By Friday, Noah had officially reached his limit. Watching Aiden and Mia avoid their feelings had become physically painful. The entire school knew they liked each other. Sophie knew it. Noah knew it. Their classmates knew it. At this point, even the teachers probably suspected something. Yet somehow, Aiden and Mia remained completely incapable of admitting the obvious. Noah was done waiting.
"So," Noah said during lunch.
Aiden immediately looked suspicious.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"That's a lie."
"It might be."
Aiden narrowed his eyes.
"What are you planning?"
Noah smiled.
A dangerous smile.
The same kind Sophie always had before causing trouble.
"Oh no."
"Oh yes."
Across the cafeteria, Sophie was having a very similar conversation with Mia. Ever since the Truth or Truth game, Mia had been unusually distracted. Every time someone mentioned Aiden, she would immediately change the subject. Sophie found this incredibly entertaining.
"You know what your problem is?"
Mia looked up from her lunch.
"I have several."
"Fair."
Sophie nodded.
"But your main problem is that you're a coward."
Mia nearly dropped her fork.
"What?"
"You heard me."
"I am not a coward."
"You absolutely are."
Mia stared at her.
Offended.
Deeply offended.
Meanwhile, Noah was making the exact same accusation.
"You're scared."
"I'm not scared."
"You are."
"I'm not."
"You literally had the perfect chance yesterday."
Aiden groaned.
"Can we not talk about that?"
"No."
Neither Aiden nor Mia realized that later that afternoon, Noah and Sophie met beneath a tree near the football field. It wasn't an official meeting. It wasn't even a necessary meeting. Yet somehow, both had arrived with the exact same goal. Helping their two hopeless friends. The moment they sat down, they immediately got to work.
"This has gone on long enough," Sophie said.
"Agreed."
"They need help."
"They desperately need help."
Sophie nodded.
Noah nodded.
Then both smiled.
The kind of smile villains probably had before announcing their evil plans.
Monday arrived, and with it came disaster. At least for Aiden. The second he walked into the classroom, he knew something was wrong. Everyone kept looking at him. Not normal looking. Suspicious looking. The kind of looking that instantly made him uncomfortable.
"Noah."
"What?"
"What did you do?"
Noah looked innocent.
Far too innocent.
Which was somehow even worse.
Aiden sat down beside Mia. She looked equally confused. Several students glanced in their direction before quickly looking away.
"Why is everyone staring?"
"No idea."
"That's concerning."
"A little."
Before either could investigate further, Sophie entered the classroom carrying a small cardboard box. It wasn't a large box. It wasn't particularly interesting either. Yet the moment Aiden saw it, he immediately knew it meant trouble.
"What's that?" Mia asked.
Sophie smiled.
Another dangerous smile.
Aiden groaned.
He knew that smile.
The bell rang, but their teacher still hadn't arrived. Within seconds, students were talking loudly throughout the classroom. Sophie placed the box on the teacher's desk before clapping her hands together.
"Attention everyone."
To Aiden's horror, everyone actually listened.
"What is happening?" Mia whispered.
"No idea," Aiden replied.
Neither believed that.
Sophie pointed toward the box.
"Inside this box are anonymous notes."
The class immediately became interested.
"What kind of notes?" someone asked.
Sophie grinned.
"Confessions."
The room exploded.
Students started cheering.
Laughing.
Whispering.
Aiden's stomach dropped.
Mia's did too.
"Oh no."
"Oh no."
Both spoke at exactly the same time.
Then looked at each other.
Then immediately looked away.
Sophie explained the rules. Anyone could write an anonymous confession and place it inside the box. A crush. A secret. An embarrassing story. Anything. At the end of the day, several notes would be read aloud. It sounded harmless enough.
Until Noah stood up.
"Actually."
Everyone looked at him.
"I think Aiden should go first."
The classroom erupted again.
Aiden looked ready to commit a crime.
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
The class had officially chosen sides. Unfortunately, Aiden was losing badly.
For the rest of the morning, chaos filled the room. Students scribbled notes, laughed with their friends, and constantly tried to guess who liked who. Noah looked incredibly proud of himself. Sophie looked even worse. Every time Aiden glanced at either of them, they seemed far too pleased with how everything was unfolding. Mia wasn't doing much better. Every few minutes, someone would ask her if she planned on submitting a confession.
She never answered.
By the afternoon, the box was overflowing with folded pieces of paper. The teacher had somehow allowed the activity to continue as long as nobody disrupted class. That turned out to be a terrible decision.
"If this somehow becomes my problem—"
"It already is," Noah said.
"I hate you."
"No, you don't."
When the final period began, Sophie carried the box to the front of the classroom. The teacher had stepped out for a few minutes, which apparently gave everyone permission to lose their minds. Students leaned forward in their seats while Sophie reached inside and pulled out a note.
Most of the confessions were harmless. Some were funny. Some were embarrassing. One student admitted to accidentally calling a teacher "Mom" in front of the entire class. The room burst into laughter.
Then Sophie opened another note.
Her eyes widened.
"Oh."
The classroom immediately became quiet.
"What?"
"What does it say?"
Sophie looked up slowly.
Smiling.
Dangerously.
"It says..."
The room became completely silent.
"'I like someone in this class, but every time I try to tell them, something interrupts me.'"
The classroom exploded.
Again.
Students started shouting guesses before Sophie could even continue. Aiden froze. Mia froze. Neither moved. Neither spoke. Because somehow, that confession sounded painfully familiar.
Very familiar.
And for the first time all day, both of them found themselves wondering the exact same thing.
Who wrote it?