Splash!

  I washed my face with water at my bathroom sink, my eyes instinctively closing whenever the water got near them.

  “Ugh,” I mumbled as I blinked a few times.

  I hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep the night before, leaving me to resort to this method to wake myself up.

  ‘Damn it, I should’ve gone to sleep earlier…’

  Then, I groggily dried my face and left the bathroom.

  **

  ‘Huh?’

  As I walked through the school cafeteria, I felt an uncomfortable sensation.

  I acted naturally and went to my usual table to sit down.

  But even though I sat down, the feeling didn’t disappear.

  ‘Am I being stared at?’

  Through the corner of my eye, I noticed a few different people glancing at me.

  Some even whispered.

  ‘What is going on? Am I imagining things?’

  As time passed, I continued to feel eyes on me. Although I eventually decided to ignore them.

  Soon after, I was sent to math class for my first period.

  I tried my best to give my full attention to the work I was assigned, but it was hard.

  Quiet whispers from a group in the back of class made me uneasy, as if they were talking about me.

  Even in science, where I was with Nishimoya, I had the same feeling.

  I just couldn’t rid myself of the thought I was being talked about.

  But finally, in art, I figured out what was going on.

  I was working on the draft of my poster, which was our art project at the time, when a girl approached me.

  “Hey,” She said with a stern tone.

  Looking up from my work, I responded to her.

  “Hey?” I replied, evidently confused.

  ‘What the hell does she want?’

  The girl’s stern expression began to shift into an accusatory gaze.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Is it true that you left Aurora for another girl?” The girl asked, disgust seething through her voice.

  In that instant, the world froze.

  ‘What?’

  For a moment, I stared at the girl with a lost expression.

  ‘Me? Leave her for another girl? What a load of crap! Where the hell did she get that from?!’

  I snapped back into reality and answered, “What? No? Who told you…”

  The girl looked at me with a suspicious gaze.

  “You expect me to believe that? Aurora told everyone that you left her for some girl. She was so heartbroken,” she retorted, cutting me off.

  I continued to look at her with a multitude of emotions as my mouth opened, but no sound came out.

  “Ugh, nevermind. I should’ve never talked to a jerk like you,” she spat before turning around and walking away.

  I slowly turned my attention back to my poster, my thoughts in a spiral.

  ‘Why would she lie? I never imagined she would do something like that…’

  I felt the version of Aurora I built up in my head, somehow crumble even more than before.

  ‘Was she desperate to keep her image? To have those moronic friends?’

  Honestly, it is funny that I was surprised by this. She did cheat on me after all.

  Maybe she did it for fun.

  I really hoped she didn’t.

  I hoped it pained her.

  At least that way, a fraction of the Aurora I had faith in somewhat remained.

  For the rest of art class and the period after it, I couldn’t focus.

  My mind felt as if it was a glass cup that was about to break.

  And could you blame me?

  I was betrayed twice.

  Even when lunch time came, I wasn’t able to focus.

  In fact, it was worse since there were more people whispering about me.

  I didn’t truly know what I felt, but I didn’t need to.

  I just knew I hated it.

  I wanted to go home.

  **

  The bell rang, signifying the school day ended.

  I got up from my seat, packed my things, and left Spanish class.

  I lazily went down the school staircase with the other students and was about to exit the school when someone called my name.

  “Elliot!” I heard them shout.

  I turned around to see Austin approaching me.

  ‘Oh no, is he pissed at me too?’

  Looking at Austin, I noticed he had a smile on his face.

  ‘Is he not mad at me?’

  With that revelation, I heaved a sigh of relief.

  Once Austin approached me, he spoke.

  “Let’s go to the park,” Austin said.

  ‘Don’t tell me what to do.’

  Even though I had that thought, I didn’t say anything of the sort.

  “Alright,” I said.

  And that’s what we did, together we walked to the park near the school and sat down at a bench.

  Austin leaned all the way back and rested his arms on the back of the bench while I sat normally on the other side.

  We sat in silence for a few seconds before Austin spoke.

  “I heard the rumors about you,” he said.

  Upon hearing his words, my body unconsciously tensed up.

  “Don’t worry, I don’t believe them. I don’t think you’re the type of guy to do something like that,” Austin explained.

  My body relaxed slightly and I silently sighed in relief.

  I had one less thing to worry about.

  “So, what actually happened between you two?” Austin asked casually.

  I looked into the distance before responding.

  “She cheated on me,” I stated.

  Austin’s eyes widened slightly.

  “Damn…you must be feeling pretty crappy right now,” Austin replied sympathetically.

  I gritted my teeth.

  ‘Yeah obviously! You have no idea what it’s like. You’re fast and you’re good talking and you’re handsome and I don't have any of that! You don’t know anything about how I’m feeling, you have it so ea…’

  Midway through my thought, I realized something.

  ‘What am I even mad at him for? Austin hasn’t done anything wrong, he’s just being himself. I bet he has way more problems that are way more dire than mine, it’s selfish to think my problems are more important than his.’

  I looked towards the ground, my gaze turning lazy and focused.

  ‘I really am…a terrible person.’

  Austin looked at me for a moment and sighed.

  “Look, I’ll tell the other guys the rumors are fake and what the truth is. It might not stop the girls, but there’s a chance. If you ever need anything, just let me know, alright?” Austin said sincerely.

  I looked towards Austin and forced a smile.

  A pathetic smile.

  A disgusting one.

  “Thanks.”