FOR THE SAKE OF YOU

Breaking the Ice

I woke up today with my head pounding. I felt a heavy migraine. The weight of my assignments was crushing me. I had barely finished one project before another was due. It felt like I was drowning in a sea of deadlines, but there was no one to save me. I wasn’t a top student, but I cared about my grades, and the pressure to keep up was suffocating.

On top of that, my period had hit full force. The cramps were unbearable, my energy drained, and I had barely slept the past few days. But school didn’t stop for personal problems, and neither did the never-ending pile of work.

I wasn’t the kind of girl who lost her temper easily, but today felt like the last straw.

There I was, standing in the hallway after another grueling class, staring down at my phone as I quickly checked the time. I was late for lunch with Vicky, but it didn’t matter. It wasn’t the usual break chatter or the typical gossip that was on my mind. No, it was him—Clyde Hans.

And for once, I was ready to confront him.

I had had enough.

I spotted him leaning against the lockers, talking to a few of his friends. His usual smirk was in place, looking as untouchable and unbothered as ever. It was like he didn’t have a care in the world, while I was about to lose mine.

I stormed up to him, my heart pounding and my hands shaking from a mix of anger and exhaustion. The world around us seemed to blur as I got closer, my focus zeroing in on him.

"Clyde," I said, my voice sharper than I intended, cutting through the chatter of the students around us. He looked up, his eyes locking onto mine, the usual coolness in his gaze replaced with mild curiosity.

"What's up, Luce?" His tone was cold but casual, but I could tell he was starting to notice the fire in my eyes.

I didn’t even bother to hold back anymore. The words spilled out, faster than I could stop them.

“What’s up? You think I’m your personal assistant or something? You’ve been doing nothing for this project! I’m stuck doing all the work while you sit back like it’s not a big deal! I’m already overloaded with assignments, and you just—” My breath hitched, the anger surging as I stepped closer to him. "You’re making it worse, Clyde!"

He raised an eyebrow, an almost amused look flickering in his eyes, but there was no apology in his stance. He simply shrugged, like he couldn’t care less. “Relax, Luce. It’s just a project.”

"Just a project?" I almost shouted, taking a deep breath to hold myself together. “You think this is a joke? I’m not some top student who can breeze through life. I care about my grades, and this isn’t how things are supposed to work!”

Clyde’s eyes hardened, but I wasn’t backing down. “I’m not like you. I don’t have a father who can just make my problems disappear. I have to work harder than you can even imagine just to keep up with this school!”

His smirk faltered slightly as he watched me, the surprise in his eyes something I hadn’t expected. He was used to everyone either fearing him or catering to him, but not me. I wasn’t going to stand there and let him brush me off.

“You think you can do whatever you want because you’re rich, because you don’t care?” I stepped even closer, my voice low and intense. “Well, I care. And I’m done doing all of it alone.”

For a second, Clyde was quiet, his eyes locked onto mine. It was the first time I had seen him truly taken aback. He was so used to being the one in control, but now, the roles were shifting, and it wasn’t something he was prepared for.

“You’re a real pain, you know that?” he muttered, his voice colder than ever, but there was an edge to it now, something different.

“I don’t care," I shot back, my voice thick with defiance. "You don’t get to treat me like this anymore, Clyde. I'm done being invisible to you.”

The silence between us was heavy, like something unspoken had passed between us. I wasn’t sure if he was angry, intrigued, or both. But there was something in his gaze that made me question what kind of person he really was.

Finally, he spoke again, but his words were clipped. “Fine. I’ll help. But don’t think you can talk to me like that again.”

I stood there, heart racing, trying to suppress the mix of emotions swirling inside me. I didn’t know if I had just won or if I had just made things worse, but for the first time, I felt like I wasn’t just another face in the crowd to him.

And maybe, just maybe, that was exactly what I needed.

I walked away, my mind still racing, my chest tight with the adrenaline of our confrontation. Part of me wanted to turn around and go back to finish what I started, but I didn’t. I had said what needed to be said, and now I just wanted to get away from him.

But that wasn’t easy.

The whole way home, I couldn’t shake the feeling of his eyes on me, the way he seemed so unaffected at first, but then something shifted. I couldn't pinpoint exactly what, but I could sense it. There was something different about the way he looked at me now. Something raw. Maybe even… intrigued?

I rubbed my forehead as I sat on the edge of my bed, trying to make sense of everything. I was exhausted, drained from all the schoolwork and the emotional whirlwind of the day. I pulled out my phone, sending a message to Vicky to fill her in. She had been waiting for an update ever since I stormed off to confront Clyde.

“You won’t believe what happened. I lost it. Told him off about the project and everything. He actually listened... kind of.”

A few seconds later, my phone buzzed with her reply.

“Omg, wait, really? That’s a huge win! So, what now? He’s gonna help you, right?”

I sighed and tossed my phone on the bed. "He better," I muttered under my breath, not entirely convinced. My heart was still racing. It felt like I had just started a battle I wasn’t sure I was prepared to win.

The next day at school, I did my best to avoid Clyde. I didn’t want to see him or talk to him. He didn’t deserve my attention, not after everything. But when I walked into the classroom, I saw him standing near the door, his eyes scanning the room, and for the briefest of moments, they landed on me.

I quickly looked away, my heart rate picking up again. He was standing there, still calm, still distant, but his presence felt like a weight I couldn’t ignore.

My stomach twisted as I sat down in my seat, pretending to focus on the work in front of me. I didn’t know what to think anymore. It wasn’t just about the project anymore—it was about him, and how everything about our interactions had changed in the past 24 hours.

The bell rang for the next class, and I sighed, gathering my things to head to the lab for our project. I didn’t know if I was ready to face him again.

But when I got there, he was already waiting. He leaned against the counter, arms crossed, his usual smirk back in place.

“You’re late,” he said, his voice smooth but with a trace of something—was it amusement?

“I’m not late,” I snapped, my irritation flaring up again. “I’m on time.”

I tried to ignore him as I set my things down and pulled out my notes. But I could feel his eyes on me. Watching me.

“You really care about this, don’t you?” he asked, his voice quieter now, more curious than mocking.

“Of course, I do,” I shot back without thinking. “Why wouldn’t I?”

He didn’t respond right away, just kept watching me. It felt like he was trying to figure me out, to decode the person standing in front of him.

“Well,” he said after a moment, breaking the silence, “I guess I should stop messing around then.”

I looked up to find him staring at me, and for the first time, his eyes weren’t filled with arrogance. They were something else—hard to define, but definitely not what I expected.

Gosh, I wish he would just unbutton my shirt right now...

'Ew! why are you thinking about that Raya! You're supposed to be mad at him! I shrugged and looked at the project, avoiding his gaze. He removed his gaze from me and looked at the pending project aswell.