I Thought You Loved Me

School

Derek saw. He was there, at the zoo, when Jay brought Lia. So what? He tried to convince himself that he didn't care, but felt a pang of jealousy deep inside. He saw the look in Jay's eyes when he looked at her.
And he was going to do something about it.
Monday came, and Derek sat in his usual seat next to Lia. She didn't even acknowledge that he was there.
Why was he such an idiot?! How was he supposed to talk to her after what he did?!
After a moment of pondering, he took out a piece of paper and wrote a note to her.
Hey, I know I was a jerk, okay? I shouldn't have said what I said. You are way, way out of my league, and I miss you. I just didn't realize it before. I took you for granted. But I found.. I found that I love you, Lia. I love you.
He folded it carefully and passed it to her. She looked disgusted at him, but her kind nature made her open the note anyway. Her eyes grew wide as she read the note, and she read it several times over.
What was she going to do? Before, she would have been ecstatic, but now? There was something that held her back. She was still angry with him, yet she desired for that closeness she once had with him. She didn't know what to do. And what about Jay? Wait, what about Jay?! They were just friends! She would talk to him about Derek.. as a friend, of course.
She slowly closed the note, making sure to avoid the hopeful gaze of her ex-boyfriend.
At lunch, she met Jay by the fountain in the courtyard, as was their usual meeting place.
Surprised, Lia finds a sweaty Jay waiting on her, his hair hanging in wet ringlets on his forehead. Before she could ask, he excitedly explained to her why he was covered in sweat.
"Lia! Guess what! I made the soccer team!!" he exclaimed, grinning widely.
Lia smiled back enthusiastically.
"That's great! I didn't know you liked soccer!"
He was about to reply when a pair of beautiful blonde girls walked up to him, giggling. Lia suddenly felt very self-conscious, as she felt very.. well, ugly compared to them, and they were obviously trying to get the affections of the boy she didn't yet realize she had feelings for.
Unexpectedly, however, Jay pushed past them and threw the paper with their phone numbers away, taking Lia by the arm and leading her away.
Why would he do that? Those girls were gorgeous!
She didn't ask this question like she wanted to, however. She didn't know why yet, but she was scared of what the answer would be.
"So, congrats on making the team! That's so exciting!"
"Thanks. I have always loved soccer, but never actually tried out for the team. I thought I wasn't good enough, you know?"
Lia understood thinking that one wasn't good enough, but her thoughts ran deeper than sports. She thought she wasn't good enough for other people, herself, or anyone. "Yeah, I get it. But obviously you are good enough!" she squeaked.
"It feels good.. except the fact that I'm all sweaty, but, you know, it comes with the sport." he laughed. "So what's new with you? I can tell something's on your mind."
There was a lot going through her head, not just "something," but the most troubling was Derek. What was she to do?
Instead of explaining what happened for fear of tearing up, she simply gave him the note that caused her confusion.
As he read it, his eyebrows rose and Lia swore she saw a flash of anger and sadness in his eyes before he turned to look sympathetically at her.
"What are you going to do?"
"I honestly don't know,"she sighed. "I'm so confused!"
"Lia, you're a smart girl. I have faith that you'll make the right decision."
"Thank you, Jay."
It hurt him to see her even thinking about being with someone else. He didn't know why, it wasn't like he liked her or anything, right?
It hurt her that he didn't tell her a definite answer, whether or not she should date Derek or if there was... a reason she shouldn't date him. What that reason was that she wanted, she didn't know.

A/N: This was kind of just a filler chapter. Sorry!! Big things are coming, I promise! Thank you so much for reading!!!