CHAPTER SIX:MIXED SIGNALS
1412 Words
Monday came too early.
Ella woke up to her alarm screaming like it hated her.
Her phone buzzed again — but not from the alarm. It was from Jayden.
Jayden: Morning, sunshine,Ready to inspire the world again?
Ella: Barely. I need coffee before motivation.
Jayden: Challenge accepted. Check your door in 10 minutes.
She frowned, confused.
Ten minutes later, there was a knock.
She opened the door — and there it was: a cup of her favorite caramel coffee, still warm, with a note.
“For the world’s most stubborn Love Coach — from your No.1 student.”
Ella laughed, shaking her head.
“He’s unbelievable,” she whispered, texting him immediately.
Ella: You actually delivered coffee?
Jayden: Told you. I believe in effort. 😉
She smiled so hard her cheeks hurt.
🎥 Later That Day — On Set
They were shooting a new YouTube episode together —
“Signs You’re Falling for Someone.”
Jayden set up the camera, pretending to be focused, but his eyes kept finding Ella. She was sitting on the couch, reading her notes, her hair tied in a loose bun.
“Ready?” she asked, looking up.
“Yeah,” he said quickly, trying not to look too obvious.
The camera started rolling.
“Hi guys,” Ella said cheerfully, “welcome back to another episode of Love Lessons with Ella! Today, we’re talking about signs you might be catching feelings—”
“Like smiling too much at someone’s texts,” Jayden interrupted playfully.
She shot him a look. “Or someone who keeps finding excuses to be around you.”
“Or someone who delivers coffee for no reason,” he added.
The imaginary audience would have been screaming.
Ella tried not to blush. “Anyway,” she continued, “those are some signs you might need to—”
“Admit you like them,” Jayden said.
She glared. “You’re ruining my video.”
He smirked. “Or making it real.”
When they finished recording, Ella threw a pillow at him.
“You just love chaos, don’t you?”
Jayden caught the pillow and smiled. “Only when it involves you.”
She rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t hide her grin.
The Text That Changed the Mood
That evening, Ella posted a clip from their video.
Within minutes, comments started pouring in:
“You two have chemistry omg ”
“Are they dating or what???”
“That guy likes you fr ”
Ella laughed it off at first — until she saw one particular comment.
“Jayden is cute but didn’t he used to date that model girl, Vanessa? ”
She frowned.
Vanessa. The name hit like cold water.
She opened his profile — and sure enough, a few scrolls down were old pictures of him and Vanessa: smiling, hugging, looking perfect.
Her stomach dropped.
The Call
Jayden called later that night, his usual cheerful voice on the line.
“Hey, Love Coach. You posted the clip, right? It’s already trending.”
“Yeah,” she said shortly.
He paused. “You sound… off. What’s wrong?”
She hesitated. Then, softly:
“So it’s true?”
“Who’s Vanessa?”
“I was hoping that wouldn’t come up yet,” he sighed. “Yeah, we dated. It ended months before I met you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you never asked. And because it’s… complicated.”
“Complicated how?”
“She wanted fame. I wanted something real. It ended ugly.”
Ella leaned back on her bed, her heart twisting.
“So I’m what — your new distraction?”
“Don’t say that,” Jayden said firmly. “You’re nothing like her. You actually make me want to be better.”
Her voice softened. “Then why hide it?”
“Because I didn’t want you to see me as some guy with baggage.”
She didn’t reply for a long moment.
“Jayden… I don’t know what to think right now.”
“I understand,” he said quietly. “Take your time.”
Ella’s Thoughts
That night, Ella couldn’t sleep.
She kept replaying everything — their laughter, their messages, his smile.
Was she overreacting? Or was she falling too fast for someone she barely knew?
She grabbed her journal and started writing:
“I teach love every day, but I don’t even understand it myself.
Why does one secret feel like betrayal?
Maybe I’m scared — scared that he’ll leave too, just like the others.”
Tears blurred her vision. She closed the book and whispered,
“Why does this hurt so much?”
The Next Day — The Awkward Encounter
They met again at the studio the next morning.
The air was weird. Heavy.
Jayden walked in holding two coffees, like always.
He placed one on her table without saying a word.
She looked up. “You didn’t have to.”
“I wanted to,” he said quietly. “I don’t like when we’re not okay.”
She sighed. “I’m not mad, Jayden. Just… confused.”
“I get that,” he said, sitting down. “But can I ask something?”
“What?”
He looked straight at her. “Would it change how you feel about me if I told you I still talk to Vanessa sometimes?”
Her chest tightened. “You what?”
“It’s nothing serious,” he said quickly. “She just checks in, that’s all.”
Ella laughed — but it wasn’t funny.
“You really know how to make a girl feel special.”
Jayden frowned. “That’s not fair.”
“Neither is finding out your crush still chats with his ex,” she shot back.
He stood up.
“Ella, I like you. You know that. But I can’t rewrite my past.”
“And I can’t ignore it,” she said quietly.
They stared at each other — hearts racing, both too proud to speak first.
Finally, Jayden picked up his camera bag.
“I’ll give you space,” he said softly, and walked out.
The door closed. The silence was deafening.
Days Passed…
Ella threw herself into work — editing videos, replying to comments, pretending she didn’t care.
But she missed him.
The coffee jokes. The random texts. The way he looked at her like she mattered.
One evening, she saw him post a photo:
“Back to creating. Sometimes silence teaches more than words.”
Her heart dropped. Was he moving on already?
She typed a message — then deleted it.
Typed again. Deleted again.
Finally, she sent:
Ella: I saw your post. You okay?
Jayden: I miss talking to you.
Ella: Then why did you disappear?
Jayden: Because I thought you needed time.
Ella: Maybe I needed you instead.
Silence.
Then —
Jayden: Can we talk? In person.
Ella: When?
Jayden: Tonight. Same café.
The Talk
The café felt different this time — quieter, heavier, like it remembered their laughter and was waiting for them to fix it.
Jayden was already there, fidgeting with his cup.
When Ella walked in, he stood up instantly.
“You came,” he said softly.
“I said I would.”
They sat. Silence.
Then Jayden spoke first.
“I don’t want to lose what we have because of my past,” he said. “Vanessa’s not part of my life anymore. You are. You’re the person I think about when I wake up — the one who makes me believe I can be happy again.”
Ella looked down, blinking fast.
“You really mean that?”
He nodded. “Yeah. But I’ll understand if you’re not ready.”
She smiled faintly. “You talk too much, you know that?”
He laughed. “Is that a yes or no?”
She leaned closer. “Maybe… but it’s better than silence.”
He grinned, relief washing over his face.
“I’ll take maybe.”
They both laughed — not because everything was fixed, but because it was real.
The kind of reality that hurts, heals, and holds you all at once.
That Night
Later, as Ella lay in bed, her phone buzzed again.
Jayden: Thanks for giving me another chance.
Ella: Don’t waste it.
Jayden: Never. Goodnight, Love Coach.
Ella: Goodnight, Camera Boy.
She smiled, placing her phone on her chest.
And this time, when she slept — she didn’t dream of confusion.
She dreamed of hope.
- Writer
