Olivia's POV
When I went to get my notebook from Jayden the other day, I noticed he had become somewhat different—like he was avoiding me, but I didn't think too much of it.
Anyway, school soon resumed, and the usual chaos and noisy vibes soon returned.
At recess, I found Alisha under the oak tree near the basketball court, which had somehow become our hangout spot.
We had soooo much to catch up on since we'd been apart for so long.
"Yeah, that reminds me," Alisha said, mid-laugh from some random funny stuff I had said.
"So—did you later give the letter to Dylan?" she asked.
I immediately felt a small blush creep onto my cheeks.
"Nope. Not yet," I replied.
"Girlll... you're blushing!" she teased again while I kept defending myself.
Yes, I liked Dylan.
I liked him so much that I wanted to be with him, but he never looked my way.
---
Recess was over shortly after, and we both went back to class, the chattering of students becoming louder as everyone hurried to their seats.
When I went straight to my seat, I noticed Jayden had changed seats.
Weird.
Initially, Mrs. Smith had placed his seat beside mine so it would be easier for us to study together and stuff.
After school, I went to wait for him at the basketball court. But when the game ended, the moment he saw me, he took another path with his friends and pretended not to see me.
Jayden and I had been keeping a good relationship. We were good friends and got along, which made me worry about why he might suddenly be ignoring me.
Over the next few weeks, a similar pattern evolved.
If we ran into each other, he'd act as if he hadn't seen me or take another route.
If I tried to talk to him, he'd give an excuse about having something to do.
What exactly had gotten into him?
I tried not to let it bother me at first.
Maybe he was just busy. Maybe something was going on at home. That had to be it.
But the more it kept happening, the harder it became to ignore the knot forming in my stomach every time I saw him turn away.
One afternoon, I finally decided I wasn't going to let him slip away again.
I spotted him near the lockers, alone for once, scrolling on his phone like he was trying to look occupied.
I walked over anyway.
"Jayden," I called softly.
He froze for a second.
I saw a flicker in his eyes before he quickly slipped his phone into his pocket.
"Hey," he said, not looking at me.
That alone hurt more than I expected.
"Can we talk?" I asked.
He hesitated.
"I've got practice."
"Please," I said, a little more desperate than I meant to sound. "Just for a minute."
That finally made him look at me.
For a second, I thought he might actually say yes.
But then his jaw tightened, and he shook his head.
"Not now, Olivia."
And just like that, he walked away.
I stood there, completely still, watching him disappear down the hallway with the same friends he always seemed to have time for.
My chest felt tight.
I didn't understand what I had done wrong.
And worse...
I couldn't stop thinking that maybe I did.