Chapter 2

She had barely slept, but that wasn't important.

What mattered was Adrian's smile.

That's cute.

Those two words had replayed in her mind at least a hundred times.

Maybe he hadn't meant anything romantic by them.

Maybe he had.

Lena chose to believe the second option.

She stood in front of her mirror that morning, adjusting the collar of her school shirt.

"Today," she whispered to her reflection, "I'm going to act normal."

She paused.

"Completely normal."

Her reflection stared back at her.

Lena nodded seriously.

"Normal."

Five minutes later, she was walking into school with the biggest smile on her face.

Maya spotted her immediately.

"Oh no."

Lena stopped.

"What?"

Maya walked toward her suspiciously.

"You're smiling."

"So?"

"You only smile like that when something happened."

"Nothing happened."

Maya raised an eyebrow.

"Did Adrian talk to you?"

Lena looked away.

Maya gasped.

"He did!"

"Keep your voice down!"

"You spoke to Adrian?"

"Yes."

"What did he say?"

"Nothing."

"Lena."

"He just asked if I liked him."

Maya's mouth fell open.

"And what did you say?"

Lena smiled shyly.

"I said maybe."

Maya stared at her.

"You actually said maybe?"

"I panicked."

"And what did he say?"

"He said it was cute."

Maya's expression changed.

"Lena..."

"What?"

"I don't know if that's a good thing."

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"Because Adrian calls everything cute when he doesn't take it seriously."

Lena's smile faded slightly.

"You think he was making fun of me?"

"No. I'm saying we don't know what he meant."

Lena shrugged.

"I'm not going to overthink it."

Maya smiled.

"Good."

They started walking toward their classroom.

Unfortunately, neither of them noticed the group of students standing near the staircase.

One of them was Adrian's friend, Jason.

And Jason had heard enough.

By the time Lena entered the classroom, the rumor had already begun spreading.

"Lena likes Adrian."

"Did you hear?"

"She told him herself."

"Apparently he called her cute."

"Seriously?"

The whispers followed her.

Lena's smile disappeared.

She stopped beside her desk.

Maya looked around.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know."

A girl from the front row turned around.

"So, Lena..."

Lena looked at her.

"What?"

"Is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"You like Adrian."

The classroom went quiet.

Lena's stomach dropped.

She looked at Maya.

Maya immediately stood beside her.

"Why are you asking?"

The girl shrugged.

"Everyone already knows."

Lena's cheeks burned.

"Who told everyone?"

Someone laughed.

"Does it matter?"

Another student joined in.

"You should just admit it."

Lena swallowed.

There was no point denying it anymore.

She lowered her eyes.

"Yes."

The room erupted.

"Ooooooh!"

"She admitted it!"

"Lena and Adrian!"

Someone started laughing.

Lena wished she could disappear.

Then Jason called from the back.

"Don't worry, Lena. Adrian knows too."

More laughter followed.

Lena forced a smile.

"Great."

Maya frowned.

"You guys need to leave her alone."

Jason grinned.

"Relax. We're just joking."

Lena sat down quickly.

She opened her notebook and pretended to read.

Her hands were trembling.

She could hear everyone whispering.

She tried to ignore them.

Then the classroom door opened.

Adrian walked in.

The noise immediately changed.

Everyone looked at him.

Adrian smiled casually.

"Why is everyone looking at me?"

Jason laughed.

"Your girlfriend is here."

The class exploded with laughter.

Lena's heart sank.

Adrian looked toward her.

For one terrifying second, their eyes met.

Lena expected him to defend her.

Instead, Adrian laughed.

"She's not my girlfriend."

The laughter grew louder.

Lena's fingers tightened around her pen.

Jason grinned.

"But she likes you."

Adrian glanced at Lena again.

"I know."

Someone whistled.

"Adrian!"

Lena couldn't breathe.

Adrian walked toward his seat.

As he passed Lena's desk, he leaned slightly closer.

"Don't take them seriously."

His voice was quiet.

Lena looked up.

"Okay."

He smiled.

Then he continued walking.

For some reason, that small moment made her feel better.

Maybe he wasn't embarrassed by her.

Maybe he just didn't know how to handle the attention.

Lena returned to her notebook.

But Ethan, sitting near the window, had noticed everything.

He had seen the way Lena's smile disappeared when Adrian laughed.

He had also noticed something else.

Adrian hadn't looked uncomfortable.

He had looked entertained.

The teacher entered a few minutes later, ending the conversation.

Everyone returned to their seats.

Lena tried to focus on the lesson.

But the whispers continued.

By lunchtime, the entire school seemed to know.

Lena walked into the cafeteria with Maya.

She kept her head down.

"Ignore them," Maya said.

"I'm trying."

They found a table and sat down.

Lena opened her lunch.

Then someone walked past their table and said loudly,

"Careful, Lena. You might eat all the food before Adrian gets here."

Several students laughed.

Lena froze.

Maya stood up.

"What's your problem?"

The student shrugged.

"Nothing. I'm joking."

Lena grabbed Maya's wrist.

"Leave it."

"But—"

"Please."

Maya slowly sat back down.

Lena stared at her food.

She didn't feel like eating anymore.

Across the cafeteria, Adrian sat with his friends.

He looked completely unaffected by everything.

Then his eyes moved toward Lena.

For a moment, he watched her.

Ethan noticed.

"Why are you staring?"

Adrian looked away.

"I'm not."

"You are."

Adrian shrugged.

"She's different."

Ethan frowned.

"Different how?"

Adrian smiled.

"I don't know."

Ethan looked toward Lena.

She was quietly talking to Maya now, pretending everything was fine.

Ethan looked back at Adrian.

"Then figure it out before you hurt her."

Adrian laughed.

"You worry too much."

Maybe Ethan did.

But something told him this wasn't going to end well.

Lena had spent months building a fantasy around Adrian.

And now the entire school knew about it.

Soon, everyone would be watching to see what Adrian would do.

Lena didn't know it yet, but the next time Adrian spoke to her, it wouldn't be a quiet conversation in an empty classroom.

It would happen in front of everyone.

And it would be the first time Lena wished she'd never confessed her feelings at all.