Changed Hearts

George's POV Today was the first day of second semester. I wasn’t excited. Last semester ended in flames like literally, emotionally. My boyfriend, Tyler, cheated on me with my best friend, Chloe. I was heartbroken. I avoided them all through the holiday. No parties. No holiday lessons. I buried myself in solitude like some broken hearted Netflix cliché. But, of course, school had to start again. And first day attendance? Mandatory. I wore a blue crop top and a black flare jeans. I finished applying my lip gloss and stared at myself in the mirror. My eyes narrowed. “Ughh, what the actual hell,” I muttered. I'd gained weight over the holidays. My boobs looked bigger, my jeans tighter. So much for hot girl comeback. “GEORGEEEEEEE!!!” my brother’s voice thundered from downstairs. “I’m coming!” I yelled back, grabbing my bag and bolting down the staircase. “We’re late,” Miles said, munching a sandwich as he handed me one too. “Dad left really early today. He won’t be back till the weekend.” He grinned like the devil himself. “You know what that means…” “Umm… no?” I frowned. “It means,” he said, opening the car door, “I’m throwing a party.” “Hell no. You know we’re not allowed to do that,” I said, climbing in beside him. “We’re not allowed to do that,” I repeated, thinking about how grounded we’d be if things went south. “I’m your big brother. My word is law,” he smirked, reversing out the driveway. “Besides, you panic too much. Remind me to feed you sleeping pills that night.” “Miles!” I glared. “You’re actually insane.” But then something felt… off. “Wait. Why are we taking this road? This isn’t the way to school.” He didn’t answer right away. “Miles!!” “Okay, chill. You remember Aiden? From middle school? The guy you had a massive crush on?” I blinked. “What about him?” “Well… he moved into the neighborhood. During the holiday. You wouldn’t know because you were locked in like a sad little vampire. Anyway, I’m giving him a ride to school.” Aiden. Of course I remembered him. He was the nerdy cute, slightly popular guy I crushed on hard in middle school. Then something happened and we stopped talking. I don’t even remember what. He just kind of… disappeared from my world. “George, snap out of it,” Miles said, pulling up beside a gate. I turned and froze. A tall guy was walking toward the car. Is that Aiden? He looked... different. Taller. Way taller. He wasn’t wearing glasses anymore. He had clear skin, defined jawline, and arms that said “I may or may not hit the gym now.” Probably around 6'2", just like my brother. Me? I'm 5'2" and still kinda chubby. No glow up in sight. “Hey, Miles,” Aiden said as he opened the door and slid into the front seat. I stared at him, heart pounding. “Hiii,” I blurted, nervous as hell. “Hey,” he replied dryly. Then he turned and started chatting with Miles. Ouch. Even after years apart, the least he could do was pretend to care. But nope. Nothing. I felt my heart sink, but I shoved the feeling down. If I thought about it too much, I’d cry and that would definitely not be cutesy. --- Aiden’s POV As I walked toward Miles' car, I noticed someone sitting in the back seat. George. Wow. She looked... breathtaking. Way more beautiful than I remembered. I had been stalking her social media account this holiday, don’t judge me. She only had two photos posted. One was a close-up of her dimpled smile. The other was a full body pic of her in a maxi dress. She looked stunning in both. I recognized her right away, those blue eyes, curly hair, freckles. She had changed, but in the best way. She was always pretty, but now, she was glowing and she looked really hot. “Hiii,” she said as I got in. “Hey,” I said back, keeping it casual even though my heart was kind of slamming in my chest. I wanted to say more. But it didn’t feel like the right moment. --- George’s POV By the time we got to school, we were painfully late. Second period had already started. Me and Miles both got ten demerit points. While Aiden got just 5 demerit points. Which was very unfair. Miles tried to say something as he and Aiden walked me to class, but I ignored him and marched ahead. “She cares so much about her grades. It’s so cute,” I heard him whisper to Aiden behind me. Ugh. The next class was Languages. As I walked in, all eyes turned to me. “Miss Blake, you are late,” my teacher snapped. “I’m so sorry, ma’am. I was at the principal’s office,” I said, voice soft. “Take your seat,” she said coldly. As I sat down, I heard a few boys mutter comments about my body, specifically, my ass. “Disgusting,” I muttered under my breath. I tried not to let it get to me. We were handed forms to select a language to study this term. For some reason, I picked German. I don't know why but I just felt like doing something different. --- Five hours later Riiiing! The final bell echoed through the hallway. I packed my things quickly and headed out, searching for my brother. But my mind was clouded with thoughts of Tyler. Chloe. The betrayal. Chloe was my only friend but now I had no one. Sigh. And Aiden. Why did he act so cold this morning? It still hurt. You know what? Boys are stupid. I’d rather be on my own than ever date a- SPLASH! Someone bumped into me, and their drink spilled all over my shirt. “Oh my God! I’m so sorry, dear! I didn’t mean to!” a boy said dramatically. He looked stylish, tight shirt, polished nails, colorful sneakers. He was giving gay vibes. “It’s fine, I’m fine,” I said, trying to hide my embarrassment. “No, no, darling. Let me make it up to you. Please,” he said, eyes wide. “It’s okay, really. Thanks though,” I replied, already starting to walk off. But he stepped in front of me again. “Please, I insist. How about I get your number? Maybe I can treat you to lunch sometime?” he said. I didn’t want to reject him again, so I reluctantly agreed to take his number and gave him mine too. “Thanks, my love, you’re a darling,” he said, flashing me a cheeky smile that made my cheeks heat up. “My name’s Devon, by the way,” he added with a wink. "My name is George" I smiled softly, feeling a little flutter inside. Maybe this semester was about to get interesting after all.