Page 4

The next day in school, I walked through the halls with my head down, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone. I could feel people staring at me, whispering and snickering as I passed. I knew they were all talking about my humiliating rejection at the hands of Rachel.

I tried to ignore them, but it was impossible. The pain and humiliation of the previous day was still fresh, like a raw wound that refused to heal.

Rachel approached me in the hallway, her usual smirk on her face. I could feel her eyes on me, waiting for me to acknowledge her presence.

"Hey," she said, her voice a little too cheerful. "Can we talk for a minute?"

I kept my eyes fixed straight ahead, pretending not to hear her. I didn’t want anything to do with her after the way she had humiliated me the day before.

"Jake," she said, her voice now annoyed. "I’m talking to you."

I continued walking, refusing to give her the satisfaction of a response. I could feel her irritation growing as she followed me down the hallway.

"Don’t ignore me," she said, her voice a little more forceful now. "I just want to talk to you for a minute."

I clenched my jaw, my anger rising at her entitled attitude. Did she really think she could just treat me like dirt and then act like everything was fine between us?

I quickened my pace, trying to put some distance between us. But Rachel wasn’t giving up that easily. She grabbed my arm, trying to pull me to a halt.

"Jake, stop walking," she said, her voice becoming more frustrated. "I just want to talk to you."

I finally stopped, but I didn’t turn to face her. I just stood there, my back to her, my jaw clenched.

There was a moment of silence between us, with Rachel waiting for me to turn around and acknowledge her. But I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction.

Finally, she spoke, her voice a mixture of annoyance and desperation. "Are you seriously going to ignore me?" she asked, her grip on my arm tightening.

"What do you expect me to do?" I finally snapped, turning around to face her. "After the way you publicly humiliated me yesterday, you think I’m just going to forgive and forget?"

Rachel rolled her eyes, clearly not expecting me to stand up for myself. "You’re being dramatic," she said, her voice dismissive. "I was just messing around, it’s not that big of a deal."

"Not that big of a deal?" I repeated incredulously. "You publicly rejected me in front of the entire school and then laughed at me. How is that not a big deal?"

Rachel shrugged, her eyes darting around the hallway. "It was just a joke," she said, her voice nonchalant. "I didn’t think you’d take it so personally."

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Did she seriously think I would just brush off her cruelty as a "joke"?

"It wasn’t a joke," I said, my voice cold. "It was deliberate and cruel. You went out of your way to humiliate me in front of everyone. And for what? Just to get a few laughs?"

"Yeah, so?" Rachel said, her voice still dismissive. "You’re being way too sensitive about this. It’s not like you actually had a chance with me. I just said what everyone was thinking."

I clenched my fists at my sides, my anger and frustration boiling over. I couldn’t take anymore of her condescending attitude.

"You know what?" I said, my voice tight with fury. "I’m done with this conversation. I don’t need your attitude or your büllshit."

I turned and stalked down the hallway, leaving Rachel standing there by herself.

As I walked away, I could feel her eyes on my back, but I didn’t turn to look at her. I just kept walking, my head held high and my heart aching with humiliation and anger.

Rachel’s best friend, Libby, noticed the exchange between Rachel and me from across the hallway. She approached Rachel, her eyebrows raised in surprise.

"What was that all about?" Libby asked, gesturing towards me.

Rachel huffed, her arms crossed over her chest. "Jake’s just being a sensitive baby," she said, her voice full of annoyance. "I rejected him yesterday in front of everyone, and now he won’t talk to me."

Libby raised an eyebrow, her expression turning from surprise to disappointment. "You did what?" she repeated, her voice tinged with disbelief.

Rachel shrugged, seeming unbothered by Libby’s expression. "Yeah, I told him he didn’t have a shot with me in front of everyone," she said, a hint of a smirk on her face. "It was all in good fun."

Libby shook her head, her expression hardening. "You can’t just play with people’s feelings like that," she said, her voice firm. "That was mean and cruel, Rachel."

