The teacher was already walking toward our classroom.
Meaning there was no escape anymore.
And somewhere inside me, I already knew this period was going to hurt a lot more than I was prepared for.
Ava stood up and grabbed my wrist.
"Come on."
"I don't want to."
"You don't have a choice."
"I hate you."
"No you don't."
Unfortunately, she was right.
A few minutes later, our class entered the combined classroom.
The moment I stepped inside, my eyes automatically started searching for him.
Which was annoying.
Because no matter how much I tried pretending I didn't care, my heart always looked for Max before my brain could stop it.
And then I saw him.
He was sitting on my usual seat.
Of course.
Out of every bench in the classroom, this idiot had to sit on mine.
I immediately looked away.
Nope.
Not dealing with that.
Ava dragged me toward the back benches.
We were about to sit when she placed her bag behind Kate's bench.
Kate turned around.
"Don't sit there."
Ava frowned.
"Why?"
"Just don't."
Then she pointed toward another bench.
For a second I thought Ava would argue.
But she didn't.
Instead she rolled her eyes and sat somewhere else.
I followed her quietly.
Honestly?
I didn't have enough energy to care.
My whole mood was already ruined.
I sat down and pulled out my notebook.
Pretending to focus.
Pretending not to notice who was sitting where.
Pretending not to care.
The usual.
After a few minutes I got up and walked outside the classroom.
I needed air.
Or maybe I just needed a reason not to look at Max.
When I returned a few minutes later, my eyes accidentally landed on him.
And immediately I wished they hadn't.
Because Max was sitting behind Katie.
Katie , the girl i am jealous of , she always have a attitude in her face which makes me hate her.
I knew she's probably flirting with max , everyone in school knows that she flirts with everyone...
Max was there behind her,
Laughing.
Talking.
Smiling.
Katie was laughing too.
And for some reason that scene annoyed me more than it should have.
Not because of Katie.
Because of what Max had told me before.
"I can't talk to girls in school."
"Kate gets angry."
"People will misunderstand."
Yeah.
Sure.
Apparently that rule didn't apply today.
I looked away immediately.
Fine.
Talk to whoever you want.
Why should I care?
I sat beside Ava and started talking about random things.
Movies.
Teachers.
Homework.
Anything.
Everything.
Just not him.
The period ended.
Then another one passed.
And later our classes got combined again.
This time the seating arrangement was different.
I was sitting beside Aria.
Ava was sitting behind me.
Kate was sitting one bench away.
And Max...
Max was sitting directly behind her.
The moment I noticed that, something inside me already knew this wasn't going to end well.
Aria was talking about something.
I don't even remember what.
I nodded along anyway.
Then suddenly Ava whispered from behind.
"Kelly."
"Hmm?"
"Don't look."
Now obviously whenever someone says don't look...
You look.
So I looked.
Big mistake.
Max was staring at Kate.
Not normally.
Not casually.
Not like classmates do.
He was looking at her with the softest smile I had ever seen.
And Kate was laughing at something her best friend said.
She looked happy.
He looked happy too.
Like everything was normal.
Like nothing had happened.
Like he hadn't confessed to me.
Like he hadn't told me he loved me.
Like he hadn't spent weeks confusing me.
My chest tightened.
I quickly looked away.
Nope.
Not doing this.
Not here.
Not in school.
Not in front of everyone.
I started talking louder with Aria.
Laughing at things that weren't even funny.
Just to distract myself.
Just to stop looking.
Just to stop feeling.
Then something strange happened.
I glanced toward Max again.
This time he wasn't looking at Kate.
He was looking at me.
And for a second...
I froze.
His expression looked different.
Almost guilty.
Like he wanted to say something.
Like he knew exactly what he had done.
Our eyes met for barely a second.
Then I immediately looked away.
Because what was the point?
Guilt doesn't fix anything.
Feeling bad doesn't change anything.
No matter how guilty he looked...
At the end of the day he was still choosing her.
And I was still the girl waiting.
The girl understanding everything.
The girl making excuses for him.
The girl losing sleep over someone who wasn't even hers.
The bell finally rang.
I have never been happier to hear a bell in my entire life.
The second class ended, I practically ran back to my classroom.
Ava followed me.
The moment we sat down, she looked at me.
"You okay?"
"No."
"Thought so."
I laughed weakly.
Because what else was I supposed to do?
Cry?
Maybe.
Honestly I wanted to.
The rest of the school day felt endless.
Teachers talked.
Students laughed.
People moved around.
Life continued normally.
But I felt disconnected from everything.
Like I was watching the world happen from far away.
Eventually the final bell rang.
Everyone rushed outside.
I packed my bag slowly.
Trying not to think.
Trying not to remember the way he looked at her.
Trying not to remember his voice.
Trying not to remember every stupid thing that made me fall for him.
Outside the school gate, Ava walked beside me.
"You still love him, don't you?"
I didn't answer.
Because silence was answer enough.
She sighed.
And for the first time that day, neither of us spoke.
When I finally reached home, I threw my bag on the floor and collapsed onto my bed.
My phone was beside me.
I stared at it.
Part of me hoped there would be a message.
A message explaining everything.
A message saying he was sorry.
A message saying he missed me.
A message saying I wasn't imagining things.
But there was nothing.
Just silence.
The same silence that had been growing between us for days.
I closed my eyes.
Maybe Ari was right.
Maybe Ava was right.
Maybe everyone was right.
Maybe he was never going to be mine.
Maybe I was just a temporary stop while he figured out his feelings for Kate.
Maybe I was the person he liked.
But she was the person he loved.
And honestly?
That thought hurt more than anything else.
My phone suddenly buzzed.
I grabbed it immediately.
My heart racing before I even saw the notification.