Chapter 11 The Feeling She Hated
972 Words
Lily never thought she was the jealous type.
She was usually calm about things. Quiet. She minded her business and stayed away from drama. But all that confidence disappeared the moment she walked into school that morning and saw Ethan laughing with another girl near the lockers.
At first she didn’t think much about it.
The girl was pretty. Blonde hair, loud laugh, confident in the kind of way Lily could never be. She stood close to Ethan while talking and kept touching his arm every few seconds while he smiled at something she said.
Lily slowed down without even realizing it.
Sophie noticed immediately.
“Oh,” Sophie said quietly beside her.
Lily quickly looked away. “What”
“That bothered you.”
“It didn’t.”
Sophie gave her a look. “Lily.”
“I said I’m fine.”
But she wasn’t fine.
Not even a little.
The worst part was that Ethan looked comfortable around the girl. Comfortable the same way he looked around Lily. That thought alone made something ugly twist inside her chest.
As they walked past them, Ethan looked up immediately.
“There you are,” he said smiling.
The girl beside him turned to look at Lily and Sophie.
“This is Lily,” Ethan said casually. “And Sophie.”
The girl smiled politely. “Hi. I’m Ava.”
Lily forced a small smile back. “Hi.”
Then she looked at Ethan. “Class is starting.”
“Yeah,” he replied. “I’ll come in a second.”
Lily nodded once and walked away before Sophie could say anything.
The whole walk to class suddenly felt annoying.
“She’s pretty,” Sophie said carefully.
Lily dropped into her seat by the window. “Okay.”
“And you hate her already.”
“I do not hate her.”
“You literally looked like you wanted to fight her.”
Lily glared at her. “Can you stop”
Sophie laughed softly. “So this is jealousy.”
“I’m not jealous.”
“Lily.”
“She’s just his friend.”
“But the fact that she’s his friend is bothering you.”
Lily opened her notebook aggressively. “I said I’m fine.”
But honestly she hated how strange she felt.
Because for the first time since meeting Ethan, she realized something painful.
He wasn’t hers.
Not even close.
A few minutes later Ethan finally entered class and sat beside her like usual.
“Why do you look angry,” he asked immediately.
“I’m not angry.”
“You definitely are.”
Lily kept her eyes on her notebook. “Maybe your friend kept you too long.”
The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted it.
Ethan looked surprised for a second before smiling slowly.
“Ohhh,” he said softly.
Lily frowned. “What”
“You’re jealous.”
“I am not.”
“You are.”
She looked away quickly while Ethan tried not to laugh.
“That’s actually cute,” he muttered.
Lily’s face became warm immediately. “Shut up.”
Now Ethan was fully smiling.
“Ava is Daniel’s cousin by the way.”
Lily blinked slightly. “Okay”
“She just transferred here.”
“I didn’t ask.”
“But you wanted to know.”
Lily hated that he was right.
Ethan leaned slightly closer. “Relax. You’re still my favourite person here.”
Her heart almost stopped.
He said things like that too casually.
Like he had no idea what they did to her.
Lily looked down quickly pretending to focus on her notes while Ethan sat back smiling to himself.
The rest of the lesson felt impossible to survive.
Every time Ethan spoke to her, her heartbeat reacted stupidly. Every small touch suddenly felt more intense now after what happened earlier.
At lunch things became worse.
Ava joined their table.
Lily nearly lost her mind.
The girl talked a lot and laughed loudly at almost everything Ethan said. Ethan laughed too because of course he did.
Lily stayed mostly quiet.
“You’re being weirdly silent today,” Ethan said while looking at her.
“I’m eating.”
Sophie nearly choked trying not to laugh.
Ethan stared at Lily carefully for a second before smirking slightly like he was enjoying this.
Then Ava suddenly touched Ethan’s shoulder while talking and Lily immediately looked away.
That small action shouldn’t have hurt.
But it did.
A lot more than she expected.
A few minutes later she stood up suddenly.
“I’m going to the library.”
Sophie looked at her knowingly. “Need company”
“No.”
Lily walked away quickly before anybody could stop her.
Inside the library it was quieter, colder, easier to breathe.
She sat down near the back and sighed deeply.
This was exactly why she never wanted to like someone this much.
Because now every little thing affected her.
Every girl around him suddenly felt like competition.
And she hated it.
A few minutes later someone pulled the chair beside her.
Ethan.
Lily didn’t even look at him. “Why are you here.”
“You ran away.”
“I did not.”
“You basically escaped.”
She stayed quiet.
Ethan looked at her for a moment before speaking softly.
“You know there’s nothing going on between me and Ava right”
Lily finally looked at him. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me.”
“Maybe I wanted to.”
That answer made her chest tighten again.
Ethan smiled a little while watching her carefully.
“You really were jealous.”
Lily rolled her eyes and looked away.
But the small smile forming on Ethan’s face told her one thing clearly.
He liked knowing she cared.
- Writer
