love yourself ❀ grayson dolan

three

alarm blaring, melissa jumped upright in her bed and looked around her in confusion. upon hearing the alarm the second time, her confusion ceased. she did her usual morning routine, until she was stood downstairs about to get her breakfast.

her hair was in plaits and her outfit was causal, as it always was. when she reached the kitchen counter, her eyebrows scrunched and a frown pulled at the corner of her lips, tugging them down. a creased piece of paper was placed on the very corner and looked as if it would've blown off had any wind reached it.

melissa groped for it with her thin fingers and read it thoroughly. it was from mark. her brother mark. when had he been home? weird. melissa continued on reading the note until the very last sentence caught her eye. she had to reread it once or twice to check if she'd seen it correctly.

her brother had moved to texas. as of last night. with his friends.

what the fuck.

melissa bottled her emotions in otherwise she felt like she'd blow the roof off with her screams.

the rest of her breakfast passed by at the pace of a snail. she daren't look back at the note in case she broke down and couldn't handle herself. so instead she stared at the same black marble countertop for the next fifteen minutes. she set off earlier to school in hopes that the fresh air would free her jumbled thoughts from her hyperactive mind.

she was right.

as soon as she set off at her everyday pace, she was free. her mind was clear and all she was thinking about was her speed, and the time.

she got to school quicker than she thought usual, but maybe it was just because she got carried away in her world of nothing.

the hallways were clear of any threatening students, for now. the only girls and boys that littered the corridors were ones who took disinterest to her presence. she was thankful for once. this morning was hardly the time for any comments or mutters. she didn't want any attention.

before first period, melissa went to retrieve grayson from the principal's office. it was something she was fast growing used to, but she wished he'd finally be able to make his way around the school without her because she wanted to be alone, especially today.

grayson seemed less moody but still decided not to speak to melissa as they made their way to english lit together. they were seated on the back row next to each other. melissa hated the back but she'd been late to class and had lost her place to her favourite person in the world. zoe rivers.

as the lesson progressed she kept looking back and winking at grayson. however when she saw melissa was staring she rolled her eyes and flipped her hair, diverting her attention back to the front. melissa had no doubt zoe didn't even know what the teacher was on about. she almost laughed but choked it back down her throat and paid attention to the "important lecture" the teacher was giving the class.

the lecture didn't last long and melissa had to check the clock twice when the shrill ringing noise filled the classroom. it was unusual that she hadn't been paying attention to the time, instead she'd been thinking about her brother and how he'd managed to move to texas without her knowing about any of it.

as she looked up when the third bell echoed around the classroom, she noticed grayson staring at her. his gaze was mixed with confusion and worry but when she saw him looking, he turned his head. when melissa looked back at him, his face was expressionless and emotionless. melissa's forehead creased with confusion; she wasn't sure whether she'd imagined the whole thing. either way, she decided to let it go.