Henry spots Ava before she sees him- standing in the middle of hallway, talking with Eve, a small smile forming on her face but for Henry that smile felt like an insult, telling him he's not good enough.
He walks past her.
Ava calls for him, guilt in her voice. "Hey-wait."
He wants to stop and ask why she didn't show up to their date two days ago but his pride wouldn't let him.
She catches up to him anyway, walking beside him. "Can we talk?"
Neither does he respond nor react to her presence, he acts as if she's not there at hall. He adjusts the strap of his bag on his shoulder, eyes fixed of the hallway ahead and continues to march to his destination.
Frustrated at not able to have a conversation and give him an explanation, she blocks his way, standing a little far from him, hand clasped together, her eyes fixed on the floor not daring to gaze at his face.
She wants to speak but her throat feels tighten, barely finding the words, she begs, "Please… can we talk, please."
"I'm getting late." He says flatly.
No explanation, no anger, just a slight disappointment in his voice.
He keeps going, disappearing into the crowds while she's standing in the middle of the hallway, talking to herself, this isn't the right time to talk to him but she has to talk with him sooner or later.
Later that evening, she texts.
He reads it once. His thumbs hover his keyboard, he types his reply- a polite one explaining he waited for an hour or more, how anxious he was while waiting for her, how much he checked his phone for her reply and how disappointed he was when she didn't show up. He reads his reply once, twice but he couldn't bring himself to click the send button. Instead he deletes his message, locks his phone and slips it into his pocket.
Ignoring her didn't erase his feeling toward her, it didn't heal him from the pain, it didn't make him feel loved but instead it made him feel tired and his days, harder.
Three days passed instantly, without them encountering each other, not in the hallway, cafeteria or in the gymnasium as their practice time have changed.
The first time he sees her again, his body reacts faster than his mind. His chest tightens, breath catching up to him. She's standing near a door where his next class was supposed to take place, loose hair running down her back, talking to her friends. For a second, he could feel the excitement he used to feel before when he spots her.
He doesn't let himself to be overwhelmed by that feeling.
"Hey, would mind informing the professor that I cannot attend today's class?" he asks Noah.
Noah nods in confusion but doesn't question him.
He turns sharply and walks back to the way he came from. His heart keeps pounding faster with every single step he takes walking away from her, the irony could make anyone laugh.
The next day, while returning from the cafeteria he crosses path with her, she notices hm.
He's walking with his group when he hears his name, "Henry?"
He turns back and notices her too.
Before he could walk away. "hey," she says, "Please… just for a minute."
"You guys go ahead," he requests his friends, "I'll catch up to you."
He stands there, not because he wants to but because ignoring someone when she's with her friend seems rude.
"we'll wait inside." Eves bluntly tells him and heads inside the cafeteria along with their other friends.
She looks nervous, guilty and hopeful.
"I'm late for class," he says flatly, cutting her before she could say anything.
She blinks. "I just _"
"Take care," he says gently but firmly and walks away.
Walking off feels worse than he expected. His hand shaking slightly and he clenches them into fists until she no longer sees him. Ignoring her doesn't make his feeling disappear, it just makes him feel his heart ache and the pain grows day by day.
She exhales slowly and turn away, she scans the cafeteria until she spots her friends seated at the table near the corner, walks toward them and sits near Eve.
She sits at the table, finger wrapped tightly around her mug even though her drink was gone cold.
"I couldn't go." She finally says, breaking the silence.
Eve leans in. "what do you mean you couldn't go?"
She exhales sharply. "Last time… he asked me out and he was going to confess to me."
"wait wait…" Eve blunts out. "you mean you didn't go to that date."
"Not only did I not go." She says, her voice low. "I didn't even text him."
"You ghosted him?" Sasha, one on her classmate asks her.
"I didn't mean to do that," she answers. "I was almost ready to go but… Thompson showed up at my door."
"By Thompson..." Eve ask in confusion. "You mean your ex-Thompson."
Ava nods. "yeah… my ex Thompson."
"I thought you guys were done."
"We are done," she adds. "I was surprised too, when he showed up and wanted to get back together."
"I thought you liked Henry." Sasha asks.
"I do like him."
"Then why did you ghost him."
"Thompson showing up at my door had me in confusion." Ava continues. "I didn't know what to do at the time. I took that night to think carefully and I became clear on that."
"you mean you wants to get back with Thompson." Eve says, concern in her voice. "you know what you have gone through after he left you. You had hard time until Henry showed up."
"I know," Ava replies. "I mean I want to be with Henry. I hate that I took that whole night to have clear my mind."
"Now, Henry's ignoring you?" Eve asks her.
She nods her head. "I get why he's ignoring me, I just hope he hasn't changed his mind."