What I Chose to See
411 Words
Looking back…
I think Natasha was affected too.
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Sidney wasn’t just her boyfriend.
He was part of the circle.
Part of what made everything feel normal.
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But I didn’t think about that much.
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If I’m being honest—
I felt like I had won something.
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Even if I couldn’t fully explain what it was.
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After that, things started changing quickly.
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She began coming to my class more often.
Mostly during breaks.
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At first, it felt random.
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But after a while…
it became normal.
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We talked.
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Nothing too deep at first.
Just simple conversations.
The kind that grow without you noticing.
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I thought about asking her.
About the breakup.
About Sidney.
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But every time the thought came up—
something stopped me.
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Maybe I didn’t want to hear the answer.
Maybe I didn’t want to risk changing what was already happening.
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So I left it alone.
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And instead—
we kept talking.
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It got easier.
More natural.
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The awkwardness faded.
The silence didn’t feel heavy anymore.
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Somewhere along the way—
we exchanged contact.
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And that changed everything.
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Conversations didn’t end when school did.
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We walked home together.
Talked longer.
Laughed more.
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And at night—
we kept talking.
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Longer than we should have.
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It felt good.
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Too good.
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But even then—
things weren’t completely still.
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I noticed Sidney.
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Not directly.
Not in a way that caused a scene.
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But he was there.
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Trying.
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Talking to her.
Finding moments.
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Maybe he knew.
Maybe Natasha told him everything.
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I didn’t ask.
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But I could see it.
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And slowly—
something shifted.
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Not completely.
But enough.
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She felt a little more distant sometimes.
A little less… certain.
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It wasn’t obvious.
But I noticed.
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Of course I did.
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And that’s when I realized—
if I kept waiting, I might lose this.
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So I did something I hadn’t fully prepared for.
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I asked her.
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At the beginning of the summer break.
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Simple.
Direct.
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I asked her to be my girlfriend.
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She didn’t answer immediately.
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She just looked at me for a moment…
then said—
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“I’ll tell you at the end of the break.”
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And just like that—
I was left waiting.
- Writer
