Chapter 10: Behind My Back
1487 Words
The next morning, I couldn't stop thinking about the messages.
"Did you notice he only leaves you alone when his friends are around?"
"Ask yourself why."
I had asked myself why.
Far more than I wanted to admit.
The problem was that every answer I came up with felt wrong.
Maybe Benjamin just wanted time with his friends.
Maybe I was being sensitive.
Maybe I was overthinking things again.
That last explanation had become my favorite lately.
Every time something felt strange, I told myself I was overthinking.
Every time something didn't make sense, I convinced myself it wasn't important.
It was easier that way.
Much easier than facing the possibility that something was actually wrong.
As I walked through the gates of Stardom Schools, I forced myself to focus on the day ahead.
Classes.
Homework.
Nothing else.
Unfortunately, life had other plans.
---
The first sign that something was wrong came during English class.
Not because of anything the teacher said.
Because of the way people were looking at me.
At first, I thought I was imagining it.
A glance here.
A whisper there.
Nothing obvious.
Nothing dramatic.
Just enough to make me uncomfortable.
By the end of the lesson, the feeling had grown stronger.
Every time I looked up, someone seemed to be looking away.
Every time I walked past a group of students, conversations suddenly stopped.
It reminded me of being watched through a window.
Not openly.
Just enough to know it was happening.
When the bell rang, I hurried into the hallway.
Maybe I was imagining things.
Maybe—
"Alicia."
I turned around.
Stephanie was standing a few feet away.
For some reason, she looked nervous.
"Hey."
"Hey."
She glanced around before speaking.
"Can I ask you something?"
My stomach tightened.
"Sure."
Stephanie hesitated.
Then she took a deep breath.
"Are you and Benjamin still together?"
The question caught me completely off guard.
"What?"
"Are you?"
I frowned.
"Yeah."
Stephanie's expression changed.
Not surprise.
Not confusion.
Something closer to concern.
"Why?"
I asked.
She looked away.
Then back at me.
"It's probably nothing."
Immediately, I knew it wasn't nothing.
"Stephanie."
She sighed.
"You didn't hear it from me."
"Hear what?"
For a moment, she seemed to be debating whether she should continue.
Then she lowered her voice.
"There's a rumor going around."
My heart sank.
"What rumor?"
Stephanie looked uncomfortable.
The kind of uncomfortable people look when they don't want to be the one delivering bad news.
"People are saying Benjamin only started dating you because of a bet."
The world seemed to stop.
Not literally.
Students were still walking past.
Lockers were still opening and closing.
Teachers were still talking.
Yet somehow everything felt distant.
Muted.
As if someone had lowered the volume on reality.
"A bet?"
The words barely came out.
Stephanie nodded reluctantly.
"I don't know if it's true."
I stared at her.
Unable to process what I had just heard.
A bet?
That didn't even make sense.
Why would anyone—
No.
Absolutely not.
Benjamin wouldn't do that.
Would he?
The thought appeared before I could stop it.
And once it appeared, it refused to leave.
---
The rest of the morning was torture.
I couldn't focus.
Couldn't think.
Couldn't even finish notes properly.
Every time I looked at my notebook, Stephanie's words echoed inside my head.
A bet.
The idea sounded ridiculous.
Cruel.
Impossible.
Yet something about it refused to disappear.
Because deep down, I remembered the laughter.
The whispers.
The sudden silences.
The way Benjamin acted differently around certain friends.
For the first time, all those pieces seemed to fit together.
And I hated that.
I hated it so much.
---
By lunchtime, I felt sick.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
I wasn't sure if I wanted to see Benjamin.
I wasn't sure if I wanted to avoid him.
I wasn't sure of anything.
As soon as I entered the cafeteria, I spotted him.
He smiled and waved me over.
The familiar warmth didn't come.
Instead, uncertainty settled in my chest.
I sat down across from him.
"You okay?"
Benjamin asked immediately.
"Why?"
"You seem off."
I looked at him carefully.
Searching for something.
Anything.
A sign.
A clue.
Proof.
The problem was that he looked exactly the same.
Same smile.
Same voice.
Same Benjamin.
And somehow that made everything harder.
"Can I ask you something?"
He shrugged.
"Sure."
My throat suddenly felt dry.
The question sat heavily in my chest.
Then finally—
"Did you make a bet about me?"
The smile disappeared from Benjamin's face.
Just for a second.
But I saw it.
I definitely saw it.
"What?"
His voice sounded different now.
Careful.
Measured.
I swallowed.
"I heard a rumor."
For a moment, Benjamin simply stared at me.
Then he laughed.
Not naturally.
Forced.
Almost offended.
"Alicia, seriously?"
I looked down at the table.
"I just wanted to know."
"Who told you that?"
The question came too quickly.
Too sharply.
My stomach tightened.
"Does it matter?"
"Yeah."
For some reason, his expression hardened.
Only slightly.
But enough.
"People love making things up."
I nodded slowly.
Maybe he was right.
Maybe that was all it was.
A rumor.
A stupid rumor.
Yet something still felt wrong.
Because Benjamin had answered every question except the one I actually asked.
---
That afternoon, the whispers seemed louder.
Or maybe I was simply noticing them more.
At one point, I passed two students near the library.
The moment they saw me, they stopped talking.
One of them looked guilty.
The other looked sympathetic.
Neither expression made me feel better.
---
By the time school ended, my head was pounding.
I wanted answers.
Real answers.
Not rumors.
Not warnings.
Not anonymous messages.
Answers.
As I walked toward the parking lot, I heard voices coming from behind the gym building.
I wasn't trying to eavesdrop.
I wasn't trying to listen.
Then I heard my name.
And everything changed.
"...Alicia."
I froze.
Another voice laughed.
Then someone else spoke.
"Bro, she actually believes—"
The rest was cut off by more laughter.
My heart started hammering.
Slowly, carefully, I stepped closer.
Close enough to hear.
Close enough to know.
Close enough to realize that one of the voices belonged to Benjamin.
And whatever they were talking about...
It was me.
- Writer
