Young Hearts: A teenage romance short story

05 | First Sign

I was walking with Jane to the cafeteria when James blocked us.

"Caitlin, can you help me with some homework for tomorrow before you leave? I didn't understand the Maths lesson earlier." He gave me a fake grin. He's acting cute again. Ugh, boys.

"Because you weren't paying attention." Maybe if I rolled my eyes, he would stop asking.

"James do you have a crush on Caitlin?" asked Jane in a serious tone, out of nowhere.

"Yes, I like her." He looked me in the eye. "And I learn a lot from her. So I'm gonna keep her." He smiled and stepped aside. "See you before home time."

Jane screamed with wide eyes, "Did he just confess to you?!"

I snickered. "Don't take him seriously. He's been saying all kinds of stuff when we are studying together, so it's nothing new. He's just trying out if his charisma has an effect on me." We continued walking. Jane shook her head in disbelief.

'Does he have an effect on me?'

I ignored the thought. James and I have become pretty close because we study together a lot. Not because I wanted to but because he doesn't stop bugging me. James, the heartthrob, was a people pleaser. He complimented girls a lot and said things they wanted to hear. That's why girls go gaga over him. To me, he is a complete narcissist who liked the attention and affection of many.

"Girls would finish off your long hair before you know it," she warned.

I chuckled. "I know."

"Heading to the cafeteria now?" Daniel appeared beside me.

"No, heading home," I said with a bored tone.

"There you go again with your cheeky responses," he said.

I smiled. "It's lunchtime. What do you think? Where's Jason?"

"I'm here! Thanks for looking for me." Jason jumped out of nowhere and ruffled my hair. I stared at him and studied his face. He is quite cute. He has nice brows, thin lips, straight nose and diamond face. No wonder Michelle liked him.

I laughed. The three of them look at me shocked.

"Why?" They ask in unison.

"Nothing, I remembered something funny." The memory of my encounter with Michelle when she said Jason was hers came to mind. From then on, I tried observing her how she reacted when Jason's around.

I noticed she flirted with him a lot. And he's asleep at the wheel. She would approach him first and never the other way. She took care of anything that Jason needed like a pen or a piece of paper, notes and homework answers. Which sometimes made Jason feel awkward and guilty. She's trying hard.

They frowned.

"You don't really laugh much, what changed?" asked Daniel curiously.

"Some things happened recently that changed the way I viewed things. I guess I just have to accept that young people are mental." I shook my head.

I wondered if I was the only one who studies nonstop. These young boys and girls are more interested in their looks, their peers, their relationship status. I was seriously thinking of doing a research about the amount of time teenagers spend thinking about other people and how it affects their personalities and grades. I bet I'll get an award for that.

"She's not making any sense again." Jane shook her head.

We parked ourselves in one of the outdoor tables while they bought their lunch and I took out my lunchbox. We were inseparable during lunch time and immediately after, the boys would nap, Jane would play on her phone, and I would head to the library.