-📰-
"word around the school is, matt sturniolo was getting cheated on by josie pomeno and melina imal knew about it."
"word around the internet is matt and melina are dating and act like they despise each other for views."
well those are just rum...
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♫can't fight this feeling - reo speedwagon
———
CHAPTER 40 "MIXED SIGNALS"
[real life, instagram]
as melina still stands by her locker, matt's voice suddenly cuts through the hallway noise, making her jump. "smelly. you didn't have to write down every little detail about me. you would've gotten a good grade with just the basics."
she spins around so fast that she accidentally swats him with the keychain dangling from her backpack zipper. matt flinches, backing up from her.
melina's eyes slightly widen when they meet his. the sunlight from the windows filters through the blinds, casting a soft glow on his face, making him look kind of angelic.
she breathes in pushing her thoughts away. instead, she crosses her arms and rolls her eyes. "oh, now you want to talk to me?"
matt raises an eyebrow, ignoring her comment as he leans against the lockers. "you're being weird," he says, his tone suspicious.
clearing her throat, melina scoffs, digging through her backpack. "i'm not being weird."
"sure," matt says, dragging out the word like he doesn't believe her for a second.
melina rolls her eyes before finally pulling out her chapstick. "i just wrote down what i noticed in the moment," she says, uncapping it. "did you want me to write the bad parts about you? because that would've taken days to finish."
matt watches as she casually twirls her necklace between her fingers with one hand while putting on chapstick with the other. his gaze flickers down to it before looking back up at her. for a split second, his eyes widen when he realizes she's looking at him—not distracted, not annoyed, just watching him.
he quickly looks away, running a hand through his hair. "how nice of you." his voice is lighter now, almost amused. he exhales, glancing around, suddenly aware of how intently she's staring at him. "anyway, thanks for saying all that. i appreciate it."
melina tilts her head slightly at his sudden sincerity, offering him a small smile. "you're welcome. and even though your speech about me completely sucked, still, thanks for what you said." she sighs, putting her chapstick back into her backpack.
matt nods, "yeah, you're welcome." he says awkwardly as they go into silence. but as he looks at her, something about this moment sticks with him.
were they having an actual civil conversation right now?
