Jeremy lay sprawled across his bed, one arm draped over his eyes, the soft hum of his ceiling fan sliced through the silence of his room.
His phone buzzed somewhere near his pillow, but he didn't reach for it. Not in the mood for the group chat, or Maximus's stupid memes, or Ashley's string of "you up?" texts.
He exhaled deeply.
He hadn't seen Jenny after Mr. Jack's class, and that weird feeling still hadn't gone away.
To make matters worse, he'd gone and stirred up a whole drama show in front of half the class.
"Please tell me no one's reading into that," he muttered to himself, already dreading the hallway whispers.
Rex's words came screaming back like a bad ringtone "She your damn girlfriend or what? Mind your own!"
"Girlfriend? Pffft, no way…hell no," Jeremy scoffed out loud, shaking his head like that'd shake the thoughts loose.
"I just… hope nobody sees it that way."
There was a soft knock on his door before it creaked open.
Maximus leaned in, already shirtless like he owned the place, holding a bag of chips and wearing that same smug grin he'd had since stepping off the plane.
"You dying in here or what?" Max asked, tossing a chip into his mouth.
Jeremy sat up with a groan. "What do you want?"
"To hang, obviously. You disappeared after dinner. Thought I'd come rescue you from your brooding cave."
Jeremy rolled his eyes. "It's not a cave. It's a room. And I'm not brooding."
Maximus sauntered in anyway and flopped onto the beanbag near the desk. "Sure, sure. Not brooding. Just lying in the dark like a vampire with emotional issues."
Jeremy didn't respond.
Max crunched loudly. "So... who's the girl?"
Jeremy stiffened. "What?"
"Come on, man. I've been here two seconds and I can already tell something's up. You're all moody, didn't even finish your dinner…which, by the way, was amazing…and you've got that look."
"What look?"
Max smirked. "The I'm-in-denial-about-my-crush look. Classic."
Jeremy grabbed a pillow and lobbed it at him. "Shut up."
Max dodged effortlessly. "You can lie to yourself, bro, but I've seen it a hundred times. Trust me… girls don't make you this miserable unless they mean something."
Jeremy fell back on his bed again, silent.
Max chuckled, standing. "Just sayin'. Mystery girl got you twisted. Might wanna do something about that."
When the door finally clicked shut behind Max, Jeremy stared at the ceiling again, his expression unreadable.
"What is wrong with me?" he whispered.
But the answer didn't come.
Only the ghost of a look in Jenny's eyes…soft, confused, a little sad…lingered with him, long after the lights went out.
*
*
*
The next morning at school came faster than Jenny would've liked.
She stood in front of her locker, pretending to rummage through her books while secretly trying to keep her head down.
The hallway buzzed with the usual chaos—shoes squeaking, lockers banging shut, and laughter bouncing off walls from conversations she wasn't included in.
As she walked past a group of students, she caught something…those subtle glances. Like people were watching her.
She ducked behind her locker door like a shield, only to flinch when a voice popped up behind her.
"Morning, zombie girl," Maya grinned, materializing like a ghost, with powdered donuts in hand.
Jenny jerked back slightly. "Jeez, Maya! Why'd you sneak up on me like that? I nearly swallowed my heart," she said, half-laughing as she shook her head.
She leaned in close to Maya, lowering her voice.
"Psst, did you notice everyone's staring at me today? Or am I just paranoid?"
"Huh? Not really…" Maya said, her eyes scanning the hallway, trying to connect invisible dots.
After a few seconds of detective mode, a lightbulb practically lit up over her head.
She snapped her fingers like she'd cracked the case.
"Jeremy!" she blurted out.
"What's Jeremy got to do with anything?" Jenny snapped, her voice sharper than she meant. "I'm talking about people staring at me…. Not him."
"Why are you even bringing him up? I've been trying to wipe that entire situation from my brain… .him, everything he did, just… ugh!"
Before she could spiral further, Maya gently pressed a finger to Jenny's lips.
"Shhh, calm down, baby girl. Just listen for a sec."
Jenny froze, lips sealed, while Maya's finger stayed right there like a 'pause' button.
Maya pulled her hand back, spun halfway and faced Jenny again.
"You might've missed it, but I didn't."
"Missed what, Maya?" Jenny snapped, as her patience ran thin.
"Jeremy's into you!"
"Oh come on..don't start with that nonsense," Jenny shot back instantly.
Maya slammed Jenny's locker shut like it was a mic drop.
"You seriously don't see it?"
"See what, exactly?"
"He fought for you after school yesterday," Maya said with a little sparkle in her eyes. But Jenny looked totally unconvinced.
"Pfff, yeah right. What, did he get into a fight over me now? That's rich," Jenny said in clear disbelief.
"What…so you also didn't catch how his eyes were practically glued to you the entire class?"
"Oh please, Maya. Let's move on. The only thing Jeremy did yesterday was embarrass me. That's it."
"Rex! He literally punched Rex—for mocking you in class!" Maya blurted, grabbing Jenny's arm and giving it a tug like that would make her believe it faster.
"I know he likes you, Jenny. Everyone else sees it too! That's why everyone's looking at you—they know. You're just the only one who doesn't!"
Jenny stayed quiet, her brain trying to process her thoughts
And then, like fate just had to prove a point, Jeremy walked into the hallway in slow, cinematic fashion.
"There he is!" Maya whispered, excited…but that excitement died the second they saw what came next.
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