The next morning, the air in Montreal felt different, charged, like the static before a lightning strike. For the first time, Layla didn't wait for the bus. When Jade's black sedan idled in his driveway, she found herself walking toward it without a second thought. The drive to campus was filled with lighthearted bickering, a stark contrast to the heavy silence of the night before. But the comfort vanished the moment Jade pulled into the university parking lot.
Directly across the asphalt, leaning against a silver coupe, was a sight that made Layla's heart perform a frantic chemical reaction.
Liam. And beside him, leaning against the door with a wide grin, was Sarah.
"Sarah!" Layla cried out, her "loud" side breaking through her shy exterior. She practically tumbled out of Jade's car before he had even cut the engine. She sprinted across the lot, throwing her arms around her friend.
"I missed you so much!" Layla laughed, pulling back to see Liam standing just a foot away. He looked even better than her daydreams, clean-cut, with those deep doe eyes that seemed to hold a thousand lines of perfect code.
"Hey, Layla," Liam said, his voice smooth and warm. He gave her a small, breathtaking smile. But as his gaze shifted past her shoulder to where Jade was stepping out of his car, the warmth vanished. Liam's jaw tightened, his eyes darkening with a flash of pure, unadulterated hatred.
At the other end of the lot, Jade caught Liam's stare. He didn't flinch. Instead, he raised a hand in a mockingly casual wave toward Sarah and Layla before turning on his heel and walking toward the science wing.
"What is up with those two?" Layla whispered, watching Jade's retreating back.
Sarah's expression went flat. "Don't ask, Layla. Seriously. Just... don't." She immediately pivoted, launched into a high-speed recount of her family trip, pulling Layla toward the cafeteria.
Layla tried to listen. She nodded at the right times and laughed at Sarah's jokes during lunch, but her mind was a messy chalkboard of unanswered questions. What could have happened to turn "best buddies" into enemies who couldn't even stand in the same zip code? Every time Liam's name came up, she felt a thrill; every time she thought of Jade's face at the lake, she felt a pang of guilt.
By the end of the day, the tension reached a boiling point. Layla walked out to the parking lot to find herself at the center of a silent battlefield.
To the left, Jade was leaning against his car, his arms crossed, watching her. To the right, Liam stood by his coupe, jingling his keys with an impatient metallic clink-clink-clink. Sarah stood by the passenger door, waving frantically.
"Come on, Layla! We'll drop you home!" Sarah shouted.
Jade didn't say a word. He just gave her a small, knowing wave, a reminder of the silence they'd shared by the water.
Layla felt the weight of the choice pressing down on her. It felt like they were trying to make her pick a side in a war she hadn't enlisted in. She looked at Liam; she hadn't seen him in three days. She was falling for him, deeper than she cared to admit, and this was her chance to finally bridge the gap. But then she looked at Jade, the boy who had shown her his grief just twenty-four hours ago.
"I'll be right over!" she called back to Sarah.
She walked toward Jade first. His posture relaxed, a smug triumph lighting up his smoky eyes. "You made the right choice," he said, reaching out to open the passenger door for her.
"I'm not going with you, Jade," Layla said softly, trying to make her voice sound firm yet kind. "Sarah just got back. I... I was planning to spend some time with her."
The triumph in Jade's eyes flickered and died. He let go of the door handle, a hollow laugh escaping his lips. "Ouch. Your old friends come back and you throw away the backup? Efficient."
"It's not like that," Layla argued, her heart twisting. She hated the way he was hiding the pain behind that defensive sarcasm.
"Whatever. See you around, neighbor," Jade said. He didn't look at her as he climbed into the car.
The word hit her like a cold splash of water. Neighbor. No longer Layla. No longer the girl from the lake. Just the person who lived in the house next door. As he roared out of the parking lot, Layla turned to see a triumphant smile creeping onto Liam's face.
Layla felt the weight of the choice pressing down on her. It felt like they were trying to make her pick a side in a war she hadn't enlisted in. She looked at Liam; she hadn't seen him in three days. She was falling for him, deeper than she cared to admit, and this was her chance to finally bridge the gap. But then she looked at Jade, the boy who had shown her his grief just twenty-four hours ago.
"I'll be right over!" she called back to Sarah.
She walked toward Jade first. His posture relaxed, a smug triumph lighting up his smoky eyes. "You made the right choice," he said, reaching out to open the passenger door for her.
"I'm not going with you, Jade," Layla said softly, trying to make her voice sound firm yet kind. "Sarah just got back. I... I was planning to spend some time with her."
The triumph in Jade's eyes flickered and died. He let go of the door handle, a hollow laugh escaping his lips. "Ouch. Your old friends come back and you throw away the backup? Efficient."
"It's not like that," Layla argued, her heart twisting. She hated the way he was hiding the pain behind that defensive sarcasm.
"Whatever. See you around, neighbor," Jade said. He didn't look at her as he climbed into the car.
The word hit her like a cold splash of water. Neighbor. No longer Layla. No longer the girl from the lake. Just the person who lived in the house next door. As he roared out of the parking lot, Layla turned to see a triumphant smile creeping onto Liam's face.
The ride home with Liam and Sarah was everything Layla had hoped for. Liam was attentive, contributing to the conversation with sharp wit and a gentle tone. Every time his eyes met hers in the rearview mirror, Layla felt like her entire nervous system was being rewritten. By the time they reached her doorstep, she was completely smitten.
Sarah walked her to the door while Liam waited in the car. Layla's eyes instinctively drifted to the driveway next door. It was empty. Jade wasn't back. Is he at the lake? she wondered. Is he sitting there in the dark because of me?
"Hey, hey! Earth to Layla," Sarah said, snapping her fingers. "What's going on?"
"Nothing!" Layla said, a bit too quickly. "I'm just really happy you're back. I was... a little lost without you."
Sarah squinted at her, her protective instincts flaring. "What's going on between you and Jade, anyway? I was gone for three days and I've already been replaced?"
"Replaced?" Layla mumbled. Why did everyone keep using that word? "He's just my friend, Sarah. He helped me a lot when you were gone. He was just being a good neighbor."
Layla looked toward Liam in the car, then back at sarah. Sarah's voice dropped to a serious, hushed tone. "I'm here now. Just... be careful with him, Layla. Please."
Was that a warning? Layla watched them drive away, the silence of the street settling over her. She felt like she was standing on a fault line.
Just as she reached for her keys, a pair of headlights swept across her porch. Jade's car pulled into his driveway. Layla hesitated, then stepped toward the edge of the grass.
"Jade!" she called out. "Jade, wait!"
He didn't stop. He climbed out of the car, his movements stiff and robotic. He didn't look at her; he didn't even acknowledge he'd heard her. He just walked straight into his house, the front door slamming shut with a finality that echoed through the quiet neighborhood.
Layla stood alone on her porch, the evening chill seeping through her sweater. She had the boy of her dreams, and she had her best friend back. So why did the sight of that dark, empty driveway next door make her feel like she'd just failed the most important test of her life?