CHAPTER FIVE TWO FACED HEART
1553 Words
Two Weeks Later
Felicia’s POV
It’s been days now, and it feels like I’m bonding more with Josh. Rae keeps teasing me to go for him.
In her words: “He really likes you. I can see it in his eyes.”
But I can’t. Not when I know I’d only hurt him — because I’m still tangled up in my feelings for Clerk.
Lately, Clerk has been… different. Not softer, but quieter. He doesn’t troll me like before. Not that we’re friends now — my presence still annoys him — but at least he’s stopped picking fights just for fun.
Now his problem is Josh.
They argue over everything, always trying to bruise each other’s egos like old rivals. Josh — the once patient, kind one — has started acting petty, pulling pranks, starting scenes in the hallway after lunch. It’s ridiculous.
I decided to step out to find Rae, who was probably somewhere with Conrad.
Just as I closed the door to the music room and turned, I bumped into someone. When I looked up, I met those forest-green eyes again — Clerk’s eyes. His lashes twitched as if something irritated him.
“Sorry,” he said.
I froze. My legs locked up, and I just stared at him, wide-eyed.
“Will you stop staring at me like a freak?” he barked.
“Can’t you be gentle for once?” I shot back before I could stop myself.
He scoffed. “I’d rather sell my soul to the devil than be nice to a freak like you.”
I should’ve walked away. But instead, I wanted to hear him talk again — that low, angry voice that somehow made my heart beat faster.
“You know, it wouldn’t kill you to be sweet for once. Try being like Josh—”
Before I could finish, he grabbed my wrist and dragged me back into the music room. My back hit the wall.
“Never in your life,” he said through clenched teeth, “compare me to that bastard boyfriend of yours.”
“Boyfriend?” I asked, my heart thundering. “Seems like you’re good at making assumptions. First I’m a slut, now Josh is my boyfriend. What’s next?”
His eyes burned into mine, his voice low and dangerous. “Stop trying to piss me off. I’ve been keeping my distance from your tantrums—”
“My tantrums?” I snapped. “You’ve been the one dragging me into arguments, mocking me, acting like I’m some joke. And now I’m the one throwing tantrums?”
His grip loosened. I shoved his hand away.
“f**k you, Clerk,” I spat. “And f**k your oversized ego.”
I stormed out, my pulse racing.
Outside, the cool air stung my face. I hated him — his arrogance, his temper, the way he looked at me like I was both trouble and temptation. But why did my chest feel so heavy? Why did every fight with him feel like something more?
Josh was calm, steady, good for me. Clerk was chaos, everything I shouldn’t want.
And yet, I couldn’t decide which part of me was louder — the one that craved peace, or the one that craved him.
---
Clerk’s POV
I didn’t go to class. I just walked. Her words kept echoing in my head.
She’d looked right at me when she said them — no fear, no hesitation.
And for the first time, I wondered if I’d gone too far.
I told myself I didn’t care, that she was just another loudmouth who annoyed me. But she wasn’t. She got under my skin in ways I didn’t understand.
Josh’s name alone made my jaw tighten. The way he looked at her, the way she smiled when he spoke — it pissed me off. I’d told myself it was because he was fake, too perfect. But maybe it was because she looked happy when she was with him.
I slammed my fist into a locker and muttered a curse.
I didn’t like this feeling — this loss of control.
When she stormed out of the music room, I wanted to stop her. I wanted to apologize — something I never do — just to see her look at me without hate. But I didn’t move. I just watched her go, and every step she took away from me felt wrong.
Maybe she was right — maybe I was a manipulator. But what if the only person I couldn’t manipulate anymore was her?
---
Josh’s POV
I saw her leaving the music room, her face tight with anger. Clerk was inside, leaning against the wall like he owned the place.
Of course. Him again.
Every time I tried to be patient, he found a way to push her buttons — or mine.
When I first met Clerk, I thought he was just another guy who liked attention. But the more I watched, the more I realized something else. The way he looked at Felicia wasn’t simple hate. It was something sharper, heavier. And I hated it.
Because I saw how she looked back.
She said they annoyed each other, but she talked about him too much, thought about him too long. And every time she did, I felt that quiet ache of knowing I was the one she came to for peace — not passion.
Still, I couldn’t stop hoping.
When I found her by the lockers later, I smiled and said, “You okay?”
“Yeah. Just tired.”
I knew it was a lie, but I didn’t push. We walked out together, talking about everything and nothing. Then I saw Clerk leaning near the gate, eyes on her like he couldn’t look away.
She saw him too. And in that single glance between them, I understood everything I didn’t want to believe.
I kept walking, still talking, pretending not to notice the way her heartbeat quickened — because I could feel it through her hand in mine.
And maybe that’s what loving someone like Felicia really meant — holding on even when you knew she was already halfway gone.
---
Felicia’s POV
Josh walked me out, his hand warm and steady around mine. He kept talking, but all I heard was the silence between me and Clerk across the gate.
It wasn’t a glare this time. No smirk, no insult. Just eyes that said too much.
He looked away first, and yet it felt like he’d seen right through me — like he knew I was lying when I said I was fine.
Josh deserved better than my half-hearted smiles. He deserved someone who loved him the way he loved me. But my heart was traitorous. Every time I tried to let go of Clerk, something in me refused.
When Josh squeezed my hand, I squeezed back, pretending that could fix it. But my eyes drifted once more, and there he was — still watching.
And for a second, the whole world seemed to blur, leaving only the two of us.
---
Clerk’s POV
She walked away with him, smiling — but it wasn’t real. I could tell.
I told myself to forget it, to stop caring. But when she turned back, just once, something in my chest cracked open.
That look. It wasn’t hate. It was confusion — the same kind that’s been eating at me since the first day she showed up.
I used to think I hated her for being loud, stubborn, impossible. But now I knew better. I didn’t hate her at all. I liked that she challenged me. I liked that she never backed down. I liked that she made me feel something real.
And that scared me.
Because I’d spent my whole life keeping people out — but with her, I didn’t know how to.
As she disappeared down the street, laughter fading behind her, I realized that maybe what I’d been calling anger was something else entirely.
Something that felt too much like falling.
---
Felicia’s POV
That night, I couldn’t sleep. My mind kept replaying everything — Clerk’s voice, his grip, the way his eyes softened for just a second before he turned cold again.
I rolled over, staring at the ceiling. Josh’s kindness felt like sunlight — warm, safe, steady. Clerk was the opposite — a storm I couldn’t help walking into.
Maybe I was broken for wanting both.
But between peace and fire, part of me already knew which one I’d choose — even if it burned me.
---
Josh’s POV
I lay awake, thinking about her. I’d seen the way she looked at him, even when she tried to hide it.
Maybe love isn’t about being chosen first. Maybe it’s about staying when you know you won’t be.
So I’ll stay — until she decides which part of her heart she wants to follow.
Even if it isn’t me.
---
Clerk’s POV
Sleep didn’t come easy. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her — angry, defiant, beautiful.
I told myself to stop caring, to let her go. But I couldn’t.
Because somewhere between all the chaos and the arguments, she’d become the only person who made me feel alive.
And maybe I’d already fallen — long before I was ready to admit it.
- Writer
