Should I choose?

Chapter Five

Hey guys, what's your favorite drink? Just asking...

Elly's POV

In a dimly lit detention room, two basketball players who are fierce rivals, Silas and Dashiell, find themselves thrown together by fate. The tension is palpable, the air thick with unspoken words and unresolved anger. They sit on opposite sides of the room, their silence a fragile truce.

Silas's eyes flicker to Dashiell. “You never should have gone behind my back,” he finally says, his voice low but simmering with emotion.

Dashiell's head snaps up, a mixture of surprise and anger crossing his face. “Gone behind your back? You mean when you did what you did right?”

Silas stands up, his chair scraping loudly against the floor. “I did what I had to do! You think I wanted to fucking betray you? You were supposed to be my friend, but you turned everyone against me!”

Dashiell rises to his feet, meeting Silas’s glare with equal intensity. “I didn’t turn anyone against you dimwit. You did that all on your own. You were so obsessed with winning that you lost sight of what really mattered—us, our friendship!”

The argument escalates, both of them stepping closer, their faces inches apart. “You think I don’t know that?” Silas shouts, his voice breaking. “I regret it every single day, but what about you? You didn’t even try to understand my side!”

Dashiell’s expression softens slightly, the fire in his eyes dimming. “I did try, Sil. But every time I tried to reach out, you pushed me away. You shut me out.”

Silence falls between them, the weight of their words hanging in the air. The entire class was silence watching the movie being displayed at them including the detention teacher. Slowly, Silas lowers his head, the anger draining from his face, replaced by a profound sadness. “I’m sorry, Dash. I’m sorry for everything.” he tried to reach out to his old friend who backed out immediately by taking a few steps back.

Dashiell takes a deep breath, the anger and hurt still lingering. “I’m sorry too, Sil but we can't fix this" he picked his backpack and walked out of the room without a second glance. I glanced at the detention teacher who looked shocked but said nothing instead and rested his face on his palm.

In that moment, amidst the remnants of their heated argument, Silas collapsed at his seat with a blank expression on his face. Maybe he realized that perhaps, in the ashes of their rivalry, there’s no chance to rebuild what was lost. Everyone remained silent throughout detention and when it was finally time to leave, I walked to Silas's locker.

"You okay?" I asked the obvious.

"I wish I was" he answered with a sad smile leaning against his locker.

"Do you want to talk about it." I didn't know why I was so concerned, I was never concerned about anyone apart from my group of friends. Why was I suddenly interested in Silas and Dashiell, a guy I had just met few minutes ago reading comics.

"Not really, mind giving me a ride?" He asked on his way out.

"Sure"

"Not going home though." He said turning to face me and I swear I wanted to touch his cheeks. They were so red making him look like a cute red panda. Jesus what am I thinking!

"Where are we going then, it's late." I said thinking that this ideas wasn't too bad.

He folded his hand over his chest tapping his index finger to the side of his head a pout on his face as if thinking of something then finally grinned with wide eyes. Did I feel myself smiling before he even said what he was thinking of?