GrandView High

~THIRTEEN B💙~

It wasn't an official war, but there were sides, and everyone knew where they stood.

Ilham and Riri? Team Aasiyah, obviously.

 Kamil? Stuck in the middle.

Tiara? Switzerland. Neutral, but still Aviva's friend.

Aviva? Acting like she had done nothing wrong.

It didn't help that people talked.

Not openly, but Aasiyah could feel the stares. The whispers. The way conversations died whenever she walked by.

"Did you hear what happened?"
"Jamal and Aasiyah broke up? No way."
"It's because of Aviva, isn't it?"
"I heard he actually liked her the whole time."

None of it was true. But truth didn't matter when a lie was entertaining.

And Aviva?

She loved the attention.

She played the role of the misunderstood girl caught in drama that wasn't her fault.

"I don't know why Aasiyah hates me, I never did anything to her."

"People always blame the girl, it's so unfair."

"Jamal and I are just friends. He needed someone to talk to, and I was there."

It was infuriating.

Because Aasiyah knew that technically, Aviva hadn't done anything—at least, nothing that could be proven.

But she also knew that girls like Aviva didn't have to do much to cause damage.

A lingering touch. A too-sweet smile. A well-timed whisper.

It was never enough to call her out, but just enough to plant doubt.

And it worked.

Because no matter how much Aasiyah knew Jamal hadn't technically cheated, she couldn't forget the way he hesitated when she asked him those questions.

She couldn't unhear the rumors.

Couldn't erase the image of Jamal and Aviva being too close in that damn party photo.

And that was enough.

Jamal never apologized.

Not properly, at least.

Maybe because he didn't know how.

Or maybe because he knew it wouldn't change anything.

So instead, he tried to act normal.

Like everything was fine. Like nothing had happened.

But it wasn't fine.

Every time he passed Aasiyah in the hall, she barely looked at him.

He tried talking to her so many times but she always brushed him off or ignored him.

She wasn't mean.

She wasn't petty.

She just treated him like he was no one.

And that hurt more than if she had screamed at him.

The worst part?

He missed her.

More than he wanted to admit.

He missed her teasing him about his playlists, rolling her eyes whenever he quoted a movie wrong on purpose just to annoy her.

He missed having someone who understood him without him needing to explain himself.

Aviva didn't get him the way Aasiyah did.

She never would.

And Jamal knew, deep down, that he had ruined something good.

Months passed, but the tension didn't fade.

It only shifted.

Now, when Aasiyah and Jamal were in the same room, there was a thickness in the air—something unspoken but heavy.

At lunch, if he and Kamil sat at a table, Ilham and Riri would subtly pull Aasiyah in another direction.

At parties, there was always a moment of hesitation—who would leave first? Who would pretend not to care?

And Aviva?

She was still there.

Still laughing too loud, still lingering near Jamal like she belonged there.

But even she couldn't erase the way Jamal's eyes sometimes drifted toward Aasiyah.

Like he was looking for something he had lost.

And the worst part?

Aasiyah saw it.

She saw the regret.

But it didn't matter.

Because some things, once broken, couldn't be put back together.

I exhaled sharply, gripping the counter.

Even now, after all these months, I still felt the weight of that night. I had forgiven Jamal—he hadn't actually done anything wrong.

And Aviva?

I thought we were friends. I get that our friendship was dented because of the fight we had but I didn't think it was that bad.

I shook my head, taking a sip of my Ribena.

Jamal and I had managed to salvage something from the wreckage. We were still friends, even if it wasn't like before. But things with Aviva had never fully recovered.

And honestly?

I wasn't sure they ever would.

At that moment, my phone buzzed.

Jamal: Everyone's linking up at Yaseen's place later. You coming?

I hesitated.

I used to love going over to Yaseen's. Since he, Jamal, Soraya, Aviva and I all lived on the same avenue, our houses were basically second homes to ourselves. We spent countless afternoons there after school, before we all started drifting apart.

Before things got complicated.

I exhaled and typed back a quick No I'm not feeling too good, before locking my phone.

Tomorrow, I'd have to deal with Riri's confession to Ilham.

But for tonight?

I just needed to breathe.

~~~~~~~~~~

Remember the drill y'all.

Yours Truly,

TheAuthorOfThisBook🩰💙