Prom Queen to Nothing

Beautiful Illusions

Crystal’s POV

The world stopped.

Not metaphorically.

Not emotionally.

Actually stopped.

The noise from the football field disappeared.

The screams from students faded.

Even the cold night air seemed to freeze around me.

All I could hear was that kiss.

That disgusting, unmistakable sound echoing through my phone.

Then Katrine laughed softly again.

“Your girlfriend called,” she teased.

Bryan cursed immediately.

“s**t—”

The call disconnected.

My hand slowly lowered from my ear.

I couldn’t breathe.

“Crystal…”

Nick’s voice sounded far away.

Like he was standing underwater.

I stared blankly at my phone screen while my chest tightened painfully.

No.

No no no.

This wasn’t happening.

Not Bryan.

Not us.

Three years.

Three entire years.

My throat burned violently.

“He lied to me,” I whispered.

The words shattered the second they left my mouth.

Nick’s expression tightened instantly.

“Crystal—”

“He lied.” I laughed weakly, tears already forming. “Wow.”

Everything around me blurred.

I felt stupid.

Humiliated.

Embarrassed.

Like the entire school could somehow see straight through me.

Nick stepped closer carefully.

“You should sit down.”

“I’m fine.”

Lie.

My legs were shaking so badly I could barely stand.

People still flooded around the stadium celebrating Lockwood’s win, completely unaware that my entire relationship had just died over a phone call.

The universe had a twisted sense of humor.

“Crystal.”

Nick’s voice softened.

“Look at me.”

I did.

And somehow that made things worse.

Because his eyes held pity.

Not judgment.

Not amusement.

Pity.

Which meant everyone else probably already knew the truth before I did.

Humiliation crashed into me harder than heartbreak.

“Oh my God,” I whispered. “I’m the joke.”

“You’re not.”

“Yes, I am.” My voice cracked. “Everyone probably knew.”

“No.”

“They did.”

“Crystal—”

“I need to leave.”

I turned quickly before he could stop me.

Before he could see me cry.

Again.

The drive home was dangerous.

My vision blurred every few seconds from tears, but I barely noticed.

Bryan cheated on me.

Not might have.

Not possibly.

He actually cheated.

The realization replayed endlessly in my head like torture.

Every memory suddenly felt fake.

Every kiss.

Every date.

Every “I love you.”

Had he been lying the whole time?

Or worse—

Did he ever love me at all?

My chest physically hurt.

By the time I reached home, I was shaking violently.

The mansion looked too big tonight.

Too empty.

Too quiet.

I stumbled inside before collapsing against the front door.

And then I broke.

Completely.

Ugly sobs ripped through me as years of emotions exploded all at once.

I cried for the relationship.

For my embarrassment.

For my stupidity.

But mostly—

I cried because deep down…

I still loved him.

And that made everything worse.

Hours later, I sat curled beneath my blanket staring blankly at the ceiling.

My mascara stained the pillow beside me.

My phone buzzed nonstop on the nightstand.

Bryan.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Finally—

I grabbed it.

17 missed calls.

24 unread messages.

I opened the first one.

Bry ❤️

Baby, please answer.

Second message.

It’s not what you think.

Third.

Crystal, please.

I laughed bitterly.

Not what I think?

I literally heard them kissing.

Did he think I was blind and deaf?

Another text appeared instantly.

Bry ❤️

I’m outside.

My stomach dropped.

No.

Absolutely not.

I ignored it.

Then came another.

Please talk to me.

Another.

I love you.

Tears burned my eyes again.

God.

Why couldn’t I stop loving him?

Why did heartbreak feel like withdrawal?

A loud knock suddenly echoed downstairs.

Then another.

And another.

“CRYSTAL!”

Bryan.

I froze instantly.

“CRYSTAL PLEASE!”

Panic crawled up my throat.

Mom wasn’t home yet.

Wonderful.

I buried my face in my hands.

“Please just let me explain!”

Explain what?

How he cheat creatively?

More knocking followed.

Louder this time.

