Chapter Two: Best Friends and Almost Lovers
479 Words
The next week at Crestwood High buzzed with leftover birthday gossip. Everyone had seen Taylor’s awkward confession, and half the school whispered about it like it was a soap opera.
But Aria didn’t care. Or at least, that’s what she told herself.
She laughed louder in the halls, smiled wider in class, and acted like her heart wasn’t quietly wondering what Taylor was thinking now.
Across the room, he was doing the same.
Taylor sat at his desk, sketchbook open but untouched. Beside him, Selly Hane leaned over, brushing her honey-brown hair from her shoulder as she peeked at his page.
“Still thinking about her?” she asked softly, her voice playful but edged.
He looked up. “About who?”
Selly rolled her eyes. “Don’t play dumb. Aria.”
Taylor sighed, closing his sketchbook. “She said no. It’s fine.”
“Is it?” Selly’s lips curved into a small smile. “Because you look like someone who just lost their favorite person.”
“She was never mine to lose.”
“Yet,” Selly murmured, resting her chin on her palm.
Taylor gave a half-smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “You’re impossible.”
“And you’re predictable,” she teased, nudging his arm. “Come on, Tay. Don’t mope. Let’s go get smoothies after class—my treat.”
He hesitated but nodded. “Sure.”
From across the hallway, Aria saw them walk out together, laughing. A strange tug pulled in her chest.
“Don’t tell me you’re jealous,” Gold said, appearing beside her with a knowing grin.
Aria frowned. “Jealous? Please. He can hang out with whoever he wants.”
Gold raised a brow. “Right. That’s why you’ve been staring at them for the last minute and a half.”
Aria sighed. “Okay, fine. Maybe I just… thought he’d need space or something. After what happened.”
“Or maybe you miss the attention,” Gold teased.
“Maybe.” Aria smiled faintly. “But it’s not like that. I just—”
“Care?” Ursula chimed in gently, joining them. “You care, Aria. And that’s okay.”
Aria didn’t answer. She just watched as Taylor held the cafeteria door open for Selly, and for a second, their laughter floated back toward her.
It stung more than she wanted to admit.
That night, she tried to distract herself by painting. Her brush glided over the canvas in soft, uncertain strokes—colorful, messy, emotional. But no matter what she did, the face that kept forming in the paint wasn’t her own.
It was his.
And somewhere across town, Taylor was sitting in his room sketching too — only, his page was blank. Because every time he tried to draw Aria, he thought of Selly.
And that was the beginning of his biggest mistake.
- Writer
