THE CONFESSION THAT WASN'T MADE
672 Words
HIDDEN HEARTS
CHAPTER 13: THE CONFESSION THAT WASN'T MADE
Monday morning arrived far too quickly.
Elena spent most of Sunday trying not to think about the festival.
Unfortunately, she failed.
Every time she remembered Jayden's words, her heart reacted the same way.
"You're the person I look for first when I walk into school".
What was she supposed to do with that?
What was it even supposed to mean?
By the time she arrived at school, she was more confused than ever.
---
"Good morning," Mia said.
Elena nearly jumped.
Mia narrowed her eyes immediately.
"Why do you look like you haven't slept?"
"I slept."
"You're lying."
Elena sighed.
"I slept a little."
Mia gasped dramatically.
"This is about Jayden, isn't it?"
"No."
"Elena."
"Maybe."
Mia slapped the desk excitedly.
"I knew it!"
Several students turned to look.
Mia immediately lowered her voice.
"Tell me everything."
"No."
"Tell me something."
"No."
"Tell me one word."
Elena opened her notebook.
Conversation over.
---
Across the room, Jayden was dealing with a similar problem.
Derek dropped into the seat beside him.
"You look happy."
"I always look happy."
"No."
Derek pointed at him.
"That's a different smile."
Jayden immediately stopped smiling.
"There."
Derek grinned.
"Definitely different."
---
The first half of the day passed normally.
Too normally.
Neither Elena nor Jayden mentioned the festival.
Neither brought up their conversation.
Both pretended everything was fine.
Neither fooled anyone.
---
After lunch, the English teacher announced a new assignment.
The class groaned collectively.
"You'll be working in pairs," she said.
The room immediately erupted.
Students began guessing.
Complaining.
Negotiating.
The teacher ignored all of it.
Then she started reading names.
One after another.
Until—
"Elena Hart and Jayden Cole."
The classroom exploded.
Again.
---
"Oh, come on!" Derek shouted.
"This school is doing it on purpose."
Even the teacher laughed.
Elena buried her face in her hands.
Jayden looked toward the ceiling.
Neither seemed surprised anymore.
---
When class ended, they met in the library to start planning.
At first, the conversation stayed focused on schoolwork.
Research.
Deadlines.
Presentation dates.
Safe topics.
Then silence arrived.
The dangerous kind.
The kind where both people were thinking about the same thing.
And neither wanted to say it first.
---
Finally, Jayden closed his notebook.
"About the festival..."
Elena's heart immediately sped up.
"What about it?"
Jayden hesitated.
For once, he looked genuinely nervous.
"I think I said something weird."
Elena blinked.
"Weird?"
"Yeah."
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"I wasn't trying to make things awkward."
Elena stared at him.
Part of her wanted to know exactly what he meant.
Another part was terrified.
---
"What did you mean?" she asked quietly.
Jayden looked down for a second.
Then back at her.
The confidence he usually carried seemed completely gone.
"I meant..." he started.
Then stopped.
A group of loud students entered the library.
The moment shattered instantly.
The noise filled the room.
People took nearby seats.
The privacy disappeared.
---
Jayden sighed.
Bad timing.
Very bad timing.
Elena nodded slowly.
"It's okay."
Neither of them mentioned it again.
But both felt disappointed.
And neither understood why.
---
As they packed their things to leave, Jayden walked beside her toward the exit.
The sun was beginning to set outside.
Golden light filled the hallway.
"Can I ask you something?" he said.
Elena nodded.
"Do you ever think about what people would say if we were actually together?"
Elena nearly missed a step.
Her heart stopped.
Then started again.
Faster.
Much faster.
She looked at him.
Certain she had heard wrong.
But Jayden looked just as surprised as she felt.
Like the question had escaped before he could stop it.
For a moment, neither moved.
Neither spoke.
Neither breathed.
Then the final bell rang through the school.
Breaking the moment.
Saving them.
Or ruining it.
Neither knew which.
Because for the rest of the evening, only one question remained in Elena's mind:
Why would Jayden ask something like that...
Unless he had already thought about it himself?
- Writer