Then finally—

Silence.

I waited several seconds.

Nothing.

Maybe he left.

Relief barely settled before my phone buzzed again.

Bry ❤️

Look outside.

Against my better judgment, I moved toward the bedroom window slowly.

And there he was.

Standing beneath the streetlight.

Holding flowers.

Like some tragic romance movie.

Except real romance movies didn’t involve cheating.

Bryan looked exhausted.

His hair messy.

His shoulders tense.

And somehow…

Seeing him hurt still hurt me.

Pathetic.

He noticed the curtain move immediately.

Our eyes met.

My chest tightened painfully.

Then he mouthed two words.

I’m sorry.

I shut the curtain instantly.

Nick’s POV

“You look terrible.”

“Thanks.”

Aunt Marie slid pancakes onto a plate while eyeing me suspiciously.

“You haven’t slept.”

I grabbed orange juice from the fridge quietly.

“Neither have you.”

“That’s because my knees hate me.”

A small laugh escaped me despite everything.

But honestly?

I was exhausted.

Because all night, I kept thinking about Crystal.

The look on her face after the phone call haunted me.

That wasn’t regular heartbreak.

That was devastation.

And Bryan?

I genuinely wanted to punch him.

Repeatedly.

“You thinking about that girl again?” Aunt Marie asked knowingly.

“No.”

“Liar.”

I sighed heavily before sitting at the tiny kitchen table.

“It’s complicated.”

“She got a boyfriend?”

“She had one.”

Aunt Marie paused slightly.

“Oh.”

“She found out he cheated.”

Her expression immediately softened.

“That poor girl.”

Yeah.

Poor Crystal.

Funny how the entire school probably expected her to survive heartbreak gracefully simply because she was pretty and popular.

People forgot beautiful girls still bled too.

“You care about her a lot.”

I stared down at my plate quietly.

Way more than I should.

“That’s dangerous,” I admitted softly.

Aunt Marie smiled sadly.

“Love usually is.”

Lockwood High looked insane Monday morning.

Absolutely insane.

The rumors spread over the weekend like wildfire.

Apparently:

Bryan cheated,

Crystal dumped him,

Katrine exposed everything,

and somebody recorded Bryan crying outside Crystal’s house.

Teenagers were terrifying.

I walked through the hallways quietly while conversations exploded everywhere around me.

“Did you see her i********:?”

“She deleted all their pictures!”

“No way!”

“I heard Bryan begged her to stay.”

“He deserves it.”

For once, the gossip actually favored Crystal.

Probably because everyone loved a dramatic downfall.

Especially when it involved the golden football captain.

I reached my locker before freezing.

Crystal stood nearby.

Alone.

And she looked…

Different.

Not broken.

Not exactly.

Just quieter.

Like someone had drained all the light from her.

No makeup.

Hair tied lazily.

Oversized hoodie instead of expensive outfits.

Yet somehow she still looked beautiful.

My chest tightened painfully.

Some girls nearby whispered loudly the second she passed.

“She looks awful.”

“Well duh, she got cheated on.”

I clenched my jaw instantly.

Crystal ignored them completely.

But I noticed her hands tightening around her books.

She heard them.

Of course she did.

Before I could stop myself—

“Hey.”

She looked up slowly.

Recognition softened her tired expression slightly.

“Hi.”

Awkward silence followed.

God.

Why was talking to her suddenly terrifying?

“You okay?” I asked quietly.

Stupid question.

Obviously she wasn’t okay.

But surprisingly, she laughed softly.

“No.”

Honest.

Raw.

Real.

“I’m sorry,” I muttered.

“For what?”

“For… him.”

Her eyes dropped briefly.

“You warned me.”

“I wasn’t trying to be right.”

“I know.”

Another silence stretched between us.

Then suddenly—

“Can we skip class?”

I blinked.

“What?”

She looked strangely serious.

“I really can’t do this today.”

Part of me knew this was a terrible idea.

The responsible answer was no.

But another part—the bigger part—

couldn’t stand seeing her like this.

