Forever [COMPLETED]

Chapter Fifteen

Dana had barely slept.

She'd stared at the ceiling for hours after the party, replaying the moment on the patio like a movie stuck on repeat. Chandler's hand brushing against hers, the way his eyes softened as he leaned closer, the almost of it all.

And then Rachel.

Her voice had cut through the air like a siren, dragging Dana back to earth and leaving her stranded in a whirlwind of confusion. Why was Rachel there? Why did Chandler even bring her?

A part of her—a part she wasn't proud of—felt embarrassed. Embarrassed for being so naive, for thinking she could be the girl Chandler Beckett leaned in to kiss under the stars.

By the time her alarm blared that morning, she'd already decided one thing: whatever was going on between her and Chandler, it needed to make sense.

The hallways buzzed with their usual chaos—lockers slammed, chatter echoing, feet scuffed the tiled floors. Dana, however, felt as if everything was muffled around her, like she was stuck in a bubble of her own thoughts. Ever since the party, Chandler had been lingering in her mind. More specifically, that moment—his hand brushing her hair back, the way he leaned closer, the look in his eyes like he was about to say something real.

Dana clenched her notebook tighter to her chest as she rounded the corner toward her next class. The frustration she'd been bottling up since Friday night bubbled dangerously close to the surface.

She didn't want to feel this way. She didn't want Rachel's interruption to matter so much or for Chandler's silence afterward to leave her questioning everything. But it did. It had gnawed at her for days, making her feel small and invisible again.

Chandler was leaned against his usual spot by the lockers, talking to Chase and Ethan. He laughed at something one of them said, the sound easy and natural, as if his whole life was effortless. It made Dana's chest tighten even more. How did he get to act like nothing had happened while she felt like she'd been on an emotional rollercoaster?

Before she could talk herself out of it, her feet carried her toward him. She heard her own voice before she even realized she'd spoken.

"Chandler."

He looked up immediately, surprise flickering across his face before it melted into that familiar easy smile. "Hey, Dana." He straightened, pulling away from the lockers as his friends exchanged looks and backed off. "What's up?"

Her heart pounded in her ears, but she refused to back down. "Can we talk?"

"Yeah, of course." He gestured toward the quieter side of the hallway near an empty classroom. She followed him, her palms clammy against her notebook.

"About the party," she started, her voice stronger than she expected. "What happened outside—what was that?"

Chandler blinked, caught off guard. "What do you mean?"

Dana stared at him, heat rising to her face. "You know what I mean. You—you almost kissed me, and then Rachel showed up, and you just... left. Like it didn't matter."

Her words hung in the air, more pointed than she'd ever dared to be before. Chandler's expression shifted, his confident smile faltering for the first time.

"Dana, it wasn't like that," he said quietly, running a hand through his hair. "I didn't mean to—"

"Didn't mean to what?" she cut in, surprising even herself. "Make me feel like an idiot? Like I imagined the whole thing?"

His eyes softened, and he took a step closer. "You're not an idiot, Dana. I just... Rachel's complicated. She showed up with car trouble, and I felt like I had to help her. I wasn't expecting her to interrupt—"