Chapter Three—The Question
1241 Words
Chapter Three
The Question
The school party was the one thing everyone had been talking about for weeks.
By the time Amara got to school that morning, the whole place already felt different. Music was playing from the hall, students were running around with decorations, and teachers were trying their best to make sure nobody turned the school into complete chaos.
Amara stood in front of her mirror that morning, looking at herself in the gown she’d chosen for the party.
It wasn’t anything too crazy, but it was definitely different from what she usually wore to school. She felt pretty in it. More confident than usual.
She smiled at herself before grabbing her bag.
“Today is going to be fun,” she whispered.
She had no idea just how much that day was about to change things.
When Amara got to school, she immediately noticed Ethan standing with some of his friends near the entrance.
The second he saw her, he stopped talking.
His eyes stayed on her for a second longer than usual.
Amara noticed.
“What?” she asked, trying not to smile.
“Nothing.”
“You’re staring.”
“I wasn’t staring.”
“You definitely were.”
Ethan laughed. “Okay, maybe a little.”
Amara rolled her eyes, but the smile on her face gave her away.
“You look really nice,” he finally said.
“Thank you.”
They walked into school together, and somehow, from that moment, they barely separated the entire day.
At first, Amara didn’t think anything of it.
They talked during the party preparations. They laughed over random things. Ethan kept stealing little pieces of food from her plate until she threatened to stop sharing with him.
“You’re actually annoying,” she said.
“And yet you’re still sitting beside me.”
“Unfortunately.”
He laughed.
The party officially started around midday, and the hall quickly became packed with students. Music filled the room, people were taking pictures, and everyone seemed to have forgotten they were supposed to behave like students.
Amara and Ethan stayed together through almost everything.
They took pictures.
They joked around.
They watched their classmates dance.
At one point, Ethan leaned toward her.
“Come.”
“Where?”
“Dance.”
Amara looked at him like he had just suggested something ridiculous.
“Me? Dance?”
“Yes, you.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want to embarrass myself.”
Ethan laughed. “Amara, everyone is embarrassing themselves. That’s literally the point of a school party.”
She shook her head.
But after a few seconds, she finally gave in.
“Fine.”
They joined the others on the dance floor.
Amara immediately started laughing because Ethan was dancing so badly.
“Stop laughing!” he said.
“I can’t!”
“You’re not even better!”
“I never said I was!”
They danced, laughed, and forgot about everything else for a while.
For those few minutes, it felt like there was nobody else in the room.
Then one of the teachers walked into the hall and immediately started shouting.
“Juniors! Out of the hall!”
Everyone froze.
“What?”
“Out! All of you! The juniors are leaving now!”
Amara and her classmates groaned.
“Seriously?” someone complained.
The teacher pointed toward the door.
“Now!”
Amara looked at Ethan.
“I have to go.”
“I know.”
She smiled slightly.
“Bye.”
“Bye.”
She started walking away with her classmates, but she turned around once.
Ethan was still watching her.
Their eyes met.
Neither of them said anything.
But somehow, that tiny moment stayed in Amara’s mind for the rest of the evening.
Later that night, Amara was lying on her bed when her phone buzzed.
Ethan: You home?
She smiled.
Amara: Yes. You?
Ethan: Just got home.
Amara: Did you enjoy the party?
Ethan: I did.
A few seconds passed.
Ethan: Especially the part where you finally agreed to dance with me.
Amara laughed quietly.
Amara: You were terrible at dancing.
Ethan: You enjoyed it.
Amara: Maybe 😂
That one word started a conversation that neither of them expected to last so long.
They talked about the party.
Then school.
Then their classmates.
Then completely random things.
Before they knew it, they were talking about their childhoods, their fears, the things that made them happy, and the things they didn’t usually tell people.
It felt different.
Like they were getting to know each other in a way they hadn’t before.
Eventually, Ethan asked:
“Can I ask you something?”
Amara stared at the message.
“Sure.”
There was a pause.
Then:
“When did you start liking me?”
Amara’s heart skipped.
She read the message twice.
“Who said I like you?”
“Nobody. I’m asking.”
She smiled at her phone.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“No.”
“That’s a lie.”
She laughed.
Maybe it was time to stop pretending.
Amara took a breath before typing.
“Okay. Maybe I started liking you when you started being there for me.”
She stared at the screen after sending it.
Ethan didn’t reply immediately.
Then his message appeared.
“I think I started liking you when I realized I actually looked forward to seeing you every day.”
Amara’s smile slowly grew.
For the first time, neither of them was trying to hide it.
They liked each other.
It was simple.
It was scary.
But it felt right.
They kept talking.
Ethan told her that he loved how comfortable she had become around him.
Amara admitted that she felt like she could be herself whenever they were together.
Then Ethan sent another message.
“Amara?”
“Yes?”
“I don’t want us to keep acting like we’re just friends when we both know there’s something more.”
Her heart started beating faster.
She didn’t know what to say.
Then another message came through.
“So I’m going to ask you properly.”
Amara sat up in bed.
“Ask me what?”
There was a pause.
Then Ethan finally typed:
“Amara, will you be my girlfriend?”
She stared at the words.
She had imagined him asking.
Maybe she’d even secretly hoped he would.
But seeing it there on her screen made everything feel suddenly real.
She smiled so hard her cheeks started hurting.
She typed a response.
Deleted it.
Typed another.
Deleted that too.
Finally, she settled on:
“Yes.”
Ethan replied almost immediately.
“Really?”
“Yes, really 😂.”
“So you’re actually my girlfriend now?”
Amara laughed.
“I guess I am.”
“Best decision I’ve made.”
She shook her head, smiling at her phone.
They continued talking late into the night, neither of them wanting the conversation to end.
Eventually, Ethan sent one final message.
“Goodnight, girlfriend.”
Amara stared at it for a moment.
Then she smiled.
“Goodnight, boyfriend.”
She placed her phone beside her pillow and lay back down.
Everything had changed.
Just one day ago, Ethan had been the boy she spent her time with.
Now he was something more.
And as Amara closed her eyes, she couldn’t stop thinking about one thing.
Maybe this was only the beginning.
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