ꜱᴇʀᴇɴɪᴛʏ, ᴡʀᴏᴇᴛᴏꜱʜᴀᴡ

7

"Hello?"

"Hi, mum, it's me," I sigh.

"Oh, hello. How was your day?" She asks.

"Yeah, yeah, okay. I'm sorry I haven't called recently, I've been super busy with work," I reply, feeling slightly ashamed of myself for not keeping in contact with her.

"That's okay, darling, I figured. So, what's been going on?"

"Work's just been a lot at the moment. So much to do, so little time to do it," I say, earning a laugh from my mother at the other end of the phone.

"Sounds stressful, any romantic interests?"

"Oh, mum!" I groan, rolling my eyes to myself. She always asks this question. Every. Single. Time.

"I'm just asking! You never know," She says, defending herself.

I think to myself for a moment. As soon as she finishes her sentence, Harry Lewis immediately comes to mind. Okay, so maybe I do have a crush on him, but it's fine, I'm never going to act on it. Nobody ever needs to know, either. Problem solved. The feelings will go away eventually and I can pretend it never happened, simple.

"Nope, nobody," I lie, mainly to myself at this point.

"Oh, Y/N, you're a terrible liar," My mum laughs.

"I am not!" I reply, standing my ground, but I can tell she doesn't believe me.

"C'mon, tell me," She continues, as if I hadn't spoken.

"...fine, there was someone, but I'm not interested anymore," I admit, giving in.

"Wait...really? Who was it?" She asks, seeming surprised to which I roll my eyes after falling for her antics.

"Nobody, just some guy,"

"Just...some guy?" She questions.

"Yeah, I ran into him again a few weeks ago. He hasn't changed a bit," I chuckle to myself.

"What do you mean?"

"Since school, he hasn't changed since school," 

"School? It's someone from school?" She asks, her voice raising slightly.

"Yeah, why do you sound so surprised?" I ask, feeling a bit insulted.

"Well, you didn't have many friends in school. I just didn't expect it, I suppose!" 

"Well, that's true." I laugh, but the more I think about it, the worse I feel. I was so scared of failing school that I never allowed myself any time to enjoy the parts of life those around me did, such as friends and hobbies. All I did was study, and when I had nothing to study for, I just stayed at home as I had no friends to go out with. I never explored the emotional side of myself, constantly pushing myself to achieve academic validation to the point where I was almost guaranteed to have a breakdown at the end of each week. I never thought of the long-lasting effects it would have on my life. I now never feel fully satisfied with myself unless I'm caught up or ahead on work. It's extremely, draining...and lonely.

"I'll not keep you any longer then, I'm sure Daisy will be barking for her dinner," I say, changing the subject.

"Yeah, I'll speak to you tomorrow?" She chuckles.

"Sounds great, mum. I love you," I reply, looking down and smiling to myself.

"I love you too. Remember, Y/N. It's okay if you like that guy, you know. Maybe it would be a good thing for you."

"Thanks, mum," I smile, before ending the call.

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A/N: Hey, hope you enjoyed this chapter! Make sure to vote and share if you can. Thank you so much <3