⌁ 𝕚 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕤𝕖𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 ⌁

⌁⁘ 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕓𝕣𝕦𝕤𝕙 𝕡𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕞𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕙𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕨𝕒𝕪 ⁘⌁

~ 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓭𝓸𝓷'𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓴 𝓲-𝓲-𝓲 𝓬𝓪𝓷 𝓼𝓮𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾, 𝓭𝓸 𝔂𝓸𝓾?

⟫ y/n pov ⟪

~ ⁘ ~ ⁘ ~ ⁘ ~

I tucked my phone into my back pocket, careful the camera wasn't still running and draining my battery, before stepping out into the bustling hallway. I fell into step with my best friend, Nico. She grinned over at me, her curls framing her face perfectly.

That was Nico. What else could I have expected from her? She was perfection incarnate. And she knew it, too. As we passed, she turned heads. She carried herself with the confidence of someone who knew she was always being watched.

"Hey, girlie," she greeted casually as we waded through the sea of kids that was the dreaded lunchtime rush of the hallways. Her voice cut through the chaotic sea of kids in the lunchtime rush. She glided effortlessly beside me, unbothered by the commotion. I always thought of the school hallways as highways of their own sort -- except, if they were highways, nobody was paying attention, there would have been five million wrecks a day, and speeding ticket debt would be outrageous.

"Hello, lovely," I grinned back. "How do you feel about your chem test?"

As we walked and made easy conversation, I accidentally shoulder-checked someone going the opposite direction as we were. I muttered a hurried "sorry," then flushed due to how sheerly pathetic it sounded. I glanced back and got an eyeful of golden curls. Who even is that?

I shrugged it off as Nico and I rounded the bend to get into the cafeteria. I probably wouldn't see them again anytime soon, anyways.

⌁⁘⌁

I slid into my seat at our round table, the familiar clatter of trays and chatter of friends filling the cafeteria. The smell of pizza and mystery meatloaf wafted through the air as I glanced around to see who had already made it to the table. Olivea and Nico were already flirting like there was no tomorrow, just jokingly of course, Nico was totally in love with her boyfriend Mason. Dior was slipping into the chair next to me, but there was no sign of Momona or Leah yet. Which was normal -- the two of them were virtually inseparable, and Leah had probably dragged Momo to her locker to find an assignment or a lost lipgloss or something.

Dior groaned and smacked her head onto the table. I chuckled at my dramatic friend. "What is it today, Dior?" I asked, the smirk apparent in my voice. It was always something. The world was always ending.

"I'm screwed," she whined. "Mrs. Jillson is out to get me; I'm convinced. Why else would she be failing my every other assignment?" I crossed my ankles and began unpacking my lunchbox, strapping in for a long, godawful vent session.

But, then again, what's new?

As Dior yapped on, I spaced out a bit, letting my mind wander. I still feel bad for shoulder-checking that kid earlier. I don't even know who he was. If I find out who it is, I should apologize. As far as my mind wandered, my eyes wandered even further. I just took the moment to observe.

It's strange, the hierarchy and division that is high school. You have your band kids, then you have your band kids. Your cheerleaders. Your jocks. Your smart kids, then your nerds. Your golden retriever boys. The guys that are so mean you have no idea why they're friends with the golden retriever boys. Your heartthrobs. (Although, I can say our school is severely lacking in those. ): Your normal kids. The kids that fit nowhere specific. The gi-

I was snapped out of my thoughts by the feel of fingers in my hair. I glanced up and grinned as I caught Momona's eyes, then her and Leah took their seats next to me. "Hey, Momo."

She smiled and settled into her chair. "Sorry we're so late -- Leah dragged me to her locker to look for a missing lip oil."

I raised my eyebrows expectantly, leaning forward to look at Leah where she sat next to her. "Well? Did you at least find it?"

Leah gave me a dazzling smile, then smacked her glossed lips once for emphasis. "Yep. Thank goodness," she sighed. "I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't."

Momona rolled her eyes. "Here's a wild thought," she scowled, "you could have used one of your five others instead of making me ten minutes late for lunch?" She shoveled some of her salad into her mouth as Leah shrugged and tucked her legs underneath herself.

As those two sent good-natured jabs back and forth, I allowed myself to space out again. Dior was now complaining about Mrs. Jillson's class to Nico and Olivea, so I was off the hook and didn't have to pretend I was listening anymore. She had her captive audience.

I continued my peoplewatching for a while before my eyes finally settled on the table of guys directly in my line of sight, the table of the guys I could consider my friends. I frowned as I noticed an unfamiliar face amidst the group.

I squinted, trying to get my sucky eyes to just work for once, then finally processed what, or rather who I was seeing. That curly-headed blond boy. He turned just enough for me to see his profile. He was laughing.

He had the prettiest smile. And he had the most brilliant blue eyes I'd ever seen.

Oh.

※

maya speaks :

omg walkie
i think i'd have a heart attack and die if i saw him irl