Rachel rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed by Libby’s reaction. "Oh, come on," she said, her voice dismissive. "It’s not like he actually had a chance with me. I was just stating the obvious."

Libby shook her head again, her disappointment growing. "That doesn’t matter," she said. "You still shouldn’t have done it. You hurt his feelings and embarrassed him in front of everyone. That’s not cool."

"Yeah, well, he’ll get over it," Rachel said, her voice laced with indifference. "He’s just being oversensitive."

Libby looked at her with a mixture of disappointment and disgust. "I can’t believe you’re being so heartless," she said. "He really liked you, you know. And you just crushed him like it was nothing."

Rachel rolled her eyes again, her expression dismissive. "It’s not my fault if he has unrealistic expectations," she said. "He needs to accept the fact that I’m out of his league."

Rachel’s eyes flicked across the hallway, and she saw me talking to another girl. I was smiling and laughing, clearly enjoying myself. She felt a small pang of jealousy in her chest, her eyes narrowing as she watched us.

Rachel clenched her fists, unable to understand why she felt so jealous. “Who’s that girl?” she asked, her voice sharper than she intended.

Libby followed Rachel’s gaze and saw me talking to the newcomer, a pretty girl with long blonde hair and a bright smile. Libby glanced back at Rachel, noticing the hint of jealousy in her friend’s expression.

“I think she’s new,” Libby said, a knowing smile playing on her lips. “She looks like she’s taken an interest in Jake.”

Rachel’s jealousy grew as she saw me leaning closer to the blonde girl, my smile growing wider. She clenched her jaw, trying to hide her feelings of irritation and inadequacy.

“They look happy,” Libby observed, her voice neutral but with a hint of satisfaction. “He seems to be enjoying the attention.”

Rachel’s expression darkened as she watched us together, the sight of me laughing and chatting with another girl rubbing her the wrong way. She felt a twinge of anger and envy, her eyes fixated on us.

“Why is he talking to her so easily?” Rachel muttered, her voice laced with annoyance. “He barely speaks to me anymore after I rejected him. It’s not fair.”

Libby raised an eyebrow, a knowing smile playing on her lips. “Maybe it’s because she’s actually nice to him,” she said, her voice holding a hint of judgment. “Unlike someone I know.”

Rachel shot Libby a look, her expression turning defensive. “I was just messing around,” she said, her voice full of false bravado. “I didn’t think he’d take it so personally.”

Libby rolled her eyes, her disappointment in her friend’s actions evident. “Well, he did,” she said, her voice firm. “And now he’s talking to someone else who appreciates him. Maybe you should have thought about that before playing games with his feelings.”

Rachel opened her mouth to protest, but Libby cut her off. “Don’t even try to justify it,” she said, her voice sharper. “You know you were wrong, and Jake didn’t deserve it. Maybe next time think before you speak.”

Rachel clenched her teeth, knowing that Libby was right. She had been cruel and careless with my feelings, and now I was clearly interested in someone else. It stung, but she knew she had brought it upon herself.

She watched as I continued to laugh and joke with the blonde girl, feeling a strange mix of regret and anger. She had never felt jealousy like this before, and it was a bitter pill to swallow.

As I was walking down the hallway, Rachel suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me towards an empty classroom, away from the crowded hallway. I stumbled as she dragged me through the doorway, my heart racing with surprise and uncertainty.

Rachel slammed the door shut behind us, her expression a mixture of determination and desperation. I looked at her, my confusion turning to annoyance as the realization sank in that she had pulled me in here for some reason.

"What the hell, Rachel?" I said, my voice laced with irritation. "Why did you drag me in here like that?"

Rachel stepped closer to me, her eyes locked intently on mine. She took a deep breath, as if trying to gather her courage, and spoke in a low voice. “I need to talk to you about something. Something important.”

I tensed up, a sense of unease growing inside me. What could she want to discuss with me that was so important it required her to drag me away from the hallway and into an empty classroom?

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