Heartthrob: Love Triangle (A NHIE Fan-fiction)

21

Alexa, play I know it won't work by Gracie Abrams

Despite his high level of intellect, Ben knew he was being very idiotic right now.
School had resumed after spring break came to its end, and his was filled with reading, analyzing essays, and trivia app games. Ben always knew the answers, and yet, one question still lingered in his mind, like a migraine that wouldn't go away. Except this question had nothing to do with trivia.
He needed to know. He needed to know if Devi had felt anything during their kiss. Even though she was drunk, she wasn't stupid, and Ben believed that Devi could've felt something and she should've made that known to him. She never did, and Ben assumed that it was because she forgot to. Unfortunately for him, Devi knew the real reason why she hadn't confronted him about the kiss. She hadn't enjoyed it.

So, there Gross went, strutting up to Devi's front door and mentally preparing himself to face the wrath of Devi's mother, Nalini, when she opened the door.

However, Ben did not get the reaction he expected.

"Ah, Ben! Are you here to study? I'm sure Devi could use some study tips from you," Nalini smiled sweetly, motioning him to come inside.

"Oh...yes, of course," Ben nodded his head eagerly, taking his chances.

"Devi's just upstairs in her room," Kamala's voice called from the kitchen, drifting near the entry way where Nalini and Ben were still standing.

"Perfect, thank you," said Ben, granting Nalini a soft smile before heading up the stairs.

....................

Another page filled. Page turned over again.
Devi was journaling, a hobby that took her a while to pick up after her therapist, Dr. Ryan, had given her a grieve journal. The journal was supposed to help her cope with the death of her dad, but right now, that's not what she was writing about.

March 4th, 2021

Dear Diary,

Gosh. I can't believe I actually write "dear diary" in this thing. It's so geeky. But I love it.
I saw Paxton in the halls at school again today. His hair was combed back neatly, in contrast to his usual messier head of curls, and his backpack was slung over only one shoulder. Totally Paxton.
I've missed seeing his face since those past few weeks. I'm happy to be back at school, but at the same time, I'm not really. Now I have to be known as the paralyzed girl AND the girl who harms herself. I don't think my situation gets any worse than this. Oh, and I have to spend another Winter Dance dateless. The world sucks. Except for the awesome people who are in it, aka my awesome friends. That's it. That's all I have today.

Yours truly,
Devi

Just as Devi finished writing her name and closing her notebook, Ben had stumbled into her room. It scared her. She froze in her cross-legged position on her bed and looked up at Ben in confusion.

"Oh, don't look at me like that," he snapped.
"I'm not entering through that window."

"I....so what are you doing here?" Devi asked suspiciously, her heart suddenly skipping quick in her chest.

"I wanted to talk to you, David," Ben said seriously, his eyes now wavering on hers.

Ben wasted no time to explain himself.
"You know I really like you. You know I do. I'm all in. And I think you really like me. I know we've had some ups and downs, but I think we could make it work. I wanna be with you, Devi." His words were passionate and sincere.

Devi's face twisted and she bit her bottom lip.
"Ben," her voice tightened around her throat.

She waited a few seconds to find her voice and took a deep breath before adding,

"We will never work."

"But why not?" he asked desperately. "We did it once, we can do it again!"

"Once was enough," she replied sharply. Devi didn't stutter this time, and her eyes remained on the pillow in front of her, not daring to look up at Ben.

"You're not even willing to give us another chance? Think of what we could be, Devi. I'm going off to Columbia and you're headed off to Princeton; we're not going to be far apart. We can make it work."

"Maybe I wasn't clear enough last time," said Devi, her tone no longer harsh. She didn't move a muscle.
"We will never work, Ben. I don't like you like that. Not anymore. And we still have senior year. Who knows what could happen until college. But I know one thing for sure, you and I are done."

Devi wasn't really talking to Ben; she was really talking to herself.

Ben's heart was tugging inside his chest. Rejected by the girl he loved a second time. He knew he couldn't convince her once she'd made up her mind. Ben wanted to believe there was still hope.

"Please," he pleaded, his eyes welling up with tears. Tears weren't falling, but his voice cracked as he spoke.
"You won't even think about your decision?"

"I'm sorry," said Devi, not even a hint of sympathy inside her voice. "My decision is final. And, honestly, you're the reason Paxton was expelled, so I'm not very fond of you anymore at all.
You're free to leave my room now." Devi's voice was nonchalant.

"But Devi, I-"

"Leave my house, Ben! I'd prefer if you never spoke to me again!" Devi snapped, breaking her stare away from her pillow and her gaze slowly moving up at his depressed, pale blue eyes.

Ben sighed internally in defeat, nodded his head, and obeyed her command.

He sulked on the entire car ride home, absolutely distraught. Ben had hoped his situation wouldn't come to this, but he knew he had his shot of getting Devi back, and he'd blown it by trying to be gentle.

Fortunately for him, Ben had another card in his deck, a card he really did not want to play.