The air in October was cold, but the atmosphere
in Class 8 was even colder
. Everyone was
whispering about the
"big crush" lie that Sienna
had spread. I could feel people looking at me in
the hallways and snickering. It felt like I was
walking through a storm without an umbrella
.
For a few days, Leo wouldn
't even look at me
. He
sat behind me like a statue
, silent and stiff. I
knew he was embarrassed because his ego was
so big,
and he hated being the center of "drama
.
"
31.
I couldn
't just sit there and let a lie ruin the
best thing in my life
. I decided to be brave
.
During the lunch break, I found Leo sit ing by
himself near the old oak tree in the courtyard. I
walked straight up to him
. My heart was beating
so fast I thought it might pop out of my chest.
"Leo
,
we need to talk,
" I said,
my voice steady
even though my hands were shaking. He It'
s only drama because you
'
re listening to the
wrong person
,
" I told him
. I pulled out my phone
and showed him the mean
, fake texts Sienna had
been sending me
. I showed him how she was the
one starting the rumors,
not me
. I looked him
right in the eye
.
"I am 100% honest with you
. I
never said those things. I just valued our
friendship. If you want to believe a liar over me
,
then that'
s your choice
.
" I turned around to walk
away, feeling like I had finally stood up for
myself.
34.
"Wait,
" Leo called out. I stopped and looked
back. He looked down at the ground,
rubbing the
back of his neck. He looked guilty.
"Sienna told
me you were telling everyone we were basically
dating. She made it sound so real.
" He sighed
and kicked a leaf.
"I guess I was a jerk for
believing her
. I just... I hate when people talk
about me
.
" It was the closest thing to an apology
I was ever going to get from him
, but it was
enough. The
"Fracture
"
was starting to heal.
looked
up, his face looking annoyed.
"Elara
, I told you
,
I don
't want the drama
32.
It'
s only drama because you
'
re listening to the
wrong person
,
" I told him
. I pulled out my phone
and showed him the mean
, fake texts Sienna had
been sending me
. I showed him how she was the
one starting the rumors,
not me
. I looked him
right in the eye
.
"I am 100% honest with you
. I
never said those things. I just valued our
friendship. If you want to believe a liar over me
,
then that'
s your choice
.
" I turned around to walk
away, feeling like I had finally stood up for
myself.
33.
"Wait,
" Leo called out. I stopped and looked
back. He looked down at the ground,
rubbing the
back of his neck. He looked guilty.
"Sienna told
me you were telling everyone we were basically
dating. She made it sound so real.
" He sighed
and kicked a leaf.
"I guess I was a jerk for
believing her
. I just... I hate when people talk
about me
.
" It was the closest thing to an apology
I was ever going to get from him
, but it was
enough. The
"Fracture
"
was starting to heal.
34.
After that day, something shifted. It was like
the lie had cleared the air
. Because we had
almost lost the friendship,
we started to value it
even more
. When we went back to our desks in
the back row
, the jokes came back, but they
were bet er
. They were
"
goodest,
"
as I liked to
think. We weren
't just school friends anymore;
we were a team
. We spent every single lesson
whispering and laughing until our stomachs hurt.
The bridge wasn
't just fixed; it was stronger than
before
.
35.
The rest of October and November were the best
months of my life
. Leo started sharing more with
me
. He told me about his favorite movies and the
games he played at night. I felt so special
because I was the only girl he talked to like
this. He would lean so far forward that his head
was right next to mine
.
"Hey, Professor
,
" he
'd
whisper
,
"did you see what the math teacher is
wearing today? He looks like a highlighter
.
" I
would giggle and lean back, feeling so happy to
be near him
.
36.
We were
"inseparable
.
" Even Sienna couldn
't
stop us now
. She would sit across the room
,
watching us with her green eyes full of poison
,
but we didn
't care
. Leo would literally turn his
back on her just to talk to me
. I felt like I had
won a great bat le
. I had proved I was innocent,
and I had my best friend back. My heart was
full of light. I really thought that nothing could
ever come between us again
. I was so sure that
this friendship would last forever
.
37.
We started texting even more
. It wasn
't just
silly memes anymore; it was everything. We
talked about what we wanted to be when we grew
up. We talked about the music we liked.
Sometimes we would just send random emojis
back and forth for an hour just to stay connected.
I put so much effort into every reply,
making
sure I was funny and interesting. And for a
while
,
it felt like he was finally meeting me
halfway. It was the healthiest the friendship
had ever been
.
38.
But then
, the rumors about the
"Section Change
"
started. The teachers said that for the next term
,
they were going to mix all the students up to
"improve social skills.
" I wasn
't worried. I
looked at Leo and said,
"Even if we aren
't in the
same class,
we
'll still be best friends,
right?"
Leo nodded and gave me that smirk I loved.
"Of
course
, Elara
. Don
't be dramatic
.
" I believed him
.
I trusted him with my whole heart. I didn
't see
any red flags. I didn
't see the
"block"
coming.
39.
The chapter ends on the last day before the big
change
. We walked out of the school gates
together
. The sun was set ing,
casting long
shadows on the London streets.
"See you on
Monday,
" I said,
waving goodbye
. Leo waved
back, looking perfectly normal.
"Yeah, see ya
.
"
I went home feeling so lucky. I didn
't know
that was the last time I would ever hear his
voice in person
. I didn
't know that by Sunday
night, his name would disappear from my phone
,
and the silence would begin
.
40.