Prohibited (Tom Felton)

20 | Twist of Fate

"I promise to love you till the day I die"

The days are getting lonelier as time passes on.

The good thing is that I don't have to show up to first period most days because they don't need my part for the film very often. It makes it a lot easier to avoid Tom, though forgetting him is harder than I ever imagined.

We mostly try to ignore each other during the times I actually am in his class or when we pass each other in the corridors, but when our eyes meet it's like a reset. All the effort of trying not to think about him suddenly becomes worthless and I have to do it all over again. That's why I keep my eyes on the floor, quickly rushing through the halls.

It didn't take Holly and Evie too long to notice that something is off. I spend most of my time in my room, talk less, eat less, sleep less. Sometimes more, depending on the day. But mostly I just keep to myself and stare at the wall opposite my bed. I feel empty and it seems like nothing can fill that void inside of me.

There's nothing but emptiness.

One afternoon they tried to talk to me. I mean, they tried talking to me a lot of times which I always refused, but that time it was different. They seemed very concerned and suggested I go see a therapist. I said no. I don't want a therapist. All I want is Tom.

The semester is about to end but I don't feel the thrill anymore which I felt at the beginning. I remember the excitement I had for him not being my teacher anymore. The plans I made for the time after. But it's all just an empty wish now. Worthless.

Tom and I, we can't be together, even after the semester. Amber would publish that picture and people would know that it was taken during his time as my teacher and there would be so much drama, so much hate and so much to lose. We can't. And that's what keeps me up at night.

Will I ever see him again after he's gone?

I don't know. Apart from his movies, of course. I mean the real him. The one with eyes as bright and comforting as the summer sky as they stared at me like I'm his sun. I haven't looked at them in a long time and I don't intend to. The memory of them is still so permanently engraved in my mind that it hurts.

It's the Friday before exams and I'm on my way to the bathroom during my fifth period class. I walk along the corridor passing Tom's classroom and for a moment, I stop in front of it. Everything inside of me refuses to go in there, but me heart tells me otherwise. I know that he doesn't have a class right now. He's probably in there alone, patiently grading papers or reading or maybe he went out for lunch. It's actually something he does quite often. My heart tells me to just check whereas my head screams at me to not go in there. To not let all of my progress be for nothing.

My hand rests on top of the door knob for several minutes contemplating my choices. Then, I finally come to a conclusion and open the door ever so slightly. There's only a tiny crack between door and the door frame, but I can clearly see that the person in there is not Tom. It's Amber.

I silently watch her and bite my lip to not make any noises as she flicks through the papers on Tom's desk. Wondering what she's looking for and if she's even allowed in here, I quietly take out my phone and start recording her. Just to be sure. She doesn't seem to find what she's looking for and turns her attention to his laptop. I hear her fingers running over the keyboard and her silent swearing every time the laptop denies her access. After the sixth try I assume it to have worked by the content smile on her face. I hear her clicking, probably going through his folders, and then she inserts a USB flash drive. She seems to download something onto it and when she quickly takes out the USB and tries to organise the mess she made on the desk, I step into the room and stop the video.

"Seems to be my lucky day," she startles when she hears my voice and I can see pure shock in her eyes.

"Mika, what are you doing here?" she snaps at me trying to hide the fact that she isn't supposed to be in here either.

"I saw what you did, Amber," I shoot her a triumphant smile and sigh. "You don't want mommy and daddy finding out you cheat your way into acting, right?"

Her eyes widen and shock is ruling her gaze which gives me the all the confirmation I needed for my assumption.

"I know you have the exam on your flash drive," I continue, not giving her a moment to defend herself.

"You have no proof!" she whispers angrily and I laugh at her.

"Actually I do," I disagree and pull out my phone to show her a snippet of the video I took. "It's all on here and I can easily just call someone to look over the files on your drive. You don't have a chance in covering that up."

"What do you want?!" she finally gives in and her whole body is tense.

"I want you to delete that picture of Tom and I," I demand and she shakes her head in disbelief. "I want you to delete it and to hand me your flash drive. Then, I'll delete this video and forget about your little incident."

She scoffs and presses her lips into a straight line.

"You're unbelievable."

"I mean, we could also just get each other expelled if that's what-"

"Fine!" she rips her phone out of her pocket and I watch her delete the picture.

Then, she hands me the flash drive and I show her my phone as I delete the video of her. We look at each other for a brief moment, not sure what to do or say and I finally ask what I've been wondering this whole time.

"You made my life hell for no apparent reason... Why?"

Her gaze becomes soft for a split second before she frowns.

"Because you always get all the attention and I'm so fucking sick of it!" with that she storms out of the classroom and I realise what just happened.

We're free.