So instead I heard myself say:

“Yeah.”

Crystal’s POV

Skipping school with Nick Pitcher definitely wasn’t on my 2026 bingo card.

Yet somehow we ended up sitting inside a tiny diner twenty minutes away from Lockwood.

The place smelled like coffee and pancakes.

Oddly comforting.

Nick sat across from me awkwardly while stirring his drink.

“You come here often?” I asked quietly.

“After work sometimes.”

Work.

Right.

Nick actually worked.

The realization made guilt crawl through me suddenly.

I’d spent years surrounded by people whose biggest problem was luxury cars and social drama while Nick worried about actual survival.

“You have two jobs, right?”

He looked surprised.

“How do you know that?”

“I overheard teachers talking once.”

“Oh.”

I studied him carefully.

There was something calming about Nick.

Maybe because he never tried too hard.

Never performed.

Never treated conversations like competitions.

“So…” he cleared his throat softly. “You okay?”

I snorted.

“That question should honestly be illegal at this point.”

A tiny smile appeared on his face.

“You want honesty or comfort?”

“Depends.”

“You look like you haven’t slept in days.”

“Wow. Such comfort.”

“You asked.”

I laughed unexpectedly.

Actually laughed.

The sound surprised both of us.

Nick looked slightly stunned afterward.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“No seriously.”

“You smile differently now.”

My chest tightened slightly.

“What does that mean?”

He hesitated.

“Before, it always looked practiced.”

The words should’ve offended me.

Instead they hurt because they were true.

At Lockwood, everything felt like performance.

Popularity.

Relationships.

Perfection.

Maybe even happiness.

I looked down at my coffee quietly.

“Do you know what the worst part is?”

Nick stayed silent.

“I still miss him.”

Saying it aloud felt humiliating.

“He cheated on me and I still miss him.”

“That’s normal.”

“No, it’s pathetic.”

“It’s human.”

I looked up slowly.

Nick’s expression stayed calm.

No judgment.

No pity.

Just understanding.

And somehow…

That almost made me cry again.

Hours later, Nick drove me back near campus before classes ended.

“You sure you wanna go back?” he asked.

“Not really.”

“Then don’t.”

I sighed heavily.

“I can’t hide forever.”

The moment we stepped out of his old car, students immediately noticed us.

Of course they did.

Lockwood students noticed everything.

Whispers spread instantly.

“Is that Crystal?”

“With Nick Pitcher?”

“What the hell?”

Great.

Exactly what I needed.

Nick noticed my expression immediately.

“You okay?”

“I just became tomorrow’s rumor.”

“People talk too much.”

Easy for him to say.

He was already invisible.

I used to be watched constantly.

Big difference.

We walked toward the entrance quietly.

Then suddenly—

someone grabbed my arm.

Hard.

I gasped instinctively.

Bryan.

His eyes looked bloodshot like he hadn’t slept.

“What are you doing with him?”

Nick immediately stepped closer.

“Let go of her.”

Bryan ignored him completely.

“Crystal, can we talk?”

“No.”

“Please.”

“I said no.”

His grip tightened slightly.

Nick’s expression darkened instantly.

“Dude.”

Bryan finally looked at him.

And the hatred in his eyes shocked me.

“You stay away from her.”

Nick laughed once.

Cold.

“You cheated on her.”

“That’s none of your business.”

“It became my business when she cried because of you.”

Silence.

Sharp and dangerous.

Bryan’s jaw clenched violently.

Then his eyes shifted between us slowly.

Understanding suddenly flashed across his face.

And whatever he realized made him furious.

“You like her.”

My breath caught instantly.

Nick went still.

Bryan laughed bitterly.

“Oh my God.”

“Bryan—”

“You actually like her.”

Students nearby had already started staring openly now.

Wonderful.

Bryan looked at me again.

Then at Nick.

And suddenly his expression changed completely.

Dark.

Possessive.

Terrifyingly calm.

Then he said the one thing that made my stomach drop.

“Crystal… did you sleep with him?”