God, I think I'm done for.
I keep my eyes on the linoleum floors as I walk, focusing on each step. Kiara West's hand is in mine, and I'm trying not to overthink it. It's just a hand, right? Nothing to freak out about.
The faint scent of jasmine and vanilla follows her, soft and familiar, but it's quickly drowned out as we step into the cafeteria. The smell of overcooked sausage and syrup hits like a brick wall. High school mornings are nothing if not consistent.
"Damn, it's packed," I say, glancing around at the crowded tables.
"Yeah," Kiara says, her voice even, but her eyebrows crease as she scans the room.
"I might lose myself if I'm not careful," I add, a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth.
She just shakes her head up and down, her lips twitching like she's trying not to laugh, and we keep walking.
We're halfway down a row when a couple of football guys whistle as we pass.
"Ooooh, Theo!" one of them calls out, in a high-pitched voice, waggling his eyebrows. I glance back, catching Wyatt Robinson's sandy hair and blue eyes looking at me. "Good selection, man!"
My shoulders tense, but I roll my eyes, muttering, "Nice to see maturity's alive and well."
Kiara huffs a quiet laugh, her fingers tightening around mine. "Don't worry about it." She quickly kisses my cheek by stretching on her toes, "They're just jealous because the only relationships they have are with football, and that's it."
I give her a soft smile before we continue down the aisles.
After a few more minutes of dodging backpacks and trays, Kiara points to a table tucked near the back. Aadhi and Dahlia are sitting there, Dahlia practically leaping out of her seat to wave us down.
We make our way over, and as soon as we sit, Aadhi grins like he's been waiting for this moment all morning.
"You two look good together," he says, slinging an arm over Dahlia's shoulder.
Kiara blushes instantly, ducking her head, and I feel my face heat up too. "Whatever you say, man," I reply, trying to sound casual as I slide into the seat across from him. Kiara follows and settles next to me, but before I can say anything else, she and Dahlia shift to the far end of the bench.
Schedules appear, and their heads bend together as they start comparing notes, voices dropping to excited whispers.
Aadhi leans closer to me, his tone dropping just as low. "Theo," he mutters, his expression turning serious. "Have you told her about, you know?"
I don't need him to clarify. I know exactly what he means.
"No, man," I say quickly, glancing at Kiara to make sure she can't hear. "I mean, kind of? But not really."
He frowns, but before he can say anything, I keep going. "Look, Kiara's—she's great. The best thing to happen to me in... I don't even know how long. I just don't want to ruin that. What if she thinks I'm some kind of mess?"
Aadhi doesn't respond right away, just taps his finger on the table, his eyes narrowing slightly.
My mind drifts before he can reply, back to last night.
When I got home from the diner, the yelling had already started. Normally, I'd tune it out, let it pass, but last night was different. There was the sound of breaking glass and the clatter of dishes.
When I walked in, my mom was propped against the kitchen counter. Her right eye was bruised purple, and blood trickled down her temple.
"Don't worry about it, Theo," she'd said, her voice tired, her smile even more so. "Just leave it alone."
And I did. What else could I do?
I shake the thought away, my chest tightening as I look back at Kiara. She's laughing at something Dahlia said, her eyes bright, completely unaware of the mess I'm dragging behind me.
The bell rings, pulling us all back to reality. Kiara looks at me, and there's this little quirk of her eyebrow, like she's asking, Ready to go?
The four of us head out together toward first period, and as Aadhi and Dahlia fall into step ahead of us, I can't shake the weight pressing down on me. It hasn't even been a full day that I'm her boyfriend and the dawning realization sets on my shoulders.
She's too good for me.
I'm not good enough for her.
I'm not enough for anyone.
And I know it's true.
A/n: So what do we think?
I'm really grateful for you reading my story. Here's a weird fact. Did you know that Kiara and Theo's names were originally Sam (K) and Lucas (T)??
I'm really glad I changed them because, though I love both names, I felt for some reason that they wouldn't really match their looks and personalities.
Here's another thing. Theo was also supposed to have 5 sisters. I'm not even joking. I was going to have Theo be in this, like, really crowded family where each sister were completely different from the others, and then Theo would eventually be influenced by all of them and almost have 5 different personalities when the chapters are written in each perspective.
I'm honestly really happy with that decision too, since 5 personalities is nightmare fuel for a writer like me.
Thank you so much for reading this chapter + this reaaallly long A/n.
Happy reading, y'all!
- P!nkL3monade
