CODE HEART ♥

*EPISODE 15: The Assembly Confession*

Monday morning. 7:45 AM. St. Augustine Elite - Main Assembly Ground.

800 students in white and blue uniforms. All standing in straight lines. The morning sun was harsh, but no one cared.

Principal Harrison was on stage with his speech: "And now, I will announce the results of who broke the 30-day no-talking punishment... Alex Shepherd and Charlotte Lane..."

Charlotte was standing in the back row, last line, with Sophie and Mia. She was holding Cookie's pink carrier tightly. She hadn't slept all night. Her eyes were red, swollen, but she was wearing her black cap and her glasses were clean. In her pocket, a new keychain. Same as before, but this time it said "CODE HEART - A & C - 100% - SORRY"

Alex was standing in the front row, first line, with Lucas and Jack. He also hadn't slept. He was in his black shirt, but it was ironed today. His mother had left when he was 10, his father never ironed his shirts, but today he ironed it himself. He looked cold, but his hands were shaking inside his pockets. He was holding something too - the old muddy keychain Charlotte threw in the rain. He had cleaned it. It shined.

Principal: "Alex Shepherd and Charlotte Lane, you both failed our team last month, your project failed, school lost. But your project from Nationals still won, so you are forgiven. Your 30-day punishment ends today. You may talk now."

He was about to continue his speech.

Assembly was about to end. Everyone started to move, to go to classes.

But then, a voice shouted from the back.

A girl's voice. Loud. Breaking. Crying.

"ALEX!"

800 heads turned.

Charlotte Lane was running.

She was running through the crowd. Through 800 students. Her cap fell down. Her glasses were shaking. She was holding Cookie's carrier in one hand and her bag in the other. She was not caring about anyone. Not caring that 800 people were watching. Not caring that Principal was watching. Not caring that her father Dr. Lane was actually visiting school that day and was standing near the gate.

She ran through the middle aisle, pushing through Year 10, Year 11, Year 12.

"ALEX! ALEX SHEPHERD!"

Alex turned. He was in the front row. He saw her running.

For a second, he froze. The cold bully who never lets girls come near him. The boy who built a wall around himself for 8 years after his mother left.

But then his wall broke.

He also ran.

He ran towards her. Through the crowd. Lucas and Jack moved away. Sophie and Mia started crying and recording.

In the middle of the assembly ground, exactly where the morning sun was falling, they met.

Charlotte, panting, crying, tears falling on her white uniform, dropped Cookie's carrier (Lucas caught it just in time), and hugged him. Tight. So tight. In front of 800 students.

Charlotte, crying loudly into his black shirt, not caring who heard: "I'M SORRY! I'M SO SORRY, ALEX! I DIDN'T TRUST YOU! ETHAN LIED! VANESSA LIED! I SAW THE VIDEO! I WAS STUPID! I BROKE YOUR TRUST! I THREW YOUR KEYCHAIN! I'M SORRY!"

The whole assembly: _DEAD SILENCE_

800 students had never seen Alex Shepherd being hugged. No girl had ever hugged him. He had rejected 7 girls. He had said "Don't come near me."

But now, a girl was hugging him. And he...

He hugged her back.

Both hands. Tight. His face buried in her hair. His shoulders shaking.

Alex, his voice broken, whispering only for her, but the mic on stage caught it because Principal's mic was still on:

"Don't leave... don't ever leave again... you left me in the rain... like Mom left... it hurt..."

He was crying. Alex Shepherd was crying. For the second time in his life in front of school. First time was when his mother left when he was 10. Second time now.

Lucas shouted from the front: "BRO IS CRYING! ALEX IS CRYING!"

Sophie was already full crying, holding Mia: "HE IS CRYING FOR HER! HE LOVES HER!"

Dr. Lane, Charlotte's father, who was standing near the gate, saw his daughter hugging a boy in front of 800 people. He was about to get angry. But then he saw Alex crying. He saw his daughter crying. He understood. This was not just teenage drama. This was real.

Principal Harrison didn't stop them. He let them hug. He switched off his mic and smiled.

After one full minute of hugging in the middle of the ground, Charlotte pulled back a little, her face red, her glasses foggy with tears.

She took out the new keychain from her pocket.

Charlotte, giving it to him: "I made a new one. This time it says 100%. Not 99.9%. Because I trust you 100% now. No doubt. Will you... will you be my partner again? Code Heart?"

Alex took the keychain. He took out the old muddy one from his pocket. He held both.

Alex, wiping his tears with his sleeve, trying to be cold but failing: "You took 30 days to make a 100% keychain? You are slow, Lane. Extremely slow. And extremely beautiful. And too pretty to resist."

Charlotte laughed and cried at the same time: "And you are still a bully! Extremely cold, extremely rude!"

Alex: "And you are still my partner. Forever?"

Charlotte: "Forever. Code Heart forever."

He put both keychains in his pocket. And hugged her again.

The whole assembly of 800 students erupted. They all shouted: "CODE HEART! CODE HEART! CODE HEART FOREVER!"

Lucas and Jack lifted Alex on their shoulders. Sophie and Mia lifted Charlotte.

From the side, Ethan Stone was watching. His leather jacket, his perfect smile, gone. He was pale.

Sophie saw him and shouted: "PRINCIPAL! WE HAVE A VIDEO TO SHOW! ABOUT ETHAN AND VANESSA!"

Lucas connected his phone to the big assembly speaker. The video played. Vanessa crying: "Ethan paid me $50 to lie! Ethan edited the photos! It's all fake!"

800 students gasped and looked at Ethan.

Principal Harrison's face turned red with anger. He looked at Ethan: "Ethan Stone! My office! Right now! And call your father!"

Ethan ran. He ran out of assembly ground, out of school, his leather jacket flying.

Vanessa also came out of her class, crying, and apologized to Charlotte in front of everyone: "Sorry, Charlotte... Ethan forced me..."

Charlotte, still in Alex's arms, said: "It's okay. But don't ever lie about someone's heart."

That evening, after school, Alex and Charlotte went to the computer lab where it all started. Where they first fought about Python vs C++. Where he first put his hand over hers on the mouse.

They sat at the same two computers.

Alex opened his laptop. He typed something and showed her.

On his screen, in big letters, with hearts:

`if Charlotte_says_sorry == True:`

` Alex_will_never_leave = True`

` print("Code Heart Forever")`

Charlotte laughed, her eyes still red, and typed on her laptop:

`if Alex_cries_for_me == True:`

` Charlotte_will_never_doubt_again = True`

` print("I love you, my bully")`

Alex saw it. His ears turned red. Sophie was right. When his ears turn red, he is in love.

He looked at her.

Alex: "You typed love?"

Charlotte, blushing furiously, trying to delete it: "No! I typed... I typed... bug! Typo!"

Alex held her hand to stop her from deleting: "Don't delete. I like this bug. This bug can stay forever."

They hugged again in the coding lab where it all started. Outside the window, Sophie, Mia, Lucas, Jack were all crying and recording through the glass.

Sophie whispering: "HE PROPOSED WITH CODE! THAT'S OUR SHIP! THAT'S CODE HEART!"

*[END OF EPISODE 15 - END OF BREAKUP ARC]*