The problem wasn't Emily. The problem wasn't Ethan. The problem was that neither Aiden nor Mia could stop thinking about them. After their conversation outside the school gates, both had gone home annoyed. Not with each other. At least, that's what they kept telling themselves. Unfortunately, the next few days only made things worse. Every time Aiden saw Ethan and Mia working together, his mood dropped. Every time Mia saw Emily sitting beside Aiden, her mood did exactly the same thing. The worst part was that neither of them had done anything wrong. They trusted each other. Completely. Which made the whole situation feel even more ridiculous. Yet somehow, neither could let it go. By Wednesday, Noah had noticed. Which was a disaster.
"You guys are fighting."
"We're not."
"You are."
"We're not."
Noah pointed at Aiden.
"You've been grumpy for three days."
"I've always been grumpy."
"Fair."
Then he pointed at Mia.
"And she just walked past Ethan without looking at him."
Mia blinked.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Nothing."
Noah grinned.
"That's the point."
Aiden immediately regretted sitting near him.
At lunch, things somehow got worse. The group project deadline was approaching, which meant everyone was spending more time with their assigned partners. Mia was discussing something with Sophie when Emily walked over to Aiden's table.
"Hey."
Aiden looked up.
"Hey."
"Can we meet after school tomorrow to finish the presentation?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Great."
Emily smiled and walked away. Unfortunately, Mia had seen the entire thing. And unfortunately, Aiden noticed that she'd seen it. The moment their eyes met, both immediately looked away. Which was not suspicious at all. Not even a little.
After school, Aiden and Mia met near the parking lot like they always did. Usually, their conversations flowed naturally. Usually, one of them had a story to tell. Usually, they laughed at something stupid. Today was different.
"So."
"So."
Then
"You and Emily seem busy."
The words slipped out before Mia could stop them. Aiden stared.
"What?"
Mia immediately regretted speaking.
"Nothing."
"No."
Aiden folded his arms.
"You brought it up."
Mia sighed.
"Forget it."
Aiden frowned.
"Why are you acting weird?"
That was the wrong thing to say. Immediately.
"Weird?"
"That's not what I meant."
"Then what did you mean?"
Aiden rubbed his face. Because somehow, this conversation was already going badly. Very badly.
"I'm just saying you've seemed upset lately."
"Oh, so now I'm upset?"
Aiden stared. Mia stared back. Neither looked happy. For the first time in months, the conversation wasn't playful. It wasn't teasing. It wasn't fun. It was frustrating.
"You know what?"
Mia said.
"What?"
"Forget it."
Then she turned and started walking away. Aiden blinked.
"What?"
Mia kept walking.
"Mia."
Nothing.
"Mia."
Still nothing. Aiden stood there completely confused. Because what had just happened? Seriously. What had just happened?
Meanwhile, Mia was asking herself the exact same question. She knew she was being unreasonable. She knew Emily wasn't a threat. She knew Aiden liked her. But somehow, seeing another girl spend so much time with him bothered her more than she wanted to admit. And the fact that Aiden didn't seem to understand why only made it worse. That night, neither texted first.Which was unusual. Aiden stared at his phone. Mia stared at hers. Both waited. Neither sent anything. Across town, Noah received a message.
Aiden: I think Mia's mad at me.
Three seconds later:
Noah: LOL.
Aiden: Noah.
Noah: Sorry.
Noah: Actually no I'm not.
Across town, Sophie received a message.
Mia: I think I'm mad at Aiden.
Sophie: Why?
A long pause followed.
Then:
Mia: I don't know.
And honestly? That was the real problem. Neither of them knew why they were upset. They only knew that they were. Which meant this very stupid fight was probably about to get a lot worse before it got better.