Chapter 6 – Rumors Wear School Uniforms Too
500 Words
The morning after Zayn let Teo in—really in—he woke up with a different kind of heaviness in his chest. Not dread. Not guilt.
Hope.
And that terrified him.
Because hope always felt like a setup. A trap waiting to snap the moment you start trusting it.
Still, he walked into school differently. Slower, quieter, but with a strange calm in his chest. Teo wasn’t next to him, but Zayn could still feel his warmth in the spaces between his fingers. Like a ghost touch.
Then he saw Maia.
She didn’t yell. Didn’t even glare.
She smiled.
Too calm.
Zayn knew that smile. He’d seen it on his mother when she was done forgiving. When she'd already packed the bags in her mind.
“Hey,” Maia said sweetly, brushing past him at her locker. “You and Teo make a cute couple.”
Zayn froze.
Her voice was loud enough to echo.
A few students turned.
Whispers. Wide eyes. Half-laughter.
“Maia…” Zayn started, heart thudding.
She shrugged. “You should’ve just told me. Instead of pretending. Instead of using me like a cover.”
Zayn swallowed hard. “I wasn’t—”
“Don’t lie to me, Zayn,” she snapped, her voice still low, but sharp. “You think I didn’t notice how you looked at him? Every time I touched you, you flinched.”
More students gathered nearby, pretending to check their lockers.
Teo appeared down the hallway.
He saw the tension. Saw Zayn frozen. Saw Maia’s smirk.
Zayn’s throat closed up. “Teo—”
But Teo just gave a small shake of his head.
He turned.
And walked away.
That broke something.
The hallway tilted. Sound faded.
Zayn’s body moved on its own, chasing after him.
“Teo, wait!”
Teo didn’t stop until they reached the edge of the sports field. Empty. Private.
He turned, finally, and his eyes burned.
“You said you were scared,” he said quietly. “I was scared too. But I still showed up for you.”
Zayn looked down. “I didn’t want this to happen.”
“But it is happening, Zayn! People talk. They always will. But you don’t get to run from this just because you’re not ready to be honest.”
“I’m trying!” Zayn snapped, voice cracking. “I’m trying to figure out who I am—”
“No,” Teo said. “You already know. You just hate that it’s not who they want you to be.”
Zayn’s breath hitched.
“I like you, Zayn,” Teo continued, softer now. “But I won’t be your secret.”
Silence.
Painful, thick silence.
Zayn wanted to speak. Wanted to beg. But all that came out was: “I need time.”
Teo nodded slowly.
“Then take it. But don’t take me with it.”
And with that, he walked away again—this time, leaving a silence that echoed louder than any rumor.
- Writer
