"

Sloane felt a flush of embarrassment at the praise and shoved the bouquet of baby's breath into his arms.

"You can take your time figuring that out."

The three of them headed toward the campus gates.

Piper's parents had been waiting by the entrance for a while.

Professor Prescott patted Piper's head, his expression as stern as always, but the slight curve of his mouth gave away his pride. "Good performance. Now go home and catch up on your geology homework."

Mrs. Prescott laughed, pulling her daughter into a hug before turning to Sloane. "The show tonight was truly spectacular! Professor Jace, Sloane—you both must come over for dinner sometime."

Sloane smiled and thanked her, watching as Piper's family climbed into their car.

The black sedan's taillights faded into the night, eventually disappearing around a bend.

"Let's go. I'll walk you home," Josh said, readjusting his scarf and stepping naturally to Sloane's side.

"It's fine, I can make it back on my own. You should walk Piper back to her dorm."

Josh let out a small laugh, glancing in the direction the Prescott family car had vanished. "She's just heading to the dorms, what's there to escort?"

"Professor Jace—I'm still standing right here!"

Piper's voice rang out from behind them. She was standing alone under the streetlamp, hugging her golden trophy, glaring at Josh with puffed-out cheeks.

For once, Josh didn't bicker with her.

He waved his hand, his tone uncharacteristically gentle. "Alright, Piper, get back to your dorm. Be careful on the way."

"Sucked? Who are you calling out?" The girl hoisted the trophy higher. The guys snickered, stepping up to form a wall that blocked Piper's path.

Piper took a step back, still refusing to back down.

"I'm talking about you! You scored five whole points lower than me in the preliminaries, and your voice cracked on three different notes in the finals! Instead of cornering people in the dark, maybe you should actually practice!"

The girl's face morphed into a mask of pure fury.

She shoved the trophy into one of the guys' hands and advanced on Piper. The guys took a menacing step forward as well, forming a tight semi-circle that pushed Piper dangerously close to the edge of the path.

Piper's bravado finally cracked. She spun around, screamed, "Help!" at the top of her lungs, and bolted.

The sound of heavy footsteps immediately tore after her.

Piper ran for her life. The hood of her jacket slipped off, and she didn't even care as the freezing wind whipped down her collar or sent her white skirt flying up. All she could hear was the frantic pounding of her own heart and the approaching footsteps behind her as the streetlights blurred into a chaotic mess of shadows.