The Dark Hearts

Chapter Four

Current Time

"Tell me about you. We've spent the last hour talking about school, so tell me about you."

I stood in shock at Adam's question. People never wanted to know about me. Other than Angie and my parents of course. 

"Well... My name is Amara Mayfield. I'm seventeen years old, and-" I'm cupid. How do I even say that to someone. Oh god.

"And?"

"Nothing."

We walked along lazily, not caring about classes. 

"They all talk about you, you know." Adam said, gesturing with his hand towards school. "The students, the teachers, you're famous!" He chuckled.

"What.. Um, what do they say?" I started picking at my shirt collar, not wanting him to see the panicked look on my face.

"Just like I said earlier. That you've changed. They also keep mentioning a Max Hubbard?" I sucked in a breath at his name. 

"Oh yeah?" I replied nonchalantly, trying feverishly to cover up the anxiety and worry which I could feel steadily building up. Surely they didn't know? How could they know?

"Yeah. They say you guys dated for a while, and that you were heartbroken when he had to move away."

So that's the story Xanifer has been spreading. But that's far from the truth. Maximilian Hubbard did not move away this Spring. 

"Oh yeah. I guess we dated for a while. It was heart breaking when he had to move."

"If you ever want to talk about it, or anything else for that matter, you can always talk to me. I know we've just met, but I'll be here if you need me." His words sent a rush through my chest. How kind. I've known him for less that three hours and he's already offered to help me. 

"Thank you." I replied, daring to look up through my hair and smile at him. 

Time to get some work done.

"Have you met Jessica yet?"

"Jessica Grey?" He answered, a look of pure confusion on his face.

I nodded.

"Yeah. She's in my History class... Why?" I looked around and smiled, before looking back at him.

"Just know she's gonna be all over you while you're here." I smirked.

"Why's that?" He questioned, looking a little bit dumbfounded. But that's okay. He'd get there. Eventually.

"Look at you. You're pretty much a golden boy waiting to happen. You have the soft brown locks, the tall and muscle-y build... Please. The girls are gonna be all over you."

Adam lowered his voice and turned to look at me.

"Are you, all over me, miss Amara Mayfield...?" 

My breath caught in the back of my throat, and my face faltered for a second, but I composed myself before questions could be asked.

"Not my type." I sighed, as I brushed past him to leave.

"So that's it then? My tours over?" 

"For now."

***

"So how'd it go with Adam?" Angie asked. 

We're sitting in Angie's room, with her at her desk trying to do homework and me spread out on her bed. 

"Good. He's fine, really." I replied, staring up at her ceiling. She has those stick on glow in the dark stars we all used to have on her ceiling. Sometimes I feel like humans are a bit like stars. Not the big flashy ones on TV. No. The stars in the sky are always together, yet they're far apart. They're sitting in the sky, all together, looking beautiful and connected, yet when in reality the can't move, can't get close to the other stars. They must all shine on their own. 

"He's so gonna be the next Golden Boy now that Max is gone, without a doubt."

I froze. I'd never thought of it that way. 

Of course someone would have to replace Max's spot in the social hierarchy. Without their Golden Boy, they'd all fall. 

"Yeah..."

"You okay, Mar?" Angie looked over at me, concern lacing her gorgeous features. I looked back up at her ceiling, not really answering. 

I felt her slide onto the bed next to me and hug me. God, I am so lucky to have a friend like her. 

"I know you're still hurting after Max. I can't believe he didn't want to give long distance a go. You deserve so much better than him, Mar. Out there, there is a myriad of guys and girls who'd love to date you, I'm sure of it. You'll find someone again. Don't worry."

I continued to stare numbly at the ceiling, letting a heavy silence fog up the room.

"Angie, what if I'm not looking to find someone again? What if I'm... you know... Looking to find myself again?" 

"Oh Mar..." Angie squeezed me tight, releasing her compassion onto me. 

"I know he broke you, but we'll fix you again. We can retrace all the steps, and pick up your broken pieces. Okay?" I turned around and smiled, glad for the first time ever that Jessica had publicly humiliated me. Because without that, I would have never befriended Angie.

Authors Note:

Hello everyone! Thank you so much for following along the story so far! I'm super excited to share with you the rest of this story!

Please leave feedback in the comments on how I can improve this story, and make it the best it can be! 

Stay safe and happy,

Sadie xox