Chapter two:loving you forever
1375 Words
The lunch bell finally rang, earning relieve sigh from the student.
The teachers left the classroom immediately, releasing a stream of students into the hallways, their cheerful conversations blended together, creating a familiar melody that echoes throughout the school.
Friends reunited outside classroom doors, while others made their way to the cafeteria already debating what to eat.
For Catherine and Jonathan, lunch is not just a break between classes ,it is their favorite part of the day.
**In the cafeteria **
Catherine adjusted her dress and topped up her lipstick before joining the crowd. She had barely taken a few steps when Skylar caught up to her.
“Let me guess” Skylar said with a knowing grin “you’re saving a seat for Jonathan again.”
Catherine smiled, trying to hide it.
“What if I am?”
Skylar shakes her head dramatically.
“You’ve been doing this since high school, one day, he’s going to survive without royal treatment.”
“He can survive,” Catherine said with a smile. “I just love him” she added.
Skylar nudged her shoulder
“You’re hopeless.”
“And you’re dramatic.”
The girls laughed before entering the bustling cafeteria
Catherine glanced around the room before choosing a table near the window.
“This one,” she pointed.
Skaykar dropped her tray on the table.
“Seriously?” We’re sitting here because Jonathan likes the view?”
Cathrine shrugged innocently.
“I like the view too.”
“You’ve got an answer for everything.”
A few students approached the table.
“Mind if we sit here?”
Catherine looked at the empty chair beside her.
“I’m sorry……someone is sitting there.”
The students nodded before walking away.
Skylar stared at her.
“You rejected three people already.”
“I did not.”
“You absolutely did.”
“I’m just saving a seat.”
“For his majesty.”
Cathrine laughed
“You’re impossible”
“No” Skylar corrected “you’re in love”
Before Catherine could give a response, a familiar voice called out behind her.
“Talking about me already?”
She turned around instantly.
Jonathan stood there with his lunch tray in one hand and his signature smile on his face.
“There you are” Catherine said smiling.
“There I am.” Walking close to the table.
Jonathan looked at the empty chair beside her “Don’t tell me……”
She smiled.
“I saved it.”
“You saved my seat?”
“I always do”
Jonathan laughed before taking the seat beside Cathrine.
“I’m trying hard not to cry right now.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Please don’t. We’re trying to eat.”
Jonathan laughed
“I knew you’d save me one.”
She looked at him.
“And if I didn't”
“I would’ve stood there heartbroken until you feel guilty”
She giggled.
“That actually sounds like something you’d do.”
“It definitely is.”
He reached for a fry in her tray.
Before he could grab it, Catherine gently slapped his hand away
“Excuse me.”
“What?”
“Those are mine.”
Jonathan looked offended
“After all we’ve been through?”
“You have your own fries”
“But yours tastes better”
“They’re literally the same fries”
“They’re seasoned with love”
Skylar groaned dramatically.
“I’m begging both of you, please stoppppp.”
Jonathan ignored her and looked back at Catherine
“So…..are you really going to let your boyfriend starve?”
“You’ve got an entire tray.”
“I want yours.”
She sighed with a smile before picking up a fry and handing it to him.
“There.”
Jonathan grinned triumphantly.
“I knew you’d give in.”
“I only did it because you never stop asking.”
“Liar.”
“What?”
“You love spoiling me.”
She looked away shyly.
“Maybe a little.”
“A little?”
He leaned closer.
“You’d probably give me the last bite if I asked.”
She didn’t even hesitate.
“Yes, I would.”
Jonathan blinked.
“Of course.”
Skylar stared between them.
“I don’t know if that’s sweet or concerning.”
Catherine laughed.
“He’d do the same for me.”
Jonathan immediately nodded.
“Without thinking twice.”
For a brief moment, they simply looked at each other smiling as if everyone else in the cafeteria had disappeared.
Jonathan finally broke the silence.
“You know….”
“Hmmm.”
“I got lucky.”
“Why?”
“Because out of everyone in the school…..”
He gently reached for her hand under the table.
“…. I get to call you mine”
A faint blush crept onto Catherine’s cheeks.
“And I get to call you mine.”
Skylar pointed her fork towards them.
“If you two keep looking at each other like that, I’m leaving.”
Jonathan chuckled.
“Jealous?”
“No.”
“You sound jealous.”
“I’m single by choice.”
Jonathan nodded his head dramatically.
“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”
Skylar laughed despite herself.
“You know what? One day someone’s going to humble you.”
Jonathan smiled confidently.
“Not while Catherine’s around.”
Catherine looked at him.
“And why’s that?”
“Because you will always be by my side.”
Without hesitation, she answered.
“Always.”
Jonathan’s smile softened.
She intertwined her fingers with his beneath the table.
“I promise.”
For reasons she couldn't explain, that promise felt like the one she’d keep for the rest of her life.
Jonathan stood up, picking up his tray.
“So….after school?”
Catherine smiled.
“You ask me that every day.”
“And every day I need the answer.”
She laughed softly.
“Yes Jonathan, after school.”
He extended his pinky.
“Promise?”
Catheribs hooked hers around his.
“Promise.”
He smiled.
“I will see you then.”

Before walking away, he gently squeezes her hands.
Catherine watched him until he disappeared into the crowd.
“You know he's only walking to that table, right?” Skylar said.
“I know.”
“So why are you still looking?”
Catherine smiled to herself
“I like watching him.”
Skylar laughed.
“You're unbelievable.”
She picked up her tray.
“Come on let's go before Mr.Benson decides attendance is more important than oxygen.”
The girls laughed as they headed to return the tray.
**JONATHAN AND HIS FRIENDS**
Jonathan dropped into the empty chair beside one of his friends.
One of the friends folded his arms.
“There he is.”
Another shook his head dramatically.
“We were starting to think you’d transfer schools.”
Jonathan rolled his eyes.
“You people are dramatic.”
“We're dramatic?”
“You've spent every lunch break with Catherine for……what? Three years now?”
“And?”
“And we're starting to think we're single because of you.”
Jonathan chuckled.
“That's definitely not my fault.”
“Indeed”
One of them said
“It is when you keep reminding us what a healthy relationship looks like.”
All of them burst into laughter.
Not far away, Sophia stood with a small group of girls from class.
The afternoon sunlight spilled through the cafeteria window, catching the soft waves of her dark hair as she laughed politely at something one of the girls had said.
She wasn’t the loudest in the room, nor was she trying to be.
Yet somehow, attention found her anyway.
As the conversation around her faded, her gaze drifted across the cafeteria.
Past dozens of unfamiliar faces until it settled on a particular table, it was easy to spot, not because it was the loudest, but because the laughter around it felt effortless, drawing attention without trying.
She watched only for a few seconds before smoothing an invisible crease from the sleeve of her blazer.
Then with quiet confidence, she excused herself from the girls and walked towards the table.
- Writer
