Now she's gat all his attention
951 Words
Mila didn’t expect to feel it. That slow burn in her chest — like something had been stolen right out of her hands and she hadn’t even held it properly yet.
Liam was still Liam. Still quiet, still polite. He still walked past her seat every morning. Still greeted her with that same faint nod. But something had shifted- something small, but heavy. Like the way he never lingered anymore. Like the way his smile no longer paused just for her.
And now it lingered somewhere else.
Her name was Keisha.
Of course it was Keisha. Tall, pretty, loud in the way boys liked, soft in the way girls envied. Her best friend since year eight and now, the girl Liam had started smiling at like she was sunlight.
“Mila,” Keisha said, chewing gum like she owned the hallway. “You left your book in Lit. Mr. Bram was going to bin it.”
She tossed the book lightly toward her chest, like a casual favor. Mila caught it, eyes narrowing.
“Thanks,” she mumbled.
Keisha didn’t notice the frost in her tone — or she didn’t care.
Liam walked past just then.
Not toward Mil, not a glance.
Straight to Keisha.
“Hey,” he said, his voice gentler than she remembered it being for her. “Thanks for the notes yesterday.”
Mila froze. Notes? When? She blinked, pretending not to listen.
Keisha grinned. “Anytime. You said you needed help with that essay, right?”
They walked off. Together, close, too close.
By third period, Mila had barely written a sentence. Her pen tapped against her desk, a slow, numbing rhythm. Liam sat across the class now — a full row apart. He hadn’t always. He used to claim the seat right behind her, his presence always warm, always there.
She remembered how he’d flick paper balls at her ponytail.
She remembered how he’d wait for her by the lockers.
And now… nothing.
It wasn’t fair. She hadn’t told him to stop. She just… hadn’t said yes.
“Why so moody?” her seatmate asked.
“Nothing.”
It was nothing. She hadn’t claimed him. He was never her and yet watching him with Keisha made her feel like her ribcage was shrinking.
Lunch was unbearable.
Keisha sat with Liam now. Right across from him, laughing at things that weren’t that funny. Their fingers brushed once, and Keisha giggled.
Mila bit into her sandwich like it was revenge.
“You good?” Jordan, one of her classmates, asked. He was watching her too closely.
“I’m fine,” she lied.
Mila didn’t do homework upon getting home
She stared at her phone screen instead, opening and closing Liam’s contact. His messages were still there. From months ago.
“Are you walking home today?”
“Did you get the reference for our project?”
“Let me know if you want help, I don’t mind.”
She never responded to the last one.
She didn’t even remember why.
Maybe because she didn’t want to seem too available. Maybe she thought he’d always keep waiting.
A new notification popped up.
Keisha: “Liam says we should all go to the café after school tomorrow. You in?”
Her heart dropped.
Why did it feel like a punch?
She typed:
“Sure.”
Then deleted it.
Typed again:
“Can’t. Got stuff to do" and she sent that instead
She tossed her phone face down.
The next day after school, she watched them walk off together from a distance. Liam carried Keisha’s bag. He never did that for Mila, not even once.
A part of her wanted to chase after them. The other part? Too proud.
She turned and walked the opposite way.
At home, her mom was surprised to see her early.
“Everything okay?”
“Fine,” Mila said, voice tight.
She went straight to her room.
Her playlist was on repeat. Every sad song she never used to listen to now felt like her life. Her chest ached in a weird, unfamiliar way.
"I think I miss him, no, I know I do but I waited too long and now Keisha’s smile is where my silence used to be". she said to herself
Their teacher randomly assigned groups. Mila felt her stomach drop when she heard the names.
Liam, Keisha, Mila.
Of course.
The gods of awkward silence were laughing.
They met in the school library to plan their slides. Liam sat beside Keisha, while Mila sat across. The distance between them was heavy — like history no one was brave enough to open.
“I think Mila should present the second part,” Liam said, eyes finally meeting hers.
His voice was neutral, polite, nothing else.
Mila nodded. “Okay.”
She wanted to ask him why he stopped looking at her like he used to. She wanted to tell him she wasn’t as okay as she seemed. But Keisha was there - always there.
After the meeting, Keisha left to use the restroom.
Mila and Liam sat in silence for a moment.
Then he said, “You used to talk to me more.”
Mila blinked. “You used to sit closer.”
Liam’s eyes held hers for a beat longer than necessary.
And then he stood. “Good night, Mila.”
He walked away.
That night, she cried, not loud, not messy, just quiet tears under the blanket, soaking into her pillow.
It wasn’t just about Liam.
It was about timing.
She had him — not completely, but close enough — and she let him slip and now Keisha had the version of him that used to belong to her.
- Writer
