Too Close Too Ignore
778 Words
HIDDEN HEARTS
EPISODE 6: TOO CLOSE TO IGNORE
The classroom felt heavier than usual.
Not because anything had changed physically.
But because everyone was watching.
Elena Hart could feel it the moment she walked in.
Eyes.
Whispers that stopped the second she turned her head.
She went straight to her seat, pretending not to notice.
Pretending was getting harder.
Across the room, Jayden Cole was already there.
Headphones around his neck, pen tapping lightly against his notebook. Calm on the outside.
But not fully.
Because he noticed it too.
The staring.
The murmurs.
And the way Elena avoided looking at him completely.
“Bro,” Derek muttered as he slid into the seat beside him. “This is getting worse.”
Jayden didn’t respond.
Derek followed his gaze. “You’re looking at her again.”
“I’m not,” Jayden said quickly.
Derek smirked. “That was instant denial. That means yes.”
Jayden finally looked away. “It’s just annoying.”
“Sure,” Derek said, leaning back. “Totally annoying.”
---
During class, Mr. Daniels walked in with a stack of papers.
“Presentation updates,” he announced. “Elena Hart and Jayden Cole will present first.”
The room reacted immediately.
Elena’s fingers tightened slightly on her pen.
Jayden exhaled through his nose. “Of course.”
Mia turned slightly in her seat, whispering to Elena. “You okay?”
Elena nodded once. “It’s just a presentation.”
But it didn’t feel like just a presentation.
Not anymore.
---
After class, Elena packed her things quickly, trying to leave before anyone could stop her.
But she didn’t get far.
“Wait.”
Jayden’s voice.
She paused, not turning fully. “We already planned everything.”
“I know,” he said, catching up to her.
A short silence.
Then—
“People are getting worse,” he said.
Elena shrugged slightly. “They always do.”
“That doesn’t make it normal,” Jayden replied.
That made her stop.
Slowly, she turned to face him.
“You don’t have to care about it,” she said quietly.
“I don’t like it,” he corrected.
Another pause.
Elena studied him for a moment. “Why?”
Jayden hesitated.
That was new.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “It’s just… loud. All of it.”
Elena looked away slightly. “Then ignore it.”
“I am trying,” he said. Then added, softer, “But it’s not easy when it keeps involving you.”
That sentence hung in the air.
Elena didn’t respond immediately.
Because she wasn’t sure what part of it felt heavier.
The fact that he said it…
Or the fact that it mattered at all.
---
Later that afternoon, they met in the empty classroom to prepare.
At first, it was normal.
Notes. Ideas. Quiet discussion.
But slowly, the silence between them started changing.
Not awkward.
Just… aware.
Jayden leaned forward slightly. “You always think this deeply about things?”
Elena glanced at him. “Is that a problem?”
“No,” he said quickly. “It’s just different.”
“Different from what?”
“Most people here,” he said. “They talk a lot. But don’t really say anything.”
Elena looked at him for a second longer than usual.
Then returned to her notes.
“You talk a lot too,” she said.
Jayden smiled slightly. “Yeah, but I usually mean it.”
That made her pause again.
She didn’t reply.
But she didn’t ignore him either.
And Jayden noticed that.
---
By the time they finished, the sun was already low outside the window.
Golden light filled the room.
Elena closed her notebook. “We’re done.”
Jayden nodded. “Yeah.”
A moment of silence.
Neither of them stood immediately.
Then Jayden spoke again.
“Hey.”
Elena looked up.
He hesitated for a second—like he was choosing his words carefully.
“You’re not… what people say you are,” he said.
Elena blinked. “And what do they say I am?”
He shook his head slightly. “It doesn’t matter.”
That answer should’ve frustrated her.
But it didn’t.
Instead, she just said, “People always talk.”
Jayden looked at her quietly. “Yeah. But they don’t always get it right.”
A beat.
Then he stood up first.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said.
Elena nodded. “Tomorrow.”
He left.
And for a long moment, Elena stayed seated in the empty classroom.
Not because she had to.
But because something about that conversation didn’t feel finished.
Even though it was.
- Writer
