[This story is free again]
A social klutz and certified bookworm, Autumn Lyne is content with having just books as companions--that is, until her extrovert of a sister drags her out to meet her band. But nobody has expected that this would mark the...
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The next day, Finn skipped biology class. No one asked and no one wondered because it was probably just a normal thing for them. But I knew better.
When the third period ended, he arrived and shocked almost everyone in the locker area. It wasn't a normal thing for the students of Westside Creek to see Finn Hunter, the sweet popular boy, in such a strange and unpleasant image. Bedroom hair. Eyes devoid of any emotion. Mouth formed in a straight, tight line. His whole air was intimidating.
We met each other's gaze, and an uneasy feeling rippled down my back. Before I could even blink, he turned his head away and walked past me to join his friends. They slapped him on the back in a welcoming manner, which made him smile for the briefest moment.
It was like my soul was chopped in half—the responsive and bright part of me that made me able to see the world in full color had been scraped off, leaving the dull part behind. I guessed that was what I had done to Finn; I took away that part of him. I understood if he didn't want to deal with me anymore.
Despite my blank state of emotion, I tried to act normally for the rest of the day. I hung out with the band at lunch, hoping their jokes and shenanigans would lift my mood. At one point, Michael asked me what was bothering me, but I couldn't tell him that I had just broken his friend's heart because he was the one that I longed for.
I just said, "Nothing." Michael didn't say a word back, but I knew he was trying to read me.
The hours dragged by. Everything felt gray and cold. Each time I walked to my classes, I felt several people's eyes bore holes into my back. After checking that there was no stain on my pants or I wasn't wearing my shirt inside out, I strained my ears and tried to pick up what people whispered to one another.
"That's her, right?"
"Wait, who is she again?"
"Poor guy."
"If she doesn't want him, I'll take him."
Unbelievable.
It felt like I was back in middle school where everyone else was in groups, but this time, the feeling was twice as bad because their attention was all on me. For one moment, I suspected that Finn did this to get back at me.
I tried not to let it affect me too much. Just like what I had done at the beginning of high school, I focused on my classes, kept my head down, and tried to survive the day without talking to a single soul.
Unfortunately, when school was over, someone in the crowd shoved me and made me bump into Aislin and her friends, who were standing by the lockers.
"Hey! Watch where you're going, grandma." Aislin rubbed the sleeve of her pea coat where I'd hit her. Sunny seemed to flinch at her friend's words, but she didn't say or do anything.
"Sorry." I tried to make a break for it, but Gia held me by the arm.
"Hey, is it true that Finn asked you out, and you rejected him?"
