Confrontation at Lunch
591 Words
Ailith stared at Nara, her fork frozen mid-air. She could feel the tension thickening between them.
Tavian, on the other hand, casually took another bite of his sandwich, completely unbothered.
Ailith gulped. “Uh… talk? About what?”
Nara leaned in slightly, her expression unreadable. “You know exactly what.”
Ailith definitely did not.
Or maybe she did.
But she wasn’t ready to admit it.
She forced a laugh. “Nara, if this is about the math problem earlier, I swear I didn’t cheat—”
Nara sighed dramatically. “Oh, please. I know you’re not a genius. This isn’t about math. It’s about him.” She tilted her chin towards Tavian.
Tavian raised an eyebrow. “Me?”
“Yes, you.” Nara folded her arms and turned back to Ailith. “I saw you two earlier this morning. You were together outside the flower shop.”
Ailith’s stomach dropped.
“Oh. Uh… that.”
“Yes, that.”
Tavian smirked. “Are you interrogating her?”
Nara ignored him, her sharp gaze fixed on Ailith. “Care to explain?”
Ailith forced a nervous chuckle. “It’s not what you think.”
Nara narrowed her eyes. “Really? Because from what I saw, it looked like you two were getting pretty cozy.”
Ailith choked on air. “Cozy?! No! We just—” She shot Tavian a desperate look. “Help me out here?”
Tavian leaned back, looking highly amused. “Why? You’re doing great on your own.”
Ailith resisted the urge to kick him under the table.
Nara sighed. “Look, Ailith. I don’t have a problem with you. But you know how I feel about Tavian.”
Ailith definitely knew. Everyone did. Nara had been vocal about her crush on Tavian since forever.
Nara continued, her voice quieter this time. “I just want to know if there’s something going on between you two.”
Ailith opened her mouth—then closed it.
What was she supposed to say?
No, there’s nothing going on? (Which was true… right?)
Or should she admit that maybe—just maybe—there was something starting?
She didn’t know.
Tavian, however, seemed to have zero hesitation.
“She’s still thinking about it,” he said casually, taking a sip of his drink.
Ailith’s eyes widened. “Wha—?!”
Nara’s gaze snapped back to her. “Thinking about what?”
Ailith panicked. “N-Nothing! He’s joking!”
Tavian smirked. “Am I?”
Ailith turned to glare at him. "Why is he making this worse?!"
Nara watched their exchange carefully. Then she leaned back, an almost calculating expression on her face.
“Hm. Interesting.”
Ailith gulped. “W-What’s interesting?”
Nara stood up, grabbing her tray. “You.”
“…Me?”
Nara gave her a small, knowing smile. “I’ll be watching you.”
And with that, she walked away.
Ailith let out a huge sigh of relief, slumping against the table.
Tavian chuckled. “That went well.”
Ailith shot him a glare. “What was that?!”
“What?” He smirked. “I was just helping.”
“Helping?! You literally made it worse!”
“Did I?” Tavian leaned in slightly, his voice lower. “Or did I just make it more fun?”
Ailith’s heart skipped a beat.
She shoved a spoonful of food into her mouth just to avoid answering.
Tavian laughed, clearly enjoying this way too much.
And Ailith?
She was so not surviving this semester.
- Writer
