HER (continuation 2)
499 Words
The conversation wasn’t anything special.
At least… not to her.
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Just normal questions.
“How were classes?”
“How was your day?”
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Simple.
Easy.
The kind of conversation you could have with anyone.
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But for me, it didn’t feel that way.
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I was paying attention to everything.
Her tone.
Her expressions.
The way she looked at me when she spoke.
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Trying not to overthink it.
Failing.
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So I asked something simple.
“Where are your friends?”
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She shrugged slightly.
“Club activities. It’s just me today.”
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Just her.
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For some reason, that made the moment feel heavier.
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Then it happened.
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Silence.
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It couldn’t have been more than a few seconds.
Five… maybe.
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But it stretched.
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Long enough for me to start thinking too much.
Long enough for the moment to start slipping.
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And then—
she spoke again.
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“What’s going on between you and Natasha?”
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I blinked.
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“That’s not the first time I’ve seen you around her,” she continued.
“Are you guys… a thing?”
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For a second, I didn’t know how to react.
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Of all the things she could have asked—
that wasn’t what I expected.
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But it made sense.
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From her perspective…
I was always there.
Around Natasha.
Around her.
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Watching.
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I answered quickly.
Almost too quickly.
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“No, it’s not like that. We’re just… friends.”
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She looked at me for a moment.
Then nodded slightly.
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“Oh… is that so?”
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There was a small pause.
Then she added—
“I just thought you guys looked good together.”
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I didn’t say anything immediately.
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“And,” she continued, almost casually,
“it wouldn’t be hard for you to get her… with your looks.”
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That caught me off guard.
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Again.
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I didn’t know how to feel.
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Part of me was… happy.
A compliment is a compliment.
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But another part of me felt something else.
Something off.
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Because she thought I was into Natasha.
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And somehow—
that mattered more than I expected.
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Still…
I kept it simple.
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“Thanks.”
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That was all I said.
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I thought about saying something back.
Complimenting her.
Balancing the moment.
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But before I could—
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“Wait! You guys!”
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A voice cut through the moment.
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We both turned.
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Someone was running toward us.
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Sidney.
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I recognized him immediately.
We had known each other back in middle school.
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He slowed down as he reached us, slightly out of breath.
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From the way they spoke—
it didn’t take long to realize something.
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They were close.
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Same neighborhood.
Same familiarity.
The kind you can’t fake.
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And just like that—
the moment shifted.
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Again.
- Writer
