Vanessa pov
I hadn't stopped replaying the gala since it happened, the words I'd said echoing back at me at the worst possible moments, in the middle of class, brushing my teeth, lying awake at two in the morning staring at my ceiling.
*I just want him to look at me the way he looks at you. Just once.*
I'd said that. Out loud. In front of half the school.
I told myself I was past it now, mostly, that the embarrassment had faded into something more manageable, but it still sat there, low and persistent, whenever I let my guard down.
Chelsea, at least, had been kind about it, checking in occasionally, easy and warm, never once bringing it up directly unless I did first.
That should have made me feel better.
Instead, sitting in the courtyard at lunch, watching her laugh at something P
