I KNOW THE END

1⒉

August 21st, 2023

LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL

GRACE

Walking into school the next morning, I could feel the tension in the air. Whispers followed me as I made my way down the hallway, eyes darting toward me before quickly looking away. I tried to keep my head up, but the weight of what had happened the night before hung over me like a cloud. Jason knew. The entire school knew.

As I approached my locker, I spotted Jason leaning against it, his arms crossed and his expression cold. My heart dropped. I knew this confrontation was inevitable, but that didn't make it any easier.

"Hey," I said quietly, hoping for some semblance of a calm conversation.

Jason didn't reply right away. He just stared at me, his eyes burning with a mix of hurt and anger. "How long, Grace?" he finally asked, his voice low but sharp. "How long have you been lying to me?"

I swallowed hard, feeling the guilt rise up in my chest. "It wasn't like that, Jason. I never meant for this to happen."

"That's not an answer," he snapped, his voice rising. "How long have you been sneaking around behind my back? Was I just some joke to you?"

"No!" I said, shaking my head, tears pricking at my eyes. "It wasn't like that at all. I never wanted to hurt you. It just... it just happened."

Jason's expression hardened, and he took a step closer. "It just happened? You don't just accidentally end up kissing and hooking up with someone, Grace. You made a choice, and now everyone knows what kind of person you really are."

The words stung more than I expected, and I could feel the eyes of other students on us, watching the scene unfold like it was some kind of drama show. My cheeks burned with humiliation.

"Jason, I'm sorry," I whispered, barely able to meet his gaze. "I know I messed up, but please, can we just talk about this?"

He let out a bitter laugh. "Talk about what, Grace? How you broke my trust? How you threw away everything we had for... for him?" His voice cracked with the last word, and for a moment, I saw the hurt beneath his anger.

Before I could respond, Jason turned and walked away, leaving me standing there, tears welling up in my eyes. The hallway buzzed with whispers, but I couldn't focus on any of it. All I could think about was how badly I had messed everything up.

ALEXANDER

I watched from a distance as Jason stormed off, leaving Grace standing alone in the hallway. My fists clenched at my sides. I knew this was all going to blow up in our faces, but seeing it play out like this was worse than I imagined.

I walked over to her, ignoring the glares and whispers. "Grace," I said softly as I approached.

She looked up at me, her eyes red and filled with regret. "Alex, I didn't think it would be like this. I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "I know. But we can't take it back now. We just have to deal with the fallout."

Grace nodded, wiping away a tear. "I feel like everyone hates me now. I don't even know how to fix this."

"Let them talk," I said, my voice firm. "People will move on eventually. We just have to ride this out."

But even as I said it, I knew things wouldn't be that simple. The damage was done, and Jason wasn't going to let this go easily. Neither would the rest of the school. I could already feel the judgment and tension building around us like a storm waiting to break.

LUNCH TIME

The cafeteria was buzzing with more gossip than usual, and I knew most of it was about Grace and me. People stared, whispered, and pointed as we walked in, making it impossible to ignore the attention. Grace kept her head down, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone, while I put on a brave face, pretending not to care.

We found an empty table in the corner, but it wasn't long before trouble found us. Jason and a few of his friends walked over, glaring at me with pure hostility.

"Enjoying yourself, Alexander?" Jason sneered, his tone dripping with venom. "You really think you can just ruin everything and get away with it?"

I stood up, meeting his gaze head-on. "This isn't the time or place, Jason. Let it go."

He shoved me, hard enough that I had to take a step back to steady myself. "Let it go? After what you did? You're a coward, hiding behind Grace."

"Jason, stop!" Grace cried, standing up between us, but he ignored her.

"Don't act like you're innocent in this, Grace," Jason snapped at her. "You made your choice, and now everyone sees you for what you really are."

I couldn't hold back anymore. "You want to blame someone, fine. Blame me. But dragging Grace through the mud isn't going to fix anything."

Jason looked like he was about to throw a punch, but one of his friends pulled him back, muttering something about it not being worth it. He glared at me one last time before storming off, leaving the cafeteria in an uneasy silence.

MATTHEW

From across the cafeteria, I watched the whole scene unfold, feeling a knot in my stomach. I hated seeing my friends at each other's throats like this. Everything was spiraling out of control, and it felt like no one knew how to stop it.

Cleo glanced at me, her expression full of worry. "This is getting out of hand, Matt. Someone's going to end up hurt."

"I know," I said, sighing. "But what can we do? Everyone's picking sides, and it's only making things worse."

Cleo nodded, looking down at her tray. "I just hope things calm down soon. I can't stand seeing everyone like this."

But deep down, I knew it wasn't going to be that easy. The damage had already been done, and the fallout was only just beginning. We were all caught in the middle of a mess we couldn't fix, and the worst part was knowing that it might be too late to put the pieces back together.

As I sat there, watching the tension simmer beneath the surface, I couldn't shake the feeling that things were only going to get worse from here. And I didn't know how any of us were going to make it out of this without getting hurt.

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