The night air was cool, yet Jacob felt like he was burning from the inside. His fists clenched tightly at his sides as he walked down the lonely street leading home, each step heavier than the last. The laughter and music from the prom hall still echoed faintly behind him, mocking him with every memory of what he had just seen.
Paul and Stella. Together. Dancing. Smiling.
The image replayed in his mind again and again, stabbing deeper each time. He kicked a loose rock on the pavement, watching it skid away before sighing heavily. His chest felt tight, his throat dry. He didn’t understand how everything had gone wrong so fast.
He had spent weeks thinking of Stella—imagining asking her to prom, picturing how happy he’d be if she said yes. But when he finally gathered the courage, she